Download or, Weekend of the Gingers...
Jun. 15th, 2007 04:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alixandreaYes, this really has taken me all week to write. I've probably missed out loads, but here's the core of our second visit to the UK's biggest Alternative music festival.
I spent the weekend of my birthday on a racetrack just outside of East Midlands Airport. Last year, after three agonisingly hot and dusty days there, Erik and I swore we would not bother with Download ever again. But as the line up on the website just got better and better, I eventually gave in and got tickets. One proviso this year was that we were going to stay in our trusty camper van Jolene, rather than a tent, as last year we endured a long and agonising walk, loaded down with camping gear, from the car park to the space we finally found that was big enough for the tent; then back again in the rain at the end of the festival. So I got camper van tickets as well this year.
Best. Decision. Ever. The van field had proper portaloos rather than the uber disgusting 'long-drops' of the camping fields, and several hot shower cabins to boot. It was a little way from the arena, but less far than where we'd had to camp last year. Plus it was quieter - not full of noisy obnoxious kids yelling 'TIMMEH' at stupid-am. I guess I must be getting old, but I have decided that from now on I will do festivals in the van only. No more tents for me. It makes such a difference to be able to lock all your stuff inside, and to be able to have everything you need right there, rather than having to pack light for the sake of being able to carry everything, including a heavy tent, to your destination.
The weekend was glorious but not as hot as last year, which was a blessing. The organisers had also had something (it felt like a polyurethane substance) put down on the dirt inside the second stage, which stopped it being quite as dusty as it was last year. Unfortunately they didn't do that on the rest of the dirt areas, so it was still quite dusty, but it did help nonetheless.
Thursday 7th June
Worked a half day, rushed around packing Jolene and getting supplies, picked up Erik straight from work and drove to Donnington. Directed to a nice spot in the van field, set up van, got changed, set out to exchange tickets for wristbands. By this time it was too late to go via the usual entrance/exit we used for the rest of the weekend (it got closed early on the days before the event actually started) so went to main ticket barrier. Hardly any queues, got wristbands, went in. Had a wander around then went to the big screen where we watched Shaun of the Dead (fantastic movie, seen it before). Saw the end of the Burlesque show in The Village (no end of fire toys, pretty girls and breasts!) before going to bed.
Friday 8th June
My birthday. Erik was a sweetie and gave me full reign to do whatever I wanted all day. We had free range bacon on toasted foccacia bread (who said festivals were full of crap food? Although it was all too expensive...) for breakfast, along with a welcome cup of tea. I dragged E around the markets but couldn't afford anything (my birthday pressie from Erik was him coming with me to DL!) and didn't really want to spend that much anyway. Watched:
I've always loved this band but never really owned anything of theirs (except for a couple of songs on compilations). Really enjoyed their set, although Dave Mustaine (redhead no. 2 - Erik being no. 1 of course ;-)) seemed either a little out of it, or at least disinterested during several of their songs. The rest of the band were consummate performers however, very tight, very professional. Just what you'd expect from such a classic group. The really odd thing was that they were on so early in the day. They should definitely have been higher up the bill.
Saw this lot last year as well. They're fun, tight, classic 'METAL!!' with lots of widdly solos and histrionic vocals - very silly. I'm not a big fan of this style of metal music and I did think that they sounded a bit weak, but the (male) singer was distractingly pretty enough to counteract my scepticism.
I missed a few bands here - Porcupine Tree (apparently a bit like Anathema, who we saw later on in the festival), Hayseed Dixie (I've seen them before (at Beautiful Days) anyway), Enter Shikari (I just wanted to know if they were worth the hype they've had) Velvet Revolver (saw them on the screen during Live 8 anyway) and Korn (saw them, albeit minus Jonathan Davis last year). I'm not actually sure why/how I missed all of these bands but there you go! It wasn't because I was drinking - I don't really drink at festivals as the crowds freak me out and alcohol sends me to sleep anyway. It may have been that I went back to the van to have dinner and get changed. We finished the evening off with:
A Hip-Hop/Metal crossover band from the States, these guys were superb. I'd never seen/heard of them before, but within a few songs they had me cheering and singing along as loudly as I did for any other band that weekend. Loads of fun, a good message, bags of energy and they finished their set by allowing a load of the audience onstage to join in with their last song. Absolutely superb and highly recommended.
I hadn't slept too well the first night in the van (it takes me a night to get used to the change of bed) so I was fading fast by the end of the performance. We went for a ride on the Waltzer at the fairground but headed back to the van afterwards for sex and sleep. ;-)
Saturday 9th June
Slept very well indeed and awoke to hot sunshine. Got out as soon as possible because Erik was desperate to catch:
(Yup, I had to choose the one with the Viking ship on). Finnish Folk Metal band, self-proclaimed pioneers of 'Battle Metal'. Dressed to kill with leather and furs, broadswords and red bodypaint. LOADS of fun, absolutely brilliant band and very theatrical. I may be slightly biased as they had an electric violinist, who used classic metal guitar effects and had us all yelling "fuck metal guitar solos" at stupid-am in the blazing hot sunshine while he made that violin scream like a lustful angel. Gypsy-fiddle jigs played on metal-effected violin FTW. Definitely one of the high points of the festival, I can't wait to see them again – they’re touring the UK in September and December.
Didn't think much of Aiden - although I'd been led to believe that I would like them, so I spent a little time sunbathing with one ear to Damone instead, who were a reasonably good heavy blues rock band with a female vocal. I then went for a bit more of a wander (you’ll notice a theme developing over the weekend – I find it very hard to sit still in one place for long with nothing to do). It was very hot by now, and I had no compunctions about walking around in a tiny skirt and skull-and-crossbones bikini top. No, there are no photos... ;-P
Erik and I met up again for:
(Redheads no.s 3, 4 & 5 were singer, bassist and guitarist).
They rocked mightily! I hadn't seen them since the Judgement tour and hadn't heard any of their newer stuff, but I was very pleased to hear that they are as awesome as ever. Their more recent songs seemed a bit more cheery, which was actually good to hear as their vocalist sounded extremely depressed around the Judgement era. The progressive metal sound that makes them the Pink Floyd of Metal was still very much there. They were lovely to their audience as well. :-)
(Redhead no. 5 - the singer).
Oh. My. Gods. We only stayed at the second stage after Anathema in order to not miss My Dying Bride but boy am I ever glad that we did! Gallows are a very traditional-style UK Punk band and they are utterly fantastic. :-) Loads of energy, with the singer destroying microphones and crowd-surfing often. I'd love to see them supported by our own local Pretty Young Things.
(Guitarist was strawberry blonde!)
I liked this band, but was never a huge fan. I wanted to see what they were like live and I'm glad I did. They were wonderful, really melodic and dark. I think Erik's recent overplaying of European ‘Viking Metal’ bands has inured me to 'Mr. Growly' which helped, but Aaron's voice was also very beautiful in places. In fact, he was mesmerising, with red nails and tiger stripes painted on his hands. Very sexy, even with a beard and bald patch. ;-)
After MDB, Erik went off to watch a bit of Machine Head and Slayer (who I can’t stand) and I went back to the van to get changed into something a bit more decent as the heat drained out of the day. I made it back just in time for:
Second biggest disappointment of the whole festival. I’ve been waiting to see Mazza since I missed a gig at Wembley Arena (or it may have been the Astoria) when I was 18-ish. All my friends went and told me afterwards that I had missed a cracker of a show (I wasn’t a big enough fan at the time to want to spend the money on tickets and travel). I’ve recently finished reading his fantastic auto(ish)biography and have been loving ‘Lest We Forget’ on the mp3 player on my phone. I was expecting something special but instead got something really mediocre. Yeah so his first microphone (which he quickly got bored of and threw away) had a dagger end to it. Yeah so he had a bit of a fiddle in his PVC trousers while onstage. Big deal. He was flat, annoying and boring, came into ‘Fight Song’ on the second verse and promptly forgot the rest of it until the chorus came in. There was no energy at all – in comparison to cheeky teenaged ‘nobodies’ (pun intended) Gallows; the great Marilyn Manson, supposed consummate performer and ‘God of Fuck’ might as well have been a corpse. Every one or two songs a lackey would come onstage and give him a new coat and hat, which he would quickly get bored of and throw off again. The rest of the band appeared glued to the floor. I know he’s been through a lot recently but for such a huge festival as Download, you’d think Manson would be able to hang his depression at the stage door before facing his fans.
After this dull performance, Erik went off to the second stage to see Motley Crue while I stayed at the main stage to see (you’ll all tell me this is a travesty…)
Yeah? What? ;-P They were excellent, with a stunning light display made up of a huge curtain with thousands of tiny lights in at the back of the stage, and a scaffold-style rig nearer the front. Despite apparent differences, both Mike and Chester were onstage, and both rocked mightily. Chester’s got a lovely voice, although his pitch slipped a tiny bit in a few places. Not enough to spoil the performance though. :-) I really enjoyed these guys, they played loads of classics as well as some songs from their (much softer) new album. I’ve actually not heard their new stuff yet and I am a bit suspicious that they’ve gone a bit mainstream, but I’d like to actually hear it first before I pass full judgement. All-in-all, they were a great end to the night, and refreshingly energetic after Mazza. I do wish I‘d gone to see at least some of Motley, but I do think LP were worth it.
The only real downside to LP was that their lighting rigs took so long to set up, which meant that the crowd got restless enough to start a mass bottle fight. Normally I manage to stay out of these, but this one was big enough that I did get caught in it and splashed with some extremely sticky Sprite. Erik and I were planning on watching Hot Fuzz on the big screen (they were having a Simon Pegg weekend) but I was feeling sticky and Erik was cold, so we went back to the van, got towels and toiletries, and went for a gloriously hot midnight shower. ;-)
Sunday 10th June
Slept well again, too well this time in fact, as I didn’t wake up in time to catch Parikrama or After Forever. Never mind, I had yet another wander instead, then wandered over to the Main Stage to catch some of:
I really enjoyed them, far more than I thought I would. I did feel that the non-hits they played were a bit ‘fillerish’ in style in comparison to the hits, but that may be because I only really know their hits. I should actually buy one of their albums at some point…
I then met up with Erik at the second stage for a bit of a marathon:
I don’t actually remember very much of these guys. They were OK but a bit boring. Says it all really! Erik liked them more.
I loved the album ‘One Second’ but was never particularly blown away by any of their earlier stuff. The same held true for the later stuff too. They were good, but not particularly stunning. I had been hoping to be as pleasantly surprised by them as I was by MDB, but I wasn’t.
My claim to fame is that I supported these guys at The Square in Harlow with an old band – Fruit Tree – several years ago. I hated them then and I still hate them now. Thrash Metal just doesn’t do it for me – give me melodies any day over raw noise. I appreciate its history and what it has influenced, but that doesn’t change how I feel about it!
Best. Band. Ever. Whoever thought of putting them on after Napalm Death needs to be shot though, what a crap combination. I don’t know if ND were to blame, but Within Temptation had major technical issues and came on some 20 minutes late. Erik and I were near the front in the crush and press but, despite the delay, did not get caught up in any bottle fights – WT fans are far too refined for that sort of thing. ;-) Anyway, they finally came on and asked for our help to make it a good performance as they were missing several layers of their sound. Once they started playing though, you would never have known that. They were, as always, amazing. I’m not just biased, they really were utterly fantastic. Sharon’s voice is the most gorgeous thing I have ever heard (even better than Gypsy-fiddle jigs played on metal-effected violin!) and she didn’t miss a note despite obviously being nervous and upset about the technical problems. She did mis-announce a song (probably due to a quick re-shuffle of play-list) and sang the second verse twice (following a correct first verse!) in Mother Earth, but she really was up against a hell of a lot and still sounded amazing. She didn’t drop a note. They finished with ‘Ice Queen’ which is probably one of the best songs in the world and went down a storm, perfectly, despite the missing layers. They were all true professionals and really made it up to us in the short time they were onstage. They’re touring the UK again in November and I intend to see them as often as I can.
Erik and I left the second stage area (me weeping) and caught the end of Killswitch Engage’s set (they’re dull – my new band’s version of ‘End of Heartache’ is waaay better than theirs! ;-P) as I wanted to get there early to get a good position for:
A friend of mine at NCR when I worked there turned me on to these guys. I mentioned I was in a band and liked female-fronted bands like Within Temptation, and he kindly gave me a tape of Fallen to play in the car on the way to and from the Bedford and Cambridge offices. I loved them, bought the album (twice, I lost the first copy I bought, then found it later!) and got a copy of The Open Door not long after it came out. However, this was my first live Ev experience, something I had been looking forward to for months. But it was, in fact, the biggest disappointment of the whole festival for me. Here is this band, that sounds amazing on their records, opening for the Gods Iron Maiden on the last night of the biggest alternative festival in the UK. Here is this band that have a responsibility, to both themselves and their fans, to play a truly awesome set in order to blow everyone away, make it obvious that they really do belong there on that stage, in that position on the bill.
Here is this band that sounded utterly godawful.
The other musicians were good, although the backing track was far too low in the mix for most of it and it was pretty obvious that ev is Amy’s project as the guys had no interaction with the audience at all while I was still watching. But Amy Lee could not sing. At all.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘oh, she’s just jealous.’ ‘What does she know?’ ‘She’s not even in a touring band anymore.’ (yet motherfuckers!!) But honest to the Gods, that girl could not sing. Practically every note was either flat or sharp. There was no control over power or mic technique, so that sometimes she was too soft, other times too loud. She’s a great pianist granted but I swear to you that I could have done better.
Now, I understand that it’s a bit stressful (to say the least!) to be in that position – playing to thousands and thousands of people, many of whom (especially the ones closest to the stage) are only there to get a good position for the headliner. But if it had been me, I would have thought to myself, ‘OK, here are all these people, some of whom may not like my band, some of whom may not have even heard us. But there are a lot of our fans out there and I don’t want to let them down. And if I do a really really good performance, I may even get some new fans out of these other people who are just here for the headliners. Yes I’m nervous, but I’m determined to go out there and do the best show of my life, if for no reason other than to give the headliners a run for their fucking money. Let’s GO!’ And I would have gone out there, and maybe started off a bit tense, but then relaxed into it and let the music flow through me and wow all those thousands of people, believers and unbelievers alike. I swear this to you. An old fan of Skelliga once told me, just after a gig at the Man on the Moon, that she’d seen Evanescence a few days before and rated my voice far higher than Amy Lee’s. At the time I brushed it off as flattery, I couldn’t believe that it was true. Now I’m not so sure.
I saw so many bands, some complete unknowns, that weekend that really were heartbreakingly amazing. And any one of them could have been there instead of Evanescence. Within Temptation often get compared (unfairly I think – they sound nothing alike) to them. But WT’s short set was perfect sound-wise, even with the missing layers. Now that I've seen them live, I can honestly say to you that there is no good reason why Ev are so big, while WT are still struggling (though rising fast now thankfully) apart from bad management and a fickle public. Go out and buy 'The Silent Force' and 'The Heart of Everything'. Go see Within Temptation live. Support them any way you can. I swear you will never, ever be disappointed.
Off-key notes hurt me, physically. I had to walk away. I tried – changing my position in the arena, hoping to get a better sound. But it was no good, they really were that bad. Erik and I left them to it and went to get some dinner instead.
Last year we watched both Metallica and Guns n Roses from the top of the hill as we still had good enough visuals (helped by the huge screens on each side of the stage and behind the sound desk), so we decided to go with this approach for the headliners, although we did move further down to stand under one of the speaker stacks later on.
What can I say? This band were always in the periphery for me while I was growing up. I never got saturated by them as I was with Metallica and Guns n Roses, Def Leppard and Aerosmith. I have been (very kindly) called ‘the female version of Bruce Dickinson’ by Tariq on more than one occasion (he’s such a sweetie!) but, apart from hearing them occasionally on friends’ tapes or at a club, I had very little idea of what they really sounded like.
I was, therefore, blown away. These guys are consummate performers, lovely to the audience and utterly perfectly on-key, never missing a single note (that I could tell, from the songs of theirs I do know!) they played all their classics, allowing me to discover just how many of their songs I do like/know really. Their backdrops and props were incredible, from stage high/wide banners of Eddie to a tank and a giant Eddie robot walking across the stage near the end. Bruce had so much energy and just the most amazing male voice I have ever heard. I would love to hear him and Sharon Den Adel of WT do a duet!
I just can’t get into words how much these guys wowed me. I want to be in a band like that, so full energy, so perfect even after all the years they’ve been around. Just, please, if you ever get a chance to see them, go. Drop everything and go. :-)
I was so blown away and so exhilarated by the end of the performance that I was crying. To top it all off, at the very end after they’d gone offstage for the last time and all was finally quiet, the organisers put ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ on the speakers – which had everyone in the crowds leaving the arena singing along together, skipping and joking together, like one huge family. Utterly wonderful end to an utterly wonderful weekend.
There was a brief moment of horror as we walked past the entrance to the tent camp fields – there was a repeated droning announcement over the campsite tannoy, “Will all campers please have their wristbands held in the air when entering the campsite… Will all campers please have their wristbands held in the air when entering the campsite… Will all…” It sounded like something from Schindler’s List!
We stayed the Sunday night in Jolene and left around 10:30/11-ish on Monday morning, missing most of the queues and only going for a short drive into nowhere when I set off North instead of South (I got directed the wrong way out of the camp field – well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! ;-P) It was wonderful to see Ziggy again (Tariq had been feeding him for us) but I have been on a bit of a comedown since we got back. Looking forward to the May Brawl this weekend to make up for it. :-)
I spent the weekend of my birthday on a racetrack just outside of East Midlands Airport. Last year, after three agonisingly hot and dusty days there, Erik and I swore we would not bother with Download ever again. But as the line up on the website just got better and better, I eventually gave in and got tickets. One proviso this year was that we were going to stay in our trusty camper van Jolene, rather than a tent, as last year we endured a long and agonising walk, loaded down with camping gear, from the car park to the space we finally found that was big enough for the tent; then back again in the rain at the end of the festival. So I got camper van tickets as well this year.
Best. Decision. Ever. The van field had proper portaloos rather than the uber disgusting 'long-drops' of the camping fields, and several hot shower cabins to boot. It was a little way from the arena, but less far than where we'd had to camp last year. Plus it was quieter - not full of noisy obnoxious kids yelling 'TIMMEH' at stupid-am. I guess I must be getting old, but I have decided that from now on I will do festivals in the van only. No more tents for me. It makes such a difference to be able to lock all your stuff inside, and to be able to have everything you need right there, rather than having to pack light for the sake of being able to carry everything, including a heavy tent, to your destination.
The weekend was glorious but not as hot as last year, which was a blessing. The organisers had also had something (it felt like a polyurethane substance) put down on the dirt inside the second stage, which stopped it being quite as dusty as it was last year. Unfortunately they didn't do that on the rest of the dirt areas, so it was still quite dusty, but it did help nonetheless.
Thursday 7th June
Worked a half day, rushed around packing Jolene and getting supplies, picked up Erik straight from work and drove to Donnington. Directed to a nice spot in the van field, set up van, got changed, set out to exchange tickets for wristbands. By this time it was too late to go via the usual entrance/exit we used for the rest of the weekend (it got closed early on the days before the event actually started) so went to main ticket barrier. Hardly any queues, got wristbands, went in. Had a wander around then went to the big screen where we watched Shaun of the Dead (fantastic movie, seen it before). Saw the end of the Burlesque show in The Village (no end of fire toys, pretty girls and breasts!) before going to bed.
Friday 8th June
My birthday. Erik was a sweetie and gave me full reign to do whatever I wanted all day. We had free range bacon on toasted foccacia bread (who said festivals were full of crap food? Although it was all too expensive...) for breakfast, along with a welcome cup of tea. I dragged E around the markets but couldn't afford anything (my birthday pressie from Erik was him coming with me to DL!) and didn't really want to spend that much anyway. Watched:
I've always loved this band but never really owned anything of theirs (except for a couple of songs on compilations). Really enjoyed their set, although Dave Mustaine (redhead no. 2 - Erik being no. 1 of course ;-)) seemed either a little out of it, or at least disinterested during several of their songs. The rest of the band were consummate performers however, very tight, very professional. Just what you'd expect from such a classic group. The really odd thing was that they were on so early in the day. They should definitely have been higher up the bill.
Saw this lot last year as well. They're fun, tight, classic 'METAL!!' with lots of widdly solos and histrionic vocals - very silly. I'm not a big fan of this style of metal music and I did think that they sounded a bit weak, but the (male) singer was distractingly pretty enough to counteract my scepticism.
I missed a few bands here - Porcupine Tree (apparently a bit like Anathema, who we saw later on in the festival), Hayseed Dixie (I've seen them before (at Beautiful Days) anyway), Enter Shikari (I just wanted to know if they were worth the hype they've had) Velvet Revolver (saw them on the screen during Live 8 anyway) and Korn (saw them, albeit minus Jonathan Davis last year). I'm not actually sure why/how I missed all of these bands but there you go! It wasn't because I was drinking - I don't really drink at festivals as the crowds freak me out and alcohol sends me to sleep anyway. It may have been that I went back to the van to have dinner and get changed. We finished the evening off with:
A Hip-Hop/Metal crossover band from the States, these guys were superb. I'd never seen/heard of them before, but within a few songs they had me cheering and singing along as loudly as I did for any other band that weekend. Loads of fun, a good message, bags of energy and they finished their set by allowing a load of the audience onstage to join in with their last song. Absolutely superb and highly recommended.
I hadn't slept too well the first night in the van (it takes me a night to get used to the change of bed) so I was fading fast by the end of the performance. We went for a ride on the Waltzer at the fairground but headed back to the van afterwards for sex and sleep. ;-)
Saturday 9th June
Slept very well indeed and awoke to hot sunshine. Got out as soon as possible because Erik was desperate to catch:
(Yup, I had to choose the one with the Viking ship on). Finnish Folk Metal band, self-proclaimed pioneers of 'Battle Metal'. Dressed to kill with leather and furs, broadswords and red bodypaint. LOADS of fun, absolutely brilliant band and very theatrical. I may be slightly biased as they had an electric violinist, who used classic metal guitar effects and had us all yelling "fuck metal guitar solos" at stupid-am in the blazing hot sunshine while he made that violin scream like a lustful angel. Gypsy-fiddle jigs played on metal-effected violin FTW. Definitely one of the high points of the festival, I can't wait to see them again – they’re touring the UK in September and December.
Didn't think much of Aiden - although I'd been led to believe that I would like them, so I spent a little time sunbathing with one ear to Damone instead, who were a reasonably good heavy blues rock band with a female vocal. I then went for a bit more of a wander (you’ll notice a theme developing over the weekend – I find it very hard to sit still in one place for long with nothing to do). It was very hot by now, and I had no compunctions about walking around in a tiny skirt and skull-and-crossbones bikini top. No, there are no photos... ;-P
Erik and I met up again for:
(Redheads no.s 3, 4 & 5 were singer, bassist and guitarist).
They rocked mightily! I hadn't seen them since the Judgement tour and hadn't heard any of their newer stuff, but I was very pleased to hear that they are as awesome as ever. Their more recent songs seemed a bit more cheery, which was actually good to hear as their vocalist sounded extremely depressed around the Judgement era. The progressive metal sound that makes them the Pink Floyd of Metal was still very much there. They were lovely to their audience as well. :-)
(Redhead no. 5 - the singer).
Oh. My. Gods. We only stayed at the second stage after Anathema in order to not miss My Dying Bride but boy am I ever glad that we did! Gallows are a very traditional-style UK Punk band and they are utterly fantastic. :-) Loads of energy, with the singer destroying microphones and crowd-surfing often. I'd love to see them supported by our own local Pretty Young Things.
(Guitarist was strawberry blonde!)
I liked this band, but was never a huge fan. I wanted to see what they were like live and I'm glad I did. They were wonderful, really melodic and dark. I think Erik's recent overplaying of European ‘Viking Metal’ bands has inured me to 'Mr. Growly' which helped, but Aaron's voice was also very beautiful in places. In fact, he was mesmerising, with red nails and tiger stripes painted on his hands. Very sexy, even with a beard and bald patch. ;-)
After MDB, Erik went off to watch a bit of Machine Head and Slayer (who I can’t stand) and I went back to the van to get changed into something a bit more decent as the heat drained out of the day. I made it back just in time for:
Second biggest disappointment of the whole festival. I’ve been waiting to see Mazza since I missed a gig at Wembley Arena (or it may have been the Astoria) when I was 18-ish. All my friends went and told me afterwards that I had missed a cracker of a show (I wasn’t a big enough fan at the time to want to spend the money on tickets and travel). I’ve recently finished reading his fantastic auto(ish)biography and have been loving ‘Lest We Forget’ on the mp3 player on my phone. I was expecting something special but instead got something really mediocre. Yeah so his first microphone (which he quickly got bored of and threw away) had a dagger end to it. Yeah so he had a bit of a fiddle in his PVC trousers while onstage. Big deal. He was flat, annoying and boring, came into ‘Fight Song’ on the second verse and promptly forgot the rest of it until the chorus came in. There was no energy at all – in comparison to cheeky teenaged ‘nobodies’ (pun intended) Gallows; the great Marilyn Manson, supposed consummate performer and ‘God of Fuck’ might as well have been a corpse. Every one or two songs a lackey would come onstage and give him a new coat and hat, which he would quickly get bored of and throw off again. The rest of the band appeared glued to the floor. I know he’s been through a lot recently but for such a huge festival as Download, you’d think Manson would be able to hang his depression at the stage door before facing his fans.
After this dull performance, Erik went off to the second stage to see Motley Crue while I stayed at the main stage to see (you’ll all tell me this is a travesty…)
Yeah? What? ;-P They were excellent, with a stunning light display made up of a huge curtain with thousands of tiny lights in at the back of the stage, and a scaffold-style rig nearer the front. Despite apparent differences, both Mike and Chester were onstage, and both rocked mightily. Chester’s got a lovely voice, although his pitch slipped a tiny bit in a few places. Not enough to spoil the performance though. :-) I really enjoyed these guys, they played loads of classics as well as some songs from their (much softer) new album. I’ve actually not heard their new stuff yet and I am a bit suspicious that they’ve gone a bit mainstream, but I’d like to actually hear it first before I pass full judgement. All-in-all, they were a great end to the night, and refreshingly energetic after Mazza. I do wish I‘d gone to see at least some of Motley, but I do think LP were worth it.
The only real downside to LP was that their lighting rigs took so long to set up, which meant that the crowd got restless enough to start a mass bottle fight. Normally I manage to stay out of these, but this one was big enough that I did get caught in it and splashed with some extremely sticky Sprite. Erik and I were planning on watching Hot Fuzz on the big screen (they were having a Simon Pegg weekend) but I was feeling sticky and Erik was cold, so we went back to the van, got towels and toiletries, and went for a gloriously hot midnight shower. ;-)
Sunday 10th June
Slept well again, too well this time in fact, as I didn’t wake up in time to catch Parikrama or After Forever. Never mind, I had yet another wander instead, then wandered over to the Main Stage to catch some of:
I really enjoyed them, far more than I thought I would. I did feel that the non-hits they played were a bit ‘fillerish’ in style in comparison to the hits, but that may be because I only really know their hits. I should actually buy one of their albums at some point…
I then met up with Erik at the second stage for a bit of a marathon:
I don’t actually remember very much of these guys. They were OK but a bit boring. Says it all really! Erik liked them more.
I loved the album ‘One Second’ but was never particularly blown away by any of their earlier stuff. The same held true for the later stuff too. They were good, but not particularly stunning. I had been hoping to be as pleasantly surprised by them as I was by MDB, but I wasn’t.
My claim to fame is that I supported these guys at The Square in Harlow with an old band – Fruit Tree – several years ago. I hated them then and I still hate them now. Thrash Metal just doesn’t do it for me – give me melodies any day over raw noise. I appreciate its history and what it has influenced, but that doesn’t change how I feel about it!
Best. Band. Ever. Whoever thought of putting them on after Napalm Death needs to be shot though, what a crap combination. I don’t know if ND were to blame, but Within Temptation had major technical issues and came on some 20 minutes late. Erik and I were near the front in the crush and press but, despite the delay, did not get caught up in any bottle fights – WT fans are far too refined for that sort of thing. ;-) Anyway, they finally came on and asked for our help to make it a good performance as they were missing several layers of their sound. Once they started playing though, you would never have known that. They were, as always, amazing. I’m not just biased, they really were utterly fantastic. Sharon’s voice is the most gorgeous thing I have ever heard (even better than Gypsy-fiddle jigs played on metal-effected violin!) and she didn’t miss a note despite obviously being nervous and upset about the technical problems. She did mis-announce a song (probably due to a quick re-shuffle of play-list) and sang the second verse twice (following a correct first verse!) in Mother Earth, but she really was up against a hell of a lot and still sounded amazing. She didn’t drop a note. They finished with ‘Ice Queen’ which is probably one of the best songs in the world and went down a storm, perfectly, despite the missing layers. They were all true professionals and really made it up to us in the short time they were onstage. They’re touring the UK again in November and I intend to see them as often as I can.
Erik and I left the second stage area (me weeping) and caught the end of Killswitch Engage’s set (they’re dull – my new band’s version of ‘End of Heartache’ is waaay better than theirs! ;-P) as I wanted to get there early to get a good position for:
A friend of mine at NCR when I worked there turned me on to these guys. I mentioned I was in a band and liked female-fronted bands like Within Temptation, and he kindly gave me a tape of Fallen to play in the car on the way to and from the Bedford and Cambridge offices. I loved them, bought the album (twice, I lost the first copy I bought, then found it later!) and got a copy of The Open Door not long after it came out. However, this was my first live Ev experience, something I had been looking forward to for months. But it was, in fact, the biggest disappointment of the whole festival for me. Here is this band, that sounds amazing on their records, opening for the Gods Iron Maiden on the last night of the biggest alternative festival in the UK. Here is this band that have a responsibility, to both themselves and their fans, to play a truly awesome set in order to blow everyone away, make it obvious that they really do belong there on that stage, in that position on the bill.
Here is this band that sounded utterly godawful.
The other musicians were good, although the backing track was far too low in the mix for most of it and it was pretty obvious that ev is Amy’s project as the guys had no interaction with the audience at all while I was still watching. But Amy Lee could not sing. At all.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘oh, she’s just jealous.’ ‘What does she know?’ ‘She’s not even in a touring band anymore.’ (yet motherfuckers!!) But honest to the Gods, that girl could not sing. Practically every note was either flat or sharp. There was no control over power or mic technique, so that sometimes she was too soft, other times too loud. She’s a great pianist granted but I swear to you that I could have done better.
Now, I understand that it’s a bit stressful (to say the least!) to be in that position – playing to thousands and thousands of people, many of whom (especially the ones closest to the stage) are only there to get a good position for the headliner. But if it had been me, I would have thought to myself, ‘OK, here are all these people, some of whom may not like my band, some of whom may not have even heard us. But there are a lot of our fans out there and I don’t want to let them down. And if I do a really really good performance, I may even get some new fans out of these other people who are just here for the headliners. Yes I’m nervous, but I’m determined to go out there and do the best show of my life, if for no reason other than to give the headliners a run for their fucking money. Let’s GO!’ And I would have gone out there, and maybe started off a bit tense, but then relaxed into it and let the music flow through me and wow all those thousands of people, believers and unbelievers alike. I swear this to you. An old fan of Skelliga once told me, just after a gig at the Man on the Moon, that she’d seen Evanescence a few days before and rated my voice far higher than Amy Lee’s. At the time I brushed it off as flattery, I couldn’t believe that it was true. Now I’m not so sure.
I saw so many bands, some complete unknowns, that weekend that really were heartbreakingly amazing. And any one of them could have been there instead of Evanescence. Within Temptation often get compared (unfairly I think – they sound nothing alike) to them. But WT’s short set was perfect sound-wise, even with the missing layers. Now that I've seen them live, I can honestly say to you that there is no good reason why Ev are so big, while WT are still struggling (though rising fast now thankfully) apart from bad management and a fickle public. Go out and buy 'The Silent Force' and 'The Heart of Everything'. Go see Within Temptation live. Support them any way you can. I swear you will never, ever be disappointed.
Off-key notes hurt me, physically. I had to walk away. I tried – changing my position in the arena, hoping to get a better sound. But it was no good, they really were that bad. Erik and I left them to it and went to get some dinner instead.
Last year we watched both Metallica and Guns n Roses from the top of the hill as we still had good enough visuals (helped by the huge screens on each side of the stage and behind the sound desk), so we decided to go with this approach for the headliners, although we did move further down to stand under one of the speaker stacks later on.
What can I say? This band were always in the periphery for me while I was growing up. I never got saturated by them as I was with Metallica and Guns n Roses, Def Leppard and Aerosmith. I have been (very kindly) called ‘the female version of Bruce Dickinson’ by Tariq on more than one occasion (he’s such a sweetie!) but, apart from hearing them occasionally on friends’ tapes or at a club, I had very little idea of what they really sounded like.
I was, therefore, blown away. These guys are consummate performers, lovely to the audience and utterly perfectly on-key, never missing a single note (that I could tell, from the songs of theirs I do know!) they played all their classics, allowing me to discover just how many of their songs I do like/know really. Their backdrops and props were incredible, from stage high/wide banners of Eddie to a tank and a giant Eddie robot walking across the stage near the end. Bruce had so much energy and just the most amazing male voice I have ever heard. I would love to hear him and Sharon Den Adel of WT do a duet!
I just can’t get into words how much these guys wowed me. I want to be in a band like that, so full energy, so perfect even after all the years they’ve been around. Just, please, if you ever get a chance to see them, go. Drop everything and go. :-)
I was so blown away and so exhilarated by the end of the performance that I was crying. To top it all off, at the very end after they’d gone offstage for the last time and all was finally quiet, the organisers put ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ on the speakers – which had everyone in the crowds leaving the arena singing along together, skipping and joking together, like one huge family. Utterly wonderful end to an utterly wonderful weekend.
There was a brief moment of horror as we walked past the entrance to the tent camp fields – there was a repeated droning announcement over the campsite tannoy, “Will all campers please have their wristbands held in the air when entering the campsite… Will all campers please have their wristbands held in the air when entering the campsite… Will all…” It sounded like something from Schindler’s List!
We stayed the Sunday night in Jolene and left around 10:30/11-ish on Monday morning, missing most of the queues and only going for a short drive into nowhere when I set off North instead of South (I got directed the wrong way out of the camp field – well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! ;-P) It was wonderful to see Ziggy again (Tariq had been feeding him for us) but I have been on a bit of a comedown since we got back. Looking forward to the May Brawl this weekend to make up for it. :-)
