Slam Dunk South 2016 - 30/05/2016

This was my third time attending Slam Dunk festival and it's always been the highlight of my year. Since Panic! at the Disco were announced as headliners way back in November I knew it was going to be an extremely special day, but my excitement has been rocketing up over the past few weeks as I've discovered more bands to look forward to.

Because PVRIS were the last main stage openers, it feels as though Moose Blood should have been higher up on the bill - they're a UK act and they've gathered such a dedicated fan following over the last couple of years. They easily drew one of the biggest crowds of the day, which isn't surprising when you consider that they filled the Fresh Blood stage to capacity when they headlined it last year.
However, hundreds of people were still queuing to get in when they started; the band could have easily drawn double the amount of people to their set if they'd been able to get there.
Starting with brand new song 'Honey' was a mistake. It was the only new song that made it into the set, so the rest of their stage time was just a standard Moose Blood set, the likes of which the majority of the audience had already seen. The band released brand new song 'Knuckles' on Radio 1 this evening, which would have been a perfect inclusion in their Slam Dunk set and it would have allowed them to really measure the reaction to their new songs. 'Honey' has only been out for a matter of weeks and a large proportion of the crowd already knew most of the words, proving that the new music is being accepted just as eagerly as the old; it would have been interesting to see if the other new songs went down just as well.
While the rest of the set was predictable, it was still beautifully performed. I had to miss two songs in the middle while I ran down to coldrain (I have it on good authority that the setlist below is accurate) but it was difficult to walk away. Eddy Brewerton is so damned charismatic that it's difficult not to be absorbed as soon as he walks on to a stage, made even sweeter by the fact that there's not an iota of cockiness in his persona: he's a humble guy who's found himself in an extraordinary situation and couldn't be more thankful.
'Blush' will finally be released in August - you don't want to miss it.

Setlist:

Honey

Swim Down

I Hope You're Missing Me

Chin Up

Bukowski 

I Hope You're Miserable 

Boston

Pups 

Gum

It was difficult to walk away from Moose Blood's set, but after missing coldrain when they opened for Bullet For My Valentine I was determined to catch a bit of their set. They suffered from their early stage time, having a much smaller crowd than I'd expected, but the people that were there were extremely energetic, and the band put on a great performance. I only saw a couple of their songs, but I'm interested in hearing more from these guys.

If Slam Dunk had been a month later, With Confidence's set would have been much better attended. The room was full (they're one of the most recent signings to Hopeless Records, so that's not shocking!) but when debut album 'Better Weather' releases on June 17th it's going to get So. Much. Bigger.

I featured With Confidence on one of my New Music Monday posts soon after they were signed and I've been keeping an eye on them since. The closer the album gets, the more songs they release and the more excited I find myself.
I knew I wasn't going to be able to stay for their entire set, but I made it all the way up the three flights of stairs to the tiny Fresh Blood stage and managed to catch the start of newest single 'Keeper'. Standing at the back of the room and watching the crowd explode was sheer insanity; you don't get that reaction with new bands too often, but With Confidence mean a lot to a lot of people already. Vocalist Jayden Seeley shared that they "were a bit worried because this room is off to the side a bit, we didn't know if anyone would be able to find it, but this is fucking beautiful!" and it really was, particularly for how early in the day they performed.
In the excitement of the day and seeing so many bands, I almost managed to forget about With Confidence - don't judge me! But despite the fact that they nearly slipped my mind, I was sat at my desk today humming to myself: one lyric stuck on repeat in my head all day, a phrase that was pop with a bite to it. I was surprised when I figured it out and it was 'Keeper', but that's testament to the fact that they write extremely songs: I challenge you to listen to it and not have that chorus stuck in your head for days.
I managed to hear a song from each of their eras during the beginning of their set - from the brand new 'Keeper' back to 'Tonight', from their debut EP - and I'm going to need to explore their back catalogue thoroughly because there wasn't a dull moment. I would have loved to stay for their whole set, but I'm hoping to see them when they open for Knuckle Puck and Real Friends in December.  

Setlist:
Keeper
Tonight
Take Me Away
Higher
Godzilla (*)
London Lights (*)
We'll Be Okay (*)

(*) setlist according to setlist.fm

Listen to 'Bulletproof' here - an instant hit.

Setlist:
Daughter of the Sea
Speaking in Tonuges
Bulletproof
Rising Up
Winter Kiss
Brother in Arms (*)
Bones (*)
I Want Out (*)

(*) setlist according to setlist.fm

Waterparks set was my most anticipated of the day. After featuring them on New Music Monday I couldn't help buying 'Cluster', the EP they released back in January. It's all I've listened to for the past two weeks... There's just something about this band. They're going to be huge.
As well as this being Waterparks first appearance at Slam Dunk, it was their first time ever playing outside of America - I was grateful to be a part of the experience. It was obvious that they were still nervous despite this being their third date, but watching them setting up you could see the excitement building between the trio. Vocalist Awsten Knight was determined to get a fog machine, convincing vape-users to get up on stage with them, but when one of the staff told him that vaping wasn't allowed in the room he protested his innocence, shouting "I'm sorry, I don't make the rules! You were almost the best human fog machine I've ever had!".
It was a funny start to what became a hilarious set. There were a few issues with technical stuff towards the beginning of the set - things that were out of the band's control, but quickly got resolved - and everything was going smoothly until the end of 'Silver', when guitarist Geoff Wigington got a little too enthusiastic and broke his guitar strap. Awsten started talking to the crowd, explaining that they were from America "if you can't tell by me saying y'all and being ignorant of most things", joking that he liked England because "y'alls money's tight. We went to the Queen's house too!". Asking if anyone had met the Queen he was left disappointed, but he shared the fact that he once chased Adam Lazzara around at Projekt Revolution, running alongside his golf kart on the opposite side of the fence before meeting him in a signing tent later and begging him to hang out with him.
It was the smartest thing he could have said. The crowd had been getting a little restless, wondering who the blue-haired punk was and why he was rambling up on stage, but in that moment everyone was on his side. People were shouting out other anecdotes about famous people, and when Awsten shared that he'd been trying to meet Brendon Urie for three days he was heartbroken to find that a girl in the front row had already met him. Awsten saying "I'm straight I guess, but if I was gonna go gay for a dude it would be Brendon Urie" got more cheers than a fair few of the bands that I saw in the day!
Things have changed incredibly for Waterparks in the past year, but they're still extremely down to earth, and Awsten proved that with his conversation with the crowd. Being able to build up a rapport with the crowd that quickly when it's your first time even going to another country, let alone playing there? That's an impressive skill. Checking if Geoff had fixed his strap yet, he quipped "I'm not that charismatic, I can't carry on a conversation with this many people!", but Awsten has a natural, easy personality that makes him impossible not to like. Whereas some of the sets throughout the day featured hardly any interaction with the crowd, Geoff's strap breaking gave the audience a chance to get to know the guys as people rather than just performers: it made the set very memorable indeed.
'Cluster' was only released in the UK in the last few days of May, to coincide with their appearance at Slam Dunk, but a fair amount of people were already familiar with the lead single, 'Crave'. The other songs from 'Cluster' were well-received, and I'm looking forward to the EP getting the recognition that it deserves on the side of the pond. My favourite song on the release is unquestionably 'Pink', and I was elated when Awsten announced it as his favourite too - that should mean it'll be a dead cert in their setlist when they come back to play Reading festival in August. He did forget the words a tiny bit (I think you would too, if you'd hardly ever played the song live before and it had been out for over six months!) but covered it smoothly, noticing that the spotlights had been turned pink and shouting "you made the lights pink? I appreciate that!". The end is thrashy and uncontrolled, and Awsten proudly told the crowd "that last chord was improv, normally the song doesn't end like that! 'Cause that's punk. We can be punk together". His earnest, eager to please attitude is so refreshing compared to the sullen and overly-dramatic moodiness that seems to launch most bands at the moment.
I didn't think the reaction was going to get any better after 'Crave', but when Awsten challenged the crowd to give them their first European crowd surfer, the place nearly exploded. The moment 'I'm a Natural Blue' started I lost count of how many people were up in the air, and with a circle pit bursting out a moment later it was surreal. Waterparks are most definitely pop-punk - some people even describing them as a boy band - but with the independent feel to their sound giving it a garage essence, it lends itself perfectly to small and sweaty shows like this one.
I knew that Waterparks were headlining Camden Barfly the night after Slam Dunk South, and I had no intention of going: if I was seeing them live on the Monday, why did I need to see them on the Tuesday too? But Awsten started promoting the show while Geoff was fixing his guitar strap, and he happened to mention that it was the first headline show they'd ever played outside of their home state of Texas. The first headline show ever outside of Texas? EVER?!
I have no self-control. OF COURSE I WENT TO THEIR HEADLINE SHOW TOO! The review of that will be up at some point tomorrow. Or maybe Friday...

Setlist:
Mad All The Time
Crave
Silver
No Capes
Pink
I'm a Natural Blue

If I'd had my way, I would have gone home after their set. There was no way anyone was going to top them, so it felt like it was going to be all downhill from there. Sadly, I followed their set up with a brief visit to Mayday Parade: their set would normally interest me and get me singing along but it fell flat. Whether that was the band or my Waterparks withdrawal setting in, I'm never going to be sure.

Setlist:
One of Them Will Destroy the Other (*)
Jamie All Over (*)
When You See My Friends (*)
Keep In Mind, Transmogrification is a New Technology (*)
Three Cheers For Five Years
Hollow
Oh Well, Oh Well
I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About
Let's Be Honest
Black Cat
Jersey (*)

(*) setlist according to setlist.fm

This was my third time seeing Dead! and I'd been determined to make it for their full set, but due to overcrowding issues I was ten minutes late. Normally it would be my fault, because I don't give myself enough time to get somewhere through all of the people, but I'd been waiting to get up the stairs for over half an hour!

The majority of people waiting to get up the stairs were desperate to see Real Friends, who released their second album - 'The Home Inside My Head' - just last week. Because I wanted to see Dead!, I popped into their set for about a minute, and I was so disappointed that I couldn't see more because they seemed on top of their game. I haven't heard the new album in full yet, but it seems to me that Real Friends have finally matured: this album could do big things for them. Based on the amount of people flooding into the room, they were the highlight for a lot of people.

I managed to get to the top of the stairs at the Fresh Blood stage as the opening chord for Dead!'s new single 'You're So Cheap' rang out. If you haven't heard if yet you should take the time to do that - while the recorded version isn't as good as the live version, it'll still embed itself into your brain.
Vocalist Alex Mountford is a menace on stage, raw energy and passion for the songs turning him into a frenzied hurricane whipping up the crowd, his already rough vocal degrading into primal almost-screaming. Live, their songs are unpolished, but it's that rough around the edges sound that is getting Dead! so much attention: it's the reason why they're getting so much acclaim for their constant touring schedule. The songs are good recorded, but they aren't spectacular - they just don't stand out from the crowd, and they feel over-produced. These are songs that are written to be performed, and not many bands can do that successfully anymore.
As well as performing at Download and Reading and Leeds, Dead! have just been announced as the support for two of Moose Blood's festival warm-up shows: if that doesn't successfully complete phase one of their takeover, nothing will.

Setlist:
Enough Enough (*)
Phantom (*)
Enemy (*)
You're So Cheap
Alaska
Up For Ransom
Skin

(*) thanks to Lauren-Alice Golding for the setlist!

Both crowd and band were smaller than I'd expected at Away Days set. As you can see above, there should have been three, but instead there was just one drunk Jono Yates (yep, putting Jono in the bar to perform was a great plan...) alone with his guitar, putting on a show that was a mixture of stand-up comedy, trainwreck and genius.
The stand-up comedy element came because drunk Jono is hilarious. This was the third day of the festival and based on his social media accounts there wasn't a moment that Jono wasn't smashed off his face. That probably explains him turning up at every day on the search for a guitar to be able to perform, and definitely goes all the way to explaining why a set that should have been an absolute triumph turned into a bit of a mess.
With gems such as "the room has emptied a little bit and I am very appreciative of that. If you wanna get a prime spot for Creeper, now's the right time to fuck off" and "this has been the best set of the whole event. Not THE best set, MY best set! Yes, this has been my best performance! Thanks for being a part of it, the other two were fucking awful!" it definitely showed Jono's personality, but it wasn't the most professional launch for the band. However, it's memorable. That's where the genius part comes in. I can't imagine anyone in the room forgetting Away Days set, and with songs as catchy as 'Messiah' it does make you remember the music too.
Closing with 'Through the Night', Jono shared that it was a song about being in a band and how "as time goes on you begin to despise everything about them". He passionately shouted to the crowd, "if you're in a band don't let anyone tell you what to do!" before laughing, berating himself by saying "nah, I sound like a cunt. If you're in a band, quit, and get a real job, ya fucking layabouts!". Looking around the room and seeing Fearless Vampire Killer's vocalist Kier Kemp and ex-Kids in Glass Houses frontman Aled Phillips watching the set and absolutely pissing themselves laughing, it seems like Jono might have hit the nail on the head with that.
Their debut EP was released less than a month ago, and these first shows should have been the start to a beautiful second chance. I have less than no idea where the other two members were, or if they're even still in the band at this point (band? Solo project?) but I'm hoping we'll get some news out of camp Away Days fairly soon, because I'm worried.

I'd hoped to hear new Mallory Knox this weekend, because they premiered 'Ghost in the Mirror' at Slam Dunk two years ago and used it as the launching point for 'Asymmetry' - one of the reasons that it became as successful as it did. Alas, it was not meant to be, but hopefully there'll be news of the third album in the near future.

The second acoustic set that I managed to see a good chunk of was Rob Lynch, which went remarkably more smoothly that the Away Days set. Walking in on 'Whiskey' I instantly started to sing along: Rob's music is not something that you can passively listen to.
Unfortunately, sometimes nature calls at a festival, and when you spot a secret bathroom hidden away at the back of the stage you just need to sneak off - anything to avoid the portaloos. I did miss a few songs in the middle of Rob's set because of the queue (which was quickly becoming the theme of the day) but I got back in time to join in the harmonious chant of "No, no, no, it's not the end of the world" at the end of 'Hawking', which was being echoed by every person in the room - including the bar staff!

I couldn't get in to the Fresh Blood stage to see Boston Manor or Creeper because the queue was far back along the corridor throughout both of their sets. I'd imagined a lot of people had been waiting all day to see New Years Day, but I was completely wrong.
Walking in on their headline set was like walking into a ghost town compared to the Fresh Blood stage during the rest of the day. As I mentioned earlier, With Confidence, Waterparks and Dead! all had massive crowds - obviously Boston Manor and Creeper did, with the room being at capacity for both of their sets - but New Years Day had a maximum of 60-70 people. For a headline set, that's a disaster.
Creeper deserved to headline this room.

The salt in the wound stings even more when you realise that just downstairs, in the tiny acoustic stage in the bar, The Rocket Summer had a bigger crowd than New Years Day, and a much better response. The raucous singalong to 'So Much Love' greatly surpassed the reaction he received at Warped UK in October, and while I didn't stick around for long I was pleased by how happy and at ease Bryce Avery looked surrounded by avid fans.

Coming on stage late and finishing ten minutes early, I didn't see as much Of Mice and Men as I would have liked. Their show at Brixton O2 Academy was insanity: I'd been expecting to see much of the same, with a potential new song thrown in there, but unfortunately I was wrong.

Setlist:
Bones Exposed
Feels Like Forever
Glass Hearts (*)
Broken Generation (*)
Never Giving Up (*)
Public Service Announcement (*)
O. G. Loko (*)
You Make Me Sick (*)
Would You Still Be There? (*)
Another You (*)
Second and Sebring (*)
The Depths
You're Not Alone

(*) setlist according to setlist.fm

Having seen Panic! at the Disco back in January, and with tickets already booked to one of their Alexandra Palace shows in November, I only popped in to the middle of their set to hear some of the new songs ('Golden Days' and 'Crazy=Genius') in a live environment.

Setlist:
Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time (*)
Time To Dance (*)
Vegas Lights (*)
LA Devotee (*)
The Ballad of Mona Lisa (*)
Hallelujah (*)
Let's Kill Tonight
Victorious
Girls/Girls/Boys
Golden Days
Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind)
Crazy=Genius
Nicotine
Miss Jackson
Nine in the Afternoon
Bohemian Rhapsody (cover)
I Write Sins Not Tragedies
This Is Gospel
Emperor's New Clothes

(*) setlist according to setlist.fm

The King Blues was where I finished my night. (Well, apart from a brief foray to the Uprawr tent to see Shikari Sound System, but we won't go there...)

Comparing their crowd to the crowds of all of the other headliners (I made sure to pop into all eight of them, just so I'd be able to state this definitely), The King Blues stage was in the wrong place. The way that Slam Dunk South works is main stage on the grass, second stage tucked around the corner, and what should be the biggest stage at the end of a road, surrounded by bus stops. Normally the audience falls back to behind the bus stops, but The King Blues pulled the biggest crowd the stage saw all day (apart from the first 10-20 minutes of Zebrahead's set, in which they had an extremely large crowd that, sadly, left them to go to the main stage to watch New Found Glory) and they had - at most - ten lines of people.

Meanwhile, over in The Story So Far you could hardly move because of how many people were straining to fit into the room. If the stages had been the other way around, with The King Blues inside and The Story So Far at the end of the road... It would have tackled a lot of the over-crowding issues that the festival suffered with throughout the day, and more people could have seen the bands of their choice. 

Plus, from the back of The King Blues you could still hear what was going on at Panic! at the Disco on main stage... There was just too much interference to really enjoy their set. It was lucky that Of Mice and Men finished as early as they did. 

Setlist:
Let's Hang the Landlord (*)
Set the World on Fire (*)
I Want You (*)
Mr Music Man (*)
My Boulder (*)
Off With Their Heads (*)
We Ain't Never Done
The Streets Are Ours
Headbutt
Taxi Driver
I Got Love
Hold On Tight
Under the Fog (ft. catch twenty-two)
Save The World, Get The Girl

(*) setlist according to setlist.fm

That's a wrap! Now I'm off to sleep for about three weeks to recover... Thanks for checking out my review! 

Of Mice and Men - Brixton O2 Academy, 29/03/15

I didn't manage to hear much of the set from opening band Volumes, because the queue for Of Mice and Men was so long that we didn't get in until much before the end of their set, but what I saw I most definitely enjoyed. Much heavier than I expected, Volumes definitely have something special, and I'm going to have to listen to more of their music in the future, as this was the first time that I'd actually heard of them. If the crowd had been completely in the building before the majority of their set was over, I can imagine that they would have gotten an amazing reaction, but from where I was the response seemed muted but polite, which isn't what these guys deserved. 

It felt as though a lot of people in the room were only there to see the support act, The Amity Affliction, Australian metalcore heroes. As soon as they walked out on to the stage, the crowd started going utterly crazy, and that didn't change throughout the entirety of their set. I hadn't listened to The Amity Affliction before (don't hate me, I'm just not very good at listening to heavier music) but at the start of their set I was extremely impressed. 'Pittsburgh' was a brilliant display of their style - as well as being a band with a clean vocalist and a screamer, you could understand nearly every word coming out of the screamers mouth. This might not seem like a big deal, but one of the most important things to me is lyrical content, so it was brilliant to really get a feel for their emotionally charged songs. I can definitely understand why so many people are so affected and appreciative of this band. Too often in heavy, metalcore music, I find that it feels too dense. This might sound like a strange way to describe it, but that's what it is: instead of being a well written piece of music, it comes out sounding like a wall of noise, making it impossible to decipher one guitar from another. This is not the case with The Amity Affliction, whose songs are less a wall of noise and more a finely crafted blanket of sound, which means it's really refreshing in such a heavy genre.

However, by the end of the set I just felt as though I'd heard the same song a few times, which left me with a disappointing feeling. Don't think that I didn't enjoy it, because I did, but it got quite old quite fast, which is a shame. There were some stand out moments, most notably 'Chasing Ghosts' and 'Never Alone' (which, bizarrely, had an intro that reminded me of 'Shameless' by Kids In Glass Houses), and during the latter, with a call to "Get up on your partner's shoulders and fucking boogie!" really getting the crowd going. But the memorable moments were few and far between, making it hard for me to really recall any of them even a day later. I think it could take a while before The Amity Affliction have enough material to create a setlist that will include both rises and falls and will be able to hold the attention of an entire audience of this size, but they're well on their way. 

Setlist:

Pittsburgh

Greens Avenue

Lost & Fading

Chasing Ghosts

Death's Hand

The Weigh Down

Never Alone

Open Letter

Don't Lean On Me

But of course, most of the crowd were in attendance to see Of Mice and Men play their biggest headline show to date. With this being a part of the tour supporting the release of the deluxe reissue of their latest album, 'Restoring Force: Full Circle', it wasn't a surprise that most of the songs played were off of the newest album, but it was brilliant to hear a few old gems thrown into the mix. This is my third time seeing Of Mice and Men in the last year, and I had been disappointed with their set structure, wanting to hear more of a mixture of their new and old material, but this show most definitely fulfilled that wish. Kicking off with 'Public Service Announcement' wasn't a surprise, but the audience screamed back every word and this brilliant response continued throughout the rest of the show, during new song 'Broken Generation' and older song 'O. G. Loko'. 

The only low point of the entire set to me was quite early on, and it was 'Let Live'. I'm not sure why I was so disillusioned with it, because the rest of the set was practically flawless, but it just didn't seem to translate as well into the live environment. I know clean vocalist Aaron Pauley isn't the one that sang on the original track, and as it's one of my favourite 'Of Mice and Men' songs this might be why I wasn't so convinced by it, because it didn't seem as powerful and captivating as the recorded version.

However, I'm happy to say that this was only an issue with that one song. The rest of the set was brilliantly performed, with no other hitches in the set, and the energy didn't let up for a single moment. Running through nearly the entirety of their newest album, songs like 'Feels Like Forever', 'Bones Exposed' and 'Would You Still Be There?' were all received with adoration from all of the fans, proving that Of Mice and Men are just going from strength to strength with every album that they release. With these being their only UK tour dates in 2015, it's definitely pointing towards the fact that work on their fourth album will be starting soon, and it's going to be very interesting indeed to see what they decide to do with it. Being able to perform in venues as big as Brixton O2 Academy is a brilliant sign, but if the next album goes as well as I think it will, I won't be surprised if they can sell out this venue one or two nights in a row. 

My personal highlight of the set was 'Second and Sebring', the song that really did catapult Of Mice and Men into public awareness. With Austin Carlile encouraging everyone to scream along at the top of their lungs, it was unsurprising when everyone willingly participated, leading to one of the most goosebump-inducing moments of the night; the band completely stopping to allow the crowd to lead them through the final chorus. After such an electrifying moment, it was actually a relief for the band to go off stage before their encore, and with the crowd screaming "One more song" for a good few minutes, it was fabulous when Austin bounced back out onstage and declared that they were going to be doing two more. If you've been to an Of Mice and Men show before, you'll know that they nearly always finish with 'The Depths' and 'You're Not Alone', so this setlist wasn't really surprising, but it doesn't really matter when the songs sound this good. If you haven't been to an Of Mice and Men show before, what are you doing with yourself? They're one of the tightest live bands, particularly out of those with two singers, and the songs are all so catchy that you'll be humming them under your breath for days afterwards. If you live near any of the venues that they're hitting towards the end of this tour, and the tickets haven't sold out yet, I'd passionately recommend you go along - you will not be disappointed.

Setlist:

Public Service Announcement

Glass Hearts

Broken Generation

O. G. Loko

Let Live

You Make Me Sick

This One's For You

Feels Like Forever

Bones Exposed

Would You Still Be There?

Another You

Identity Disorder

Second and Sebring

-

The Depths

You're Not Alone

Linkin Park - O2 Arena, 23/11/14

At first glance, Of Mice and Men might seem like a strange support choice for a band like Linkin Park - while they have similarities your mind jumps automatically to the differences, making it seem that it's obviously going to be an uncomfortable fit. Thankfully, completely the opposite was true at this show. Playing a set nearly completely comprised of songs off of their most recent release 'Restoring Force', the crowd easily got involved and seemed rather impressed by Of Mice and Men's performance. Starting off with 'Public Service Announcement' was punchy and showed the audience straight away what this band are exactly about, but choosing to slow it down in the middle with 'Another You' was the emotional moment that was necessary to really cement them in peoples minds. Screamer Austin Carlile was bounding around the stage for their entire nearly forty minute set, constantly walking out on to the runway that jutted into the crowd, while singer Aaron Pauley demonstrates a vocal that is a large reason that they stand out of the scene among other singer-screamer double acts going around at the moment. Personally, I was disappointed not to hear some of their older songs (such as 'Second and Sebring') but with the announcement that they're coming back to London to headline Brixton in April, hopefully they'll make a set that is comprised more of a mixture of albums than just the most recent one. 

Setlist: 

Public Service Announcement

Feels Like Forever

Bones Exposed

Would You Still Be There?

Another You

Identity Disorder

The Depths

You're Not Alone

Any band that can boast two headline shows in a row at the O2 Arena (this night, and the night following) obviously put on an amazing live show, and that's one thing that definitely cannot be faulted from Linkin Park. The double team of Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda get the energy up from the moment they burst out on stage, and they manage to keep it there consistently throughout the night, only mellowing out during the medley of 'Leave Out All The Rest', 'Shadow of the Day' and 'Iridescent' - the last of which featured a guest appearance by Aaron Pauley of Of Mice and Men - and later on towards the climax of the set during 'Waiting For The End'. However, even with the lulls, it just proves how well Linkin Park can craft a set - the rises and falls work perfectly with the crowd, calming them down and making them sing along to the emotional songs before bursting back into action on the next best-selling hit. If you can think of a big name Linkin Park song, they played it tonight: 'Given Up', 'One Step Closer', 'Papercut', 'Numb', 'Faint' (featuring Austin Carlile) and 'What I've Done' all being songs that could not be missing from this set because they are such vital songs from their back catalogue, but in reality this seems like a set that doesn't really need much changing - it doesn't feel like anything is missing, and it doesn't seem like anything really needs to be taken out (well, apart from the dubstep remix of 'Castle of Glass', but let's not go there). I haven't really listened to 'The Hunting Party', their newest release, so some of the newer songs went over my head and left me feeling a little bit flat, but watching all of the other fans around me going crazy and screaming every word, it left me with the feeling that I was watching something extremely special happening in this room. With all of the band having solos to show off their individual talents, it also shows how vital each and every member of this band is, and it's no surprise that Linkin Park headlined Download Festival just a few months ago and they are just getting bigger and bigger. Yes, there was a small technical hitch during 'Burn It Down', but sometimes things do just go wrong and it was to their credit that they continued on despite that, not letting anything get in the way of them putting on a brilliantly absorbing performance. If you haven't seen a Linkin Park live show, you're making a mistake - this is my second time seeing them, and they were just as amazing this time as they were four years ago, showing that their talent is not waning with the years - so I'd seriously suggest that next time they tour near you, you go or you will regret it. 

Setlist: 

Guilty All The Same

Given Up

With You 

One Step Closer

Papercut

Rebellion

Wastelands

Castle of Glass

Leave Out All The Rest/Shadow of the Day/Iridescent (featuring Aaron Pauley) 

Numb/Encore

Waiting For The End

The Final Masquerade

Lying From You

Somewhere I Belong

In The End 

Faint (featuring Austin Carlile)

-
Burn It Down 

Lost In The Echo

New Divide 

Until It's Gone

What I've Done 

Bleed It Out

Reading Festival 22-23-24/08/2014

I'm not gonna write this like a normal review; examining and cross-examining all of the acts I saw in this, the best weekend of my life, because that would take the fun out of things. At festivals, I think one of the best things to do is to have fun, make friends and investigate new bands you've never thought to listen to before, all things of which I did a lot of. 

However, as I have this review blog, when it came to bands I loved and had seen before, or bands that I had (usually inaccurate) preconceptions about, I thought it would be much more beneficial for you for me to talk about things that I feel I am an expert in the field of. Am I an expert of dance music? No. 100% not. So am I reviewing any of the (snippets of) dance songs I discovered this weekend, while running from the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage to the main stage? No. Do I feel as though I'm an expert in rock music? Hell yes. So that's what you'll be getting from this review. Now you know this, it feels like time to jump in, so let's start with... 

Friday:

First up was the highly anticipated 'global debut' (actually the third global show, but a festival debut is pretty decent boasting too) of ex-My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. With the release of 'Action Cat' just two months ago, many of the songs featured in the set were unknown, but that didn't make it any less fun or any less compelling. Gerard Way is a frontman and a half; charismatic, charming and filled with boundless energy. Wearing the blue suit instantly recognisable from the recently released 'Hesitant Alien' album artwork, the crowd in the well-filled tent were automatically bouncing along to the opening notes of 'Bureau', followed by the singalong 'Action Cat'. His third song (which I've since found out was titled 'Zero Zero' was captivating and it's not often you see a crowd so enthralled with unknown songs. Breaking it up with 'Millions', the track that started the rumour mill about a solo project so many months ago, is a stroke of genius, keeping the crowd interested throughout 'Juarez', 'Drugstore Perfume' and 'Get The Gang Together', which featured Gerard screaming like a man possessed, exuding everything that made My Chemical Romance so spectacular. The lyrics to 'No Shows' were released last week and despite that being relatively recently fans were already singing along as though the album had been released. Finishing the set up with The Jesus and Mary Chain cover 'Snakedriver' might have seemed like an odd move, but I think it puts a nice comma in the sentence that is Gerard Way's new chapter. And with US shows in October just announced and the promise of UK shows in November, we'll be seeing more of Gerard Way soon, and that can never be a bad thing.

After a bit of a wander about and some encounters with bands I've been meaning to check out, I arrived at main stage to see Deaf Havana who, sadly, just didn't seem to be in best form today. Their headline show at Oxford in April was absolutely superb but today James Veck-Gilodi seemed to be struggling through the songs, making '22', 'Boston Square' and 'Anemophobia' seemed strained and messy which was a real shame.

Contrastingly, after running across field to Mallory Knox I couldn't have been more pleased. Arriving in the tent for my personal favourite 'Wake Up' I was surprised and proud to see such an amazing crowd reaction for the band who were main stage openers last year. With 'Asymmetry' coming out in just two months time I was expecting a good mix of new and old material and I wasn't disappointed, with the set consisting of 'Death Rattle', '1949', 'Hello' and 'Lighthouse', dispersed with new song 'The Remedy' and recent release 'QOD II'. When I saw Mallory Knox at Slam Dunk in May I felt a little disillusioned, with them not really living up to my expectations, but give them time to have a break and a stage like this and they certainly do shine. With their upcoming November tour featuring support from Frnkiero and the cellabration it was already worth checking out, but if you're only going for Frank, please stick around for an amazing performance by Mallory Knox.

Following Mallory Knox, with another run across the field, I arrived at Jimmy Eat World's main stage set in the middle of 'Praise Chorus'. With their second set, headlining the Lock Up Stage later in the day, rumoured to be the tenth anniversary playback of the 'Futures' album in full, I wasn't sure what to expect from this set, but I saw a brilliant mix of the best of an underrated band. For most of the set (comprised of 'My Best Theory', 'Big Casino', 'Chase This Light', 'Let It Happen', 'I Will Steal You Back' and 'Authority Song') there was little to none crowd reaction, but finishing up with two fan favourites, 'Sweetness' and 'The Middle' saw people running to the stage to dance to songs they would have been craving to hear live ten years ago. Jimmy Eat World might be one of the most experienced bands on the bill today, but they're definitely not one of the most disappointing.

The same can be said for Glaswegian rockers Twin Atlantic. After (yet another) trek back up to the NME/BBC Radio 1 tent, I managed to hear the end of 'Free', followed by the beautifully soul-touching acoustic 'Crash Land'. 'Make A Beast Of Myself' had the entire crowd singing along, mimicking vocalist Sam McTrusty's accent on the word 'universe' proving how much the fans care about this band. Wrapping up with 'Heart and Soul', the first single from their recently released third album 'The Great Divide' (which went into the UK Official Album Charts in a brilliant sixth position) was predictable but memorable and I will definitely be catching these guys again.

Next up were Enter Shikari who, sadly, were not having a great day. Due to distortion and mic problems, it just wasn't their finest house. With drummer Rob Rolfe wearing a 'Love Syria' shirt and singer Rou Reynolds focusing on educating and inspiring the crowd to 'Say no to homophobia. No to sexism and misogyny. No to the slimy 1% who own 50% of the world's money', the music side of things is just lacking. 'Sorry, You're Not A Winner' evokes the expected crowd response of clapping and chanting along and 'Arguing With Thermometers' makes people go crazy, but other than that the set seems odd and unrecognisable. But this could have just been the distortion and mic problems, with sound fluctuating between loud and quiet and an inability to make out which song was being played at points throughout the set, as I've never seen a bad Shikari show.

Later on in the day, the second Jimmy Eat World set was revealed to be the highly anticipated 'Futures' in full, showing a much better reaction from the crowd that was mostly comprised of hardcore Jimmy fans. Sadly, I only caught the beginning of the show, as I was beyond excited to see Paramore, but they seemed to be performing better than they did in their earlier set.

Before I even start writing about Paramore, I'm gonna be completely honest and say this is going to be biased. Paramore have been one of my favourite bands for as long as I can remember and I've never managed to catch any of their live shows. So I obviously found their performance completely flawless. I'm sure you've already heard about the sound issues during 'Ignorance' and the acappella performance of 'The Only Exception', but those issues just made the show a once in a lifetime experience. Yes, it was a shame that the headline set that should have been an absolute triumph was riddled with issues, but it just showed what professionals Paramore is comprised of. Instead of taking a break, leaving the crowd booing and unhappy, they carried on despite the fact that everything was against them, and they battled through and came out on top. Anyone who has ever accused vocalist Hayley Williams of lip-syncing could completely eat their words, because her vocal performance was completely on form and utterly free of pitching issues. I've already admitted that I'm completely biased, but I like to think it was rightly so. All of my preconceptions about Paramore were absolutely confirmed. They truly are one of the best bands on the planet.

Setlist:
Still Into You
That's What You Get
For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
Ignorance
Pressure
Decode
The Only Exception
Last Hope
Brick By Boring Brick
Misery Business
Let The Flames Begin
Part II
Proof
Ain't It Fun

On the other hand, fellow co-headliners Queens Of The Stone Age just weren't Reading material. Playing their most popular song, 'No One Knows', second in their set caused a large chunk of the crowd to flood away to other stages, or to even leave the festival early. Singer Josh Homme seemed too introverted and melancholy after the absorbing stage presence of Hayley, making the set feel long and boring. It feels like they are a band much more suited for a headline slot at Download or Sonisphere. While most people were doubting Paramore's suitability as a headline act, it seems that people should have been worrying about Queens of The Stone Age's ability much more. Without even thanking the crowd or saying goodnight the set ended rather abruptly, making the conclusion of Friday night rather anti-climactic.

Saturday: 

The first band I had previous knowledge of on the Saturday were Lonely The Brave, who played at Warped Tour UK back in November and performed on BBC Radio 1 Rocks back in June. Their set at Warped Tour was pretty forgettable and they were completely overshadowed at Radio 1 Rocks by the other superb bands who were performing in that week (namely Of Mice and Men, Mallory Knox and Lower Than Atlantis). And no matter how much I wanted Reading to tell a different story, it was just much of the same. The start of the set seemed stronger than usual, with vocalist David Jakes communicating with the crowd and proving his soaring vocals are something that sets them apart from the rest of the upcoming British rock scene, but after ten minutes every song in the set sounded exactly the same. Maybe, when they have a few albums under their belt, they'll have more of a variety, but at this current time they really aren't living up to their potential.

A band who were living up to their potential are American Authors, best known for song of the summer 'Best Day Of My Life', who absolutely smashed their first UK festival appearance. A lot of the songs were relatively unknown but that didn't stop the crowd from bouncing along at every opportunity, showing that these guys really are ones to watch.

Running from American Authors over to the BBC Introducing stage for their secret set, it was an utter disappointment to approach the tent and discover Jake Bugg wailing out his so-called 'hit songs'. For a secret set the crowd turn out was appalling and I wasn't about to add to it, leaving immediately to catch the end of Royal Blood's set (who, despite being a band I'd never listened to before, blew me away).

Next up, Lower Than Atlantis, who have been throwing out hits left, right and centre in the lead-up to their self-titled album release next month. The set started off much the same as any Lower Than Atlantis set; 'If The World Was To End', 'Love Someone Else' and 'Motorway of Life' evoking the same usual, amazing singalongs, followed by 'Marilyn's Mansion' which seemed like an odd choice for a festival but got everyone moving more than I expected it would. 'Deadliest Catch' kept the tempo up and continued the throwback to older tunes, followed by 'Another Sad Song', with the lyrics "we all make mistakes from time to time, unfortunately for me, being me was mine", giving a heart-breaking look inside the head of vocalist and lyricist Mike Duce. Following this touching moment with 'English Kids In America' perfectly exemplifies the development that the band have gone through in the last three years, with 'Beech Like The Tree' inserted between the new songs, meaning that 'Here We Go' closed their set. This was a complete triumph for a band who have gone from strength to strength and can only get stronger. If Lower Than Atlantis are performing at Reading Festival next year, they need to be on main stage and they need to be pretty high up on the bill; it's only what they deserve.

Setlist:
If The World Was To End
Love Someone Else
Motorway of Life
Marilyn's Mansion
Deadliest Catch
Another Sad Song
English Kids In America
Beech Like The Tree
Here We Go

Following Lower Than Atlantis, over on main stage, were The Hives. I've only ever known two songs by The Hives; 'Tick Tick BOOM' and 'Hate To Say I Told You So', so I didn't have any expectations from their live performance, but it was the weirdest thing I've ever experienced. Period. At the halfway point in 'Tick Tick BOOM' all of the members froze on stage for a good minute or two, while ninjas swapped members guitars. Singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist got all of the crowd sitting down, shouting "Don't stand up, I'll tell you when to stand up! I said sit down, don't take a picture!" before taking a selfie with a fan and running further and further out into the crowd, with a worried security guard tailing him the entire way. The banter was impeccable ("Everybody shut up for a while!") and despite the fact that it was completely bizarre and one of the most random things I've ever witnessed, I'm not gonna be forgetting The Hives live show any time soon.

Back over to the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage and it's time for one of my all time favourite bands, Don Broco. Starting off with a partially acoustic 'Yeah Man', before exploding into fan favourite 'Thug Workout', singer Rob Damiani was quick to establish "I don't want anyone getting squashed, take care of each other alright!" and while the push-up squad might not have been out in full force today there were still a hell of a lot of people who turned out to see this magnificent performance. Despite the fact that the microphone disconnected quite early into the set, the crowd carried them through the issues meaning that everything was resolved before it became a nuisance. The problem was fixed before they jumped into 'The Whole Truth', following it up with a new song that includes everything we've learnt to love in a Don Broco song; woah-oh singalongs and drummer Matt Donnelly performing backing vocals. The rest of the set comprised of everything you'd expect from Don Broco: 'Priorities', 'Fancy Dress', 'Let's Go Back To School' (with a pre-song call out to Lonely The Brave, Marmozets and Lower Than Atlantis for being with them in the school of upcoming rock), 'Actors', finishing with 'You Wanna Know', the song that had been out for less than a week last time they played at Reading Festival. If you haven't heard of Don Broco you need to check them out right now, as they've been announced as the headliner for the Kerrang! Tour 2015 and their new album is going to be absolutely fantastic.

Setlist: 
Yeah Man
Thug Workout
The Whole Truth
New Song
Priorities
Fancy Dress
Let's Go Back To School
Actors
You Wanna Know

Both Foster The People and Imagine Dragons did rather predictable set closers; the former finishing with their biggest two hits 'Pumped Up Kicks' and 'Don't Stop (Color On The Walls)' and the latter performing the extended version of 'Radioactive' that has become well known on the festival circuit in the last year.

I was excited about seeing Issues and was not disappointed, even with only knowing a couple of the songs they played. The sing-along for 'King Of Amarillo' was a brilliant show of how they are quickly growing to have a huge fanbase and, with the announcement that they're supporting Bring Me The Horizon on their debut show at Wembley Arena, that fanbase is only going to get larger.

Jake Bugg and Arctic Monkeys are both acts that I would never have willingly gone to see out of a festival environment, so I was extremely hesitant about attending either during Saturday night. But with no one else to see, that's exactly where I ended up. Jake Bugg and his wailing vocal had not improved from his earlier acoustic set, much to my dismay, so fighting through bleeding ears I hung around for the end of his set before taking a break to go and listen to Band of Skulls, who played the uplifting and catchy as hell tune 'I Know What I Am' which cheered me up immensely. Arctic Monkeys were, surprisingly, better than Jake, playing a lot of songs that I actually recognised: 'Do I Wanna Know?', 'Arabella', 'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair' and, my personal favourite, 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor'. Despite the fact that I absolutely detest the band I can't discredit from their ability to headline a festival of this stature, even though it absolutely pains me to say that it was a pretty decent set.



But there was no way I was staying for the rest of it, because that would have meant missing Of Mice and Men. And that was just not happening. Kicking off with 'Public Service Announcement', the opening track from newest full length 'Restoring Force', showed screamer Austin Carlile bursting into action and the high energy lasted through the rest of their fifty minute set. Since the release of 'Restoring Force' back in January I've been saying it's one of the best albums I've ever heard, and that doesn't change in a live environment. The set was flecked with older songs, such as 'OG Loko' and 'The Depths', but the majority was comprised of their new release, with 'Feels Like Forever', 'Bones Exposed', 'Would You Still Be There?' and 'You're Not Alone' all included in the set. Newest addition to the band, Aaron Pauley, proved how invaluable he is with his spectacular vocal performance and showed everyone that this might be a heavy band but they can have their emotional moments. With this being their first time playing Reading festival it was brilliant to see such a great crowd reaction and these guys are definitely one of the biggest cross-over bands from this genre into the mainstream. If they aren't back at Reading festival in the future, it'll only be because they're too busy headlining Download or Sonisphere.

Sunday:

Opening main stage on the Sunday were The Story So Far, a band I didn't have much previous knowledge of but had always intended to listen to, who put on a great performance and had a good crowd turnout for such an early band on the final day of the festival. With the recent stunt that Parker Cannon pulled on Warped tour (if you don't know what I'm talking about check it out) everyone had been talking about this band and they were definitely worth arriving early to experience. Despite the fact that I didn't know any of the songs I still had a very enjoyable time, and with Parker saying "Thank you for supporting us when we sucked! Well... We still suck," it shows that this band have got a long way to go before the understand the talent that they possess.

Next up, Emily's Army on the Lock Up stage. Drummer Joey Armstrong, son of Green Day's legendary singer Billie Joe Armstrong, is the reason that most people know about this band but they aren't as similar as I had expected. You can definitely see the influence, don't get me wrong, but there are also vibes from The Beach Boys which make Emily's Army an amazing combination. Again, I didn't know any of the songs (apart from their cover of 'Dancing On My Own' by Robyn) so I can't really assess whether they lived up to their songs in a live environment, but the show was fun and absorbing so I can't really fault it anyway.

I checked in on Tonight Alive for two songs: 'What Are You So Scared Of?' and 'Listening'. Quite frankly, I wish I hadn't bothered. After the show at Oxford I was feeling so much more enamored with Tonight Alive, because I'd never really managed to see the appeal that's caused such a huge fan base growth so quickly for them. At their Oxford show Jenna McDougall seemed so down to earth, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but walking around stage in yellow jumpsuit trousers and a humongous hat paired with dreadlocked hair, it was just so far removed from that performance. Before anyone starts ranting, I don't judge musicians ability on their looks, it was just one of the many reasons I was confused by this sudden alteration. Her voice seemed shrill and off pitch and it just didn't live up to what I'd seen only five days before. One of the reasons I could see the appeal of Tonight Alive was because of how normal and easy to relate to they seemed to be, but that's completely changed now.

Another thing that completely changed was my opinion of The Neighbourhood. Don't get me wrong, I adore The Neighbourhood. I don't think I can explain how much, or why, but something about this band just absolutely grabbed me. Their full length album, 'I Love You', is one of the smoothest debuts I've heard since 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' by Panic! At The Disco hit the shelves back in 2005, but I just didn't expect it to translate to a live performance. I always felt that the album was slightly auto-tuned... I don't know if it actually was, but on 'Sweater Weather' especially you can definitely hear an effect. So despite the fact that The Neighbourhood are one of my favourite bands at the moment, I was absolutely terrified about seeing them live. But all of my fears were completely dissipated. 'WDYWFM?' saw people flooding into the tent at a speed that I hadn't witnessed since the performance by Gerard Way, 'Jealou$y' was well recognised despite the fact that it wasn't on their full length release, while finishing up with 'Sweater Weather' (introduced with the no fuss statement of "We're gonna do the sweater one,") and 'Afraid' was both predictable but perfectly executed.

Going from The Neighbourhood back over to main stage, I finally got to witness live the new Young Guns song that I left during their performance at Gloucester Guildhall. They performed the two new, previously unheard, songs (since revealed to be titled 'Memento Mori' and 'Rising Up', according to the BBC 1 setlist) one after the other which was an amazingly ballsy move for a festival set, following them with well-known crowd favourites 'Towers (On My Way)', 'Dearly Departed', 'You Are Not (Lonely)' and 'Bones'. Young Guns always perform without fault and I can't wait to see them again in the Wembley Arena environment in December, supporting Bring Me The Horizon (alongside Sleepwave and Issues, whose Reading set I reviewed earlier).

After the disappointing secret set on Saturday, I didn't get my hopes up for the secret set on Sunday, but I was pleasantly surprised when You Me At Six walked out on the stage. I've always been an advocate for them releasing an acoustic album (or at least another acoustic EP) following 'The Acoustic Sessions' they released in conjunction with Banquet Records for Record Store Day 2011, so an entire acoustic set was like heaven for me. On the one hand, I did find it frustrating that all of the songs were taken from their most recent album, 'Cavalier Youth', which I think is the least impressive album they've created, but it was good to hear newer songs arranged in a different manner. The set was only five songs long: 'Lived A Lie', 'Fresh Start Fever', 'Cold Night', 'Wild Ones' and 'Room To Breathe', but it was one of the most beautiful and unmissable moments of the weekend, so you should probably go and watch it, or order the special edition of 'Cavalier Youth', out in October.

Due to staying at the You Me At Six acoustic for a little bit too long, I did miss the beginning of Papa Roach (but a reliable source has informed me that I only missed 'Infest', as I arrived for the end of 'Between Angels and Insects') but the rest of their set was pretty impressive. I'm gonna be honest and admit that I haven't listened to much Papa Roach since the release of 'Metamorphosis', so I didn't know 'Where Did The Angels Go' or 'Burn', but watching the energy that vocalist Jacoby Shaddix was putting into the entire performance really made me want to catch up on their recent releases. 'Forever' was an unexpected inclusion in the set list, made all the more enjoyable for that, but 'Scars' was an anti-climax, with backing vocalist Jerry Horton completely over-powering Jacoby, making the moment less heartbreaking and more irritating. The only recent song that I recognised was 'Kick In The Teeth' (due to it being completely over played on Kerrang! in the weeks following its release) but it had a much better atmosphere live. I didn't know 'Silence Is The Enemy' or 'Still Swinging' but watching Jacoby running up and down the barrier in front of the crowd, randomly jumping on them or high-fiving them, was an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. With a brief interlude to pick out people in the crowd (among them someone carrying a large... erm... male instrument) Jacoby gave a quick impromptu cover of 'All Star' by Smashmouth after seeing someone dressed in a Shrek mask, declaring "Ugh, I hate that song, that shit makes me wanna throw up. I hate you Shrek," followed by '...To Be Loved', 'Getting Away With Murder' and the popular, anthemic 'Last Resort'. If there was such a thing as not liking Papa Roach, any doubters in the crowd would have been converted with this set.

I didn't catch all of Neck Deep, but it's better than I've ever managed before (having missed them two times already) and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not such a fan of the new pop-punk resurgence, filled with more punk than pop, but having heard such amazing things about Neck Deep and seeing their supremely fast growth in America over the last year I was eager to see them in a live environment. I wasn't disappointed. 'Losing Teeth' and 'Crushing Grief (No Remedy)' were extremely well executed and even though I didn't know many of their songs I had an all round good time. Breaking up their set for a quick run over to Sleeping With Sirens (I was desperate to hear 'If You Can't Hang', don't judge) I managed to get back just after 'A Part Of Me' started and it was great to hear such a good singalong for the homecoming heroes. With the Intercontinental Championships tour next February, Neck Deep are cementing their name as the best band in British pop punk and I don't think anyone is surprised.

Back to Sleeping With Sirens for the very last word of 'Congratulations', I will admit I was fangirling just a little bit. I've been a fan since the acoustic EP 'If You Were A Movie This Would Be Your Soundtrack' and seeing them live feels like it's been a long time coming, even if it's been just over two years. Playing 'Here We Go' followed by 'Low' proved to be a slow procession into the set, with 'Trophy Father's Trophy Son' and 'Tally It Up, Settle The Score' proving, in my opinion, that 'Let's Cheers To This' was a much better release for the band. Squealer (well, with that high pitched vocal can you really call him anything else?) Kellin Quinn was superb, hitting notes that I had no idea existed, but breaking up a fast paced and fairly heavy set with the acoustic rendition of 'With Ears To See and Eyes To Hear' (following the hilarious "I like your giant cock, thank you for bringing that with you!") was a stroke of genius, showing everyone that this band aren't just popular due to the astonishingly high vocals; they genuinely do have substance. This was proved even further with the arrival of new song 'Kick Me', with it's repetition of 'Shit, shit, shit' easy to remember and catchy as hell. Wrapping up with 'Do It Now, Remember It Later' and, the only song performed from their first album, 'If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn' shows why this band are so far up on main stage and will be so much further up next year.

Setlist: 
If You Can't Hang
Congratulations
Here We Go
Low
Trophy Father's Trophy Son
Tally It Up, Settle The Score
Scene 5: With Ears To See and Eyes To Hear
Kick Me
Do It Now, Remember It Later
If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn

Following Sleeping With Sirens on main stage were A Day To Remember. I've only ever seen them once, acoustically, so I had literally no idea what to expect from a live performance. I will admit, after the album 'Homesick', I kinda gave up with A Day To Remember. I don't know why, it just seemed to happen. Starting off with 'The Downfall Of Us All' automatically had me hooked, as it was one of the best songs on that album, but I lost my focus again throughout '2nd Sucks' and 'Right Back At It Again', meaning that even the triumph that was 'I'm Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?' didn't completely redeem the set in my mind. Honestly, I'd written them off completely, with 'Why Walk On Water When We've Got Boats' seeming an odd fit to the set and 'All Signs Point To Lauderdale' sounding so much like so many other songs I've heard recently. However, my mind completely changed when they played 'If It Means A Lot To You'. It's the song that, I think, is clearly the best song A Day To Remember have ever written. Following it up with 'Homesick' was a stroke of genius, with frontman Jeremy McKinnon zorbing across the crowd and making sure that everyone was having an amazing time. He's amazingly charismatic and his stage presence is completely absorbing (get it, cause he was zorbing?...) and it's undeniable what an amazing live band they really are. I still wasn't sure on 'End Of Me', so the new songs are going to take some time to get used to, but 'Sometimes You're The Hammer, Sometimes You're The Nail' was so completely them that it's easy to see the influences from their earlier albums are still very much in play now.  'All I Want' caused one of the biggest singalongs of the weekend, by far, while finishing with 'The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle' was unexpected and more exciting because of that.

Setlist:
The Downfall Of Us All
2nd Sucks
Right Back At It Again
I'm Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?
Why Walk On Water When We've Got Boats
All Signs Point To Lauderdale
If It Means A Lot To You
Homesick
End Of Me
Sometimes You're The Hammer, Sometimes You're The Nail
All I Want
The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle

I don't know enough about The Kooks to form a solid opinion, but if you want a nice nostalgia trip with a bit of recent pop chucked in they're a safe bet. With favourites 'Naive', 'Seaside' and 'She Moves In Her Own Way' scattered about the set and newest singles 'Around Town' and 'Down' at the beginning of the set, there was nothing really missing from this performance (apart from what I believed, apparently wrongly, was their biggest hit 'Always Where I Need To Be') and it seemed pretty well done even though I had nothing to really base an opinion on.

Having missed the surprise guest appearance from Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low, the end of You Me At Six's set was much the same as any You Me At Six set; all the songs sound pretty good but they just don't get me excited anymore because of the fact that the conclusion is always so predictable. Playing 'Room To Breathe', their newest release, along with 'Bite My Tongue' and 'Lived A Lie', there was nothing that shocked me, which meant it was a pretty average set to wander along to. I'm glad I saw the acoustic set, because it was something unique, but if You Me At Six don't shake up their set list a bit more before the co-headline tour with All Time Low I'm going to be majorly disappointed.

Talking of disappointed, that's exactly what I was with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Or rather, I was disappointed with the crowd's reaction to them. If you go to a festival and there are bands/acts you don't want to see, just don't go along! Even if it means you aren't close enough to your idols during their set, just don't put yourself through the torture. From where I was stood, Macklemore was putting on an amazing performance; he ran through all of his major hits (namely 'Thrift Shop', 'Same Love' and 'Can't Hold Us') in the first half of his set, while also giving us a listen to his new hit 'Arrow', but when they showed the crowd on the screen more than half of the people at the front just had no interest at all, which really bugged me. I'm not the biggest Macklemore fan. I only know the names of a few songs (to be precise, four songs; the four I just talked about) but I know that when you go to a festival you go to have a laugh and to have some fun and if you can't dance along to 'Thrift Shop', I don't know what you can dance along to. I would have stayed for more of the set if I hadn't been such a big letlive. fan (and I still only managed to catch their last song) because it was a massive laugh and it was a very entertaining set, one of the most entertaining sets of the weekend to be precise.

Following my (brief) attendance of letlive.'s set, I skedaddled across to the Festival Republic stage to watch Mayday Parade, a band who have never managed to succeed in the mainstream but still have rather a dedicated fan following. No discredit to them, but it was a predictable set. Having seen and reviewed them back in February, it's now six months later and I have nothing different to say. Frontman Derek Sanders was still lovable and energetic, but there's still no spark that will grant them the success they've been working hard towards for nearly a decade.

Setlist: 
When You See My Friends
Jamie All Over
Three Cheers For Five Years
12 Through 15
Ghosts
Black Cat
Oh Well, Oh Well
Jersey

Next, with another predictable set closer, were The 1975, who finished with their massive hits 'Chocolate' and 'Sex'. Vocalist Matt Healy seemed squeakier than usual, but no-one really cared at the end of the night; a good song to dance to is a good song to dance to, with or without vocal issues.

Finally, the main event. Closing the entire three day weekend of Reading Festival is a big feat for any band and none seemed better equipped to handle it than Blink-182, what with it being their second time in five years. As with any good Blink-182 show, it did not go as smoothly as anyone had planned. Tom DeLonge was stumbling over his words more than a drunk guy attempting to get home, fumbling through intermission speaking and even getting the words to 'Always' muddled up. His pronunciation still hasn't gotten any better either, but if it had would we really have been attending a Blink-182 concert?! Again, the only word to describe the set list would be predictable with a little sprinkle of weird; no one was expecting snippets of covers or new lyrics for well known songs. But with no new album released since 'Neighborhoods', the album that filled most of their last Reading headline set, it seemed a bit premature to reinstate them at such a high degree. Don't get me wrong, this is a band I will respect eternally for birthing such a diverse and impressive range of new acts. But tonight just didn't seem to be their night. Yes, they played all of the hits (I'll insert the set list below, I don't really have any specific comments on specific songs) but they didn't seem as sharp as usual, apart from drummer Travis Barker who doesn't seem to have an off switch to his perfectionist playing. The banter seemed a bit off-kilter and just didn't flow as easily as a usual show, which made the entire experience a little bit vexing. However, it was still an amazing performance. It might seem like I'm saying a lot of negative things but out of the three closing acts that performed this weekend, Blink-182 out shined them all, without a doubt. Interacting with the crowd, getting people dancing and jumping along, it was all out party season and it definitely felt like a welcoming to a band who might have been slacking a little bit recently but still have a solid collection of fans to fall back on. The introduction to the encore seemed abrupt, with vocalist Mark Hoppus shouting "that's it, that's the end," before the band left the stage for what felt like an hour and then exploded back out with 'Violence', 'Dammit' and 'Family Reunion' (followed by a drum solo by Mark that was absolutely amazing) but with a band the size and calibre of Blink-182 they're allowed to make some oddball decisions. How many bands would play a headline set at Reading Festival and turn out the lights at the midway point to play a song called 'Happy Holidays, You Bastard' in the pitch black? Not many, which is why I believe they're one of the best headliners that could have been chosen despite vocal issues and a bunch of dud notes.



Setlist: 
Feeling This
What's My Age Again?
The Rock Show
Up All Night
Down
I Miss You
Dumpweed
Wishing Well
Happy Holidays, You Bastard
Always
Stay Together For The Kids
Asthenia
First Date
Easy Target
All Of This
Hybrid Moments
Man Overboard
Ghost On The Dancefloor
All The Small Things
Carousel
Violence
Dammit
Family Reunion