Download Festival 2016 - Friday

We arrived at Donnington in a blaze of sunshine, popped up our tent, made ourselves at home, kicked up a barbeque, cracked open the cider and sipped at it with sunglasses and sunscreen (but not enough) in our camp chairs ready for our second UK summer music festival of the year.

But after one whole day in the sun we decided we’d had enough of all that, pulled on our wellies (well one of us did anyway) and headed down to the main arena for our first official day at Download Festival 2016.

Unfortunately we did all of that just a little too late to catch Alien Ant Farm (completely gutted) which meant that the first band we caught were the almighty Babymetal.

I said it at Reading last year, and I will say it again. Babymetal are amazing and genuinely unlike anything you will ever see. It brings joy to a huge crowd to see those dance routines in front of shredding metal guitars. From the second Suzuka Nakamoto, or “Su-metal” as she is known, squealed “Hi Guys!” she had Download Festival eating out of the palm of her hand.

Crowd pleaser, and my favourite Babymetal track, Gimme Chocolate as well as brand new track Karate were particular highpoints but their whole set had the huge crowd forgetting that they were standing in the year’s worst weather and throwing up their horns in their thousands.

The original plan for post-Babymetal was to hang out for the rest of the day at the Zippo Encore stage (for reasons that will become apparent soon). However, when I say the year’s worst weather, I’m under-exaggerating. At the risk of sharing too much information on the internet, once the rain started it took approximately thirty seconds for every inch of my person to be completely and utterly saturated and, sadly, I was not quite as prepared as I had believed.

Turns out the very beautiful rain mac I bought especially for the occasion was in no way, shape or form water proof. My wellies were also very pretty but basically just little empty paddling pools waiting to be filled. But at least I had wellies on. RIP my colleague’s Van’s. You served well old friends, but you were no match for this occasion.

Clearly we had to head back to camp and attempt to pull ourselves together, but once we’d done that we jumped right back in and managed to catch The Amity Affliction who opened with a song called I Bring the Weather with Me, so apparently we’ve got them to blame.

The Australian metal-core act brought five tracks to a stage where they looked right at home. A more stern performance than our first of the festival, they performed to a crowd of loyal fans who screamed back both the roars of Joel Birch and the clean vocals of Ahren Stringer. The Amity Affliction proved that when looking for your new favourite music, get you a band that can do both.

Ever the suave performers, The Amity Affliction took this set in their stride with Birch pointing to a low-flying plane over head, muttering “that’s cool” and then unleashing pure mayhem less than two seconds later. Masters of a genre that is perfect for both the festival world and headline shows, I cannot wait to see these guys play their biggest UK tour to date in December.

Daryl Palumbo - Glassjaw

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

According to the plan, we stuck with the Zippo Encore stage where Glassjaw’s experimental and progressive rock was next. Known for their intense performances, the New York quartet wasted no time in launching into the classic Tip Your Bartender.

Forming in 1993, Glassjaw have spent well over 20 years leading the post-hardcore and underground scenes, shaping them both into what they are. But today they just did what they do best and, above all, enjoyed it. Relying heavily on the 2002 album Worship and Tribute, Glassjaw proved that they shared a core value with their hosts – a dedication and love of their genre.

It’s really important to me that you understand that the weather I mentioned a while ago had not improved during all of this. No. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as it originally was but it was still pouring. I just want to make sure you get that.

Luckily, I had a pretty huge coat. Luckier still, it was Twin Atlantic time.

Ross McNae - Twin Atlantic

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

You remember when I said at Slam Dunk that, although a line-up might be inundated with incredible bands, there’s always one that makes your attendance at a festival non-negotiable? Well, ladies and gentleman, I present to you the reason I went to Download Festival 2016.

I might have mentioned a few times that I really rather like Twin Atlantic. It seems like we’ve been waiting a million years for news of their new album, but in reality we only said goodbye to them 10 months ago when they announced they would be taking a break after their now legendary set at Reading last year.

But now the time has arrived. Twin Atlantic have announced that in September they will release their fourth studio album, GLA, and quickly unveiled two tracks from it before playing what can only be described as an incredible hometown show at King Tut’s in Glasgow before announcing a whole host of intimate shows on a UK club tour. Yeah. It’s been an exciting time.

To say I was dying to hear the new tracks, No Sleep and Gold Elephant : Cherry Alligator, would be ridiculous, because frankly it was all I could talk about and I am overjoyed to say that they both play to all of Twin Atlantic’s strengths. Live, vocalist Sam McTrusty surrenders his guitar for the new offerings and both the change in focus and new lease of life mean that he has never sounded better. Imagine that.

As soon as Twin were announced for Download Festival I hoped that they would take the opportunityThe Ghost of Eddie and when that opening riff reverberated from the stage just second in their eleven track set, the crowd went mental.

Sam McTrusty - Twin Atlantic

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

to play their heaviest track to date,

Given the environmental circumstances it seemed unlikely that the crowd would be getting on the floor ready to fly into the air when I Am An Animal kicked in for its finale. Who cares for likeliness nowadays? Every person in that crowd adhered to the request and knelt down in the mud that we would fester in for another two days because that’s what sets like this do to people.

I could go on about this band for days but luckily we got three more Twin Atlantic shows to cover over the next three weeks as well as something really special coming up for Louder Now too so I got the time to revisit this but let it be known that there was nothing more special then to hear that Heart and Soul chorus ring loud once again.

Jack Barakat - All Time Low

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

And from those that fit right in to the most unlikely of Download headliners, next was All Time Low.

When guitarist Jack Barakat announced during their arena tour last year that they were playing Download Festival I thought he was, characteristically, taking the piss. To be honest I still didn’t really believe it until I saw them up there with my own eyes.

Nevertheless, All Time Low are born headliners and, as it turns out, are adaptable to all situations. That being said, they did not compromise their trademark hilarity and good-time nature for one second. Having seen these guys a ridiculous amount of times now I have always loved Barakat for his tendency to go missing from the stage but I never appreciated just how bat-crap crazy he really is. This guy loves those fans more than any musician I have ever seen perform and he opts to spend most of the set just hanging out with them, and I’m talking fall blown conversations, getting his pecks out, cheek-kissing, hanging out.

As ever, they played a career spanning set, even pulling out Jasey Rae from their EP to a rapturous

Alex Gaskarth - All Time Low

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

reaction from the audience who lapped up every second of it.

No strangers to covering songs, we’ve seen All Time Low do it all but an impromptu cover of American Idiot was a pleasant surprise in amongst a sea of absolute bangers.

And if all of that weren’t enough they even brought some cosy fires to the stage with them which I’m sure those close enough to feel them were eternally grateful for at this late stage in the very wet day.

After All Time Low wrapped it up with the ever sterling Dear Maria, Count Me In we hobbled over to the main stage to see the last of Rammstein’s incredibly visual industrial-metal set.

If anybody wants to tell me that Download is a singular festival I refer you to my last sentence.

As first day’s go our Friday at Download Festival 2016 was pretty incredible but, with two more days to go, it was about time we took a towel to all of our clothes, scraped our hair on to the top of our heads and collapsed onto an inflatable bed somewhere.

Download Festival 2016 – Saturday will be uploaded tomorrow.

We went to Reading Festival 2015 and got really pathetic about it

The Louder Now bank account is, in a word, imaginary, and time often feels make-believe around here too. We accepted that we could only make it to one festival and, if that was the case, then we were getting our butts to Reading 2015. Only Saturday (seriously, please send us some money).

I’m going to save us all some time and tell you now that there was not one band that we caught at Reading that we found lacking. I did, however, feel incredibly lucky to have been there and I found the whole day a bit emotional.

For that reason, this is not going to be the most technical review you have ever read but instead quite a personal account of what happened that day for me. It also gets a bit weird about half way through. Sorry about that, but I do hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

We had planned to get on a train that turned out to have a lot in common with the Louder Now bank account in that it was non-existent. Off to a great start, I was already panicking (I do that a lot) that we would miss the Main Stage openers, which frankly wasn’t an option.

The metal god must have been raining down on us because thankfully that

Babymetal - Main Stage,
taken from the big screen
Reading Festical
29/08/2015

didn’t happen. We walked through the Main Arena just in time to see the almighty Babymetal take to the iconic stage in all of their pigtail and tutu glory.

Does anybody know who I can complain to about the fact that there isn’t a Babymetal video game yet? All I’m saying is that it would make all of our lives infinitely better and they would make a fortune.   

They were absolutely out of this world and danced around that stage with perfectly synchronised moves, all of which I now know off by heart.

I’ve researched a few English translations of their lyrics too and that made me love them even more. Especially these lines from their track Give Me Chocolate: “Can I have a bit of chocolate? But my weight worries me a bit these days. However, chocolate. Can I have a bit of chocolate?” Thank you Babymetal for providing my life with its own soundtrack.   

I looked at my Louder Now comrades, none of which had been to a festival before, and saw that their minds were blown. One band and Reading had achieved the complete mental annihilation of three otherwise sound people. It was time for a break.

We headed over to the Alternative Stage and caught Chris Ramsey do a bit of stand up. I always love catching the stand ups at a festival. Everyone sits on the floor, or doesn’t and gets called out by Chris Ramsey from the stage (which was a running theme throughout the day now I think about it) and it’s always good to have a laugh. Always.

Chris Ramsey - The Alternative Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

I won’t ruin any punch lines but if you can catch Chris on his next tour then do. He’s got buckets of northern lad charm and I was giggling like a fool.

Ramsey’s set ran into Marmozets on the Main Stage so we rushed over and caught the main bulk of their set which was also fantastic. It’s been a huge year for them with a US tour, album of the year award and now the Main Stage at Reading.

With Josh Macintyre on his feet whilst playing the drums and Becca Macintyre giving some growls that would catch any ill-prepared viewer off guard, they owned that stage because it was what they were born to do.

I have such a soft spot for Marmozets. They were the first ever band to share some of my writing on their social media back in 2011 and I got the chance to thank them for it in 2013 at Radstock Festival. It’s incredible to see them doing these amazing things and it was probably when I was watching them up there that I began to get all emotional.

At this point the plan was to head back over to the Alternative Stage and catch Seann Walsh and then back to the Main Stage for Alexisonfire (I really wanted to hear them say their own name…)

But there was a change in the plan and the change was the signing tent, and it had the name ‘Twin Atlantic’ written all over it.

Right. I’m going to try my hardest to put this to you in a way that makes me not seem completely nuts (which means that we’re going to have to put my creative fiction skills to the test). Recently I’ve not been coping too well with the concept of being 23 (insert Blink-182 joke here). I am happier now then I have ever been but I panic sometimes that I’m a grown up, and have been for a long time. Way too long.

Rewind to the first time I went to Reading Festival, back in 2010. So much has changed since then. For a start I’m not in the same relationship I was back then (and for that I thank my lucky stars every single day). I went and got myself a degree, a car called Vince and a cat called Sherlock and this very blog seems to be exceeding all of my wildest expectations and proving something to me that I thought was impossible. Did I mention that we interviewed Cyrus from New Found Glory last week? I mean. Cyrus. From New Found Glory.

All of that makes me happier then I have ever been but we all miss being a kid right? When I was young I use to go to gigs because I loved the music. I loved losing the plot in the crowd knowing that what was on that stage was a million times more interesting so not one person was watching me!

In my short time on this planet I have done some insane things to meet my musical heroes. I once camped in an alley off of Shaftesbury Avenue in Central London for 18 hours to meet Gerard Way. Don’t tell my mum that though, I don’t think she knows.

And in addition to all of that, not a lot of people know this about me (haha) but I’m sort of a crazy b***h fan girl and I’m out of control. Once I find a band that I love, they quickly take over my life. They will be what I listen to on the way to work every morning. I will travel the country just to see them as many times as I can. See me for five minutes in the street? I guarantee you I’ll find a way of talking about them. Since May, that band has been Twin Atlantic.   

So, when I saw that they were going to grace the signing tent with their beautiful selves I saw an opportunity to re-live my youth. For an hour and a half, I sat in a que that I don’t think I actually had to sit in. I met a music photographer called Lauren (this is her website) who I had a great chat with about music, bands and working in this industry.

We were both really nervous to stand in front of this band and try to think of something to say and I’m so grateful that she was there so we could keep each other company and calm…ish.

Here are some pictures that Lauren’s friend took of me with the band. Huge thank you to both of those girls. These pictures sort of mean the world to me right now:

Just in case you were wondering, what I realised was that it is never too late to be a kid and sometimes meeting your heroes can just be perfect.

Anyway, the squad reconvened at The Bar and then we headed off to see Pvris and Atreyu.

Pvris will soon be running this scene. Fact. The Pit stage was insanely small for a band that has so much promise but it was a great introduction for the future headliners. I give it 3-5 years.

I also want to make a generic point that, nevertheless, is really important to me. I saw TWO female fronted bands at Reading. Both were unbelievably good. Neither were Paramore.    

Atreyu - The Pit 
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

Atreyu played their cover of Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name so the child in me was kept pretty happy. It’s great to have those guys back from their hiatus and if their latest single is anything to go by then their upcoming album will be perfect. I can’t wait.

Then we reached what I now realise for us were “The Big Three”. Bring Me The Horizon. Twin Atlantic. Metallica.

I haven’t seen Bring Me The Horizon in roughly a million years. Also, did I mention that I’m really old? When my 18 year old colleague grabbed me by the hand and ran into the crowd with a force that would not be acceptable in any other situation, I all but ruined my underwear. I am so glad she did it.

Bring Me The Horizon (allegedly) Main Stage 
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

That crowd was absolutely insane. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I remember feeling eternally grateful that it was raining for the relief but I belted out S – P – I – R – I – T ,SPIRIT, LETS HEAR IT. It’s impossible not to. Also a fact for you.

I’ve had my issues with the choice of bands higher up the line up for a few years and, I won’t lie, BMTH were one of the bands I was confused about. I’m not anymore. They well and truly shut me up. This new album is going to launch them out of this world and they deserve that.

I officially support a UK Bring Me The Horizon & Babymetal tour. Please make this happen. Please.

Twin Atlantic - NME/Radio 1 Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

I think I’ve made my feelings for Twin Atlantic quite clear already. Needless to say their set was everything I wanted (sort of, I would have done pretty much anything for them to play The Ghost of Eddie).

Back in May I mentioned that these guys really love launching stuff at the crowd. Yeah, that hasn’t changed. Before any words had even been sung we were drenched in white streamers. Then there were butterflies and colourful streamers and then giant colourful balls. We loved it.

Twin Atlantic - NME/Radio 1 Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

Usually I can tell you what songs were a highlight. I can’t this time, I’m sorry. If you haven’t seen Twin Atlantic live then you haven’t lived. They are the most fun, but just make sure your pipes are ready because you will sing along to every word.

On the subject of words. Dear Sam Mctrusty, you can sing those verses in whichever damn order you want to. We got your back. Love from the crowd.

Finally (I know right, it was a long day) we got over to that Main Stage to close up our day with Metallica. Now I missed the first hour or so (not my fault, blame Twin Atlantic and have them apologise for being so amazing) and I haven’t watched the replay but if anyone could tell me why there were hundreds of people on stage with Metallica I would be really grateful. It looked amazing, but I just feel like I was missing something.

Metallica - Main Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

Metallica first played Reading Festival 18 years ago. I mentioned it before but one of the Louder Now reporters/squad members on the Reading field trip is 18 years old. That blows my mind. This band has been together for 35 years, have released 9 studio albums and have been an inspiration for other artists all over the world. That, my friends, is a true festival headliner.

And, as you would expect, they played that stage like it was built for them (which I suppose it was).

There were bass solos, guitar solos and I’m going to assume that I missed the obligatory Lars Ulrich drum solo (I mean that happened right?) They were mucking about with the cameras, James Hetfield was up and down his own platform, there were graphics of soldiers going to war. It was just exactly what you imagined Metallica headlining Reading to be.  

James Hetfield - Main Stage
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

When that riff for Enter Sandman engulfed that gigantic field, that was the mark of a day well spent.

But by far one of the most incredible moments of Reading Festival 2015 (Saturday only, please send cash) and the story that I will tell my nieces and nephews for years to come is this.

When we first got into the arena, back when Babymetal were singing about really, really, wanting chocolate (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you haven’t been paying attention, scroll up and start again you lazy piece of work) I noticed that the rigs around the Main Stage had big nets full of black inflatable spheres (every time I describe them as balls people laugh at me, it distracts from the story) with Metallica written on them.

When Metallica were closing up their set we noticed a woman in full climbing gear at the top of one of those rigs. Her mission was clear, wait for Hetfield to go “Yeaaarh” (flawless impression) and pull the string.

Well. Hetfield went “Yeaaarh”, the lady pulled the string….and absolutely SOD ALL happened. Giant black spheres were flying everywhere apart from the left hand side towards the back. We got jack.

ME - Main Stage (not on it, obviously) 
Reading Festival
29/08/2015

So remember everyone, your day could be going really badly and you could be just about ready to give it all up, but at least you’re not a hundred feet in the air, strapped to a rig in the middle of a field kicking the crap out of a bag of giant black balls.

Thank you Reading, it was the happiest I have ever been in your field. I will see you next year if people send me cash. 

Love from Hayley xx