So, can anyone make anything out of this image? (Thanks John)
Update: Hmm, I think that image is actually last year's poster. I can make out Muse and My Chemical Romance, I think.
In other R & L news, NME reports that everyone who buys a weekend ticket gets a free beer & burger. : )
Actually took me a moment to realise that R&L referred to Reading and Leeds, not Robert and Lol!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long week!
J
You'd need alot of free beer for this festival... amazed they are (probably) playing.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I've heard many UK fans express similar views about R & L, but I still don't get why they are so bad? Anyone willing to help a clueless American understand? : )
ReplyDeleteIs it location? The crowd it draws? The general atmosphere?
Just curious why these 2 have such bad reputations. Is one better than the other?
Reading is a music festival. It has always been about the music.
ReplyDeleteSnobbishness usually comes from the Glastonbury crowd which is not a music festival [I probably should in the interests of fairness admit that I hate Glastonbury with a passion].
I was the local councillor responsible for trading standards, environmental health (noise) and licensing in 2009 and I presented the prize for best food stall. I also lobbied Melvin Benn to book The Cure in 2008 :-D
This will be my 17th Reading Festival (with or without The Cure) ;0)
I'm interested in the answer to Craig's question also, as we're planning on going to these shows. What's the scoop, UK peeps?
ReplyDeleteIt would take a while to answer properly, but basically Reading is a music festival. You go to see the bands. It means that the line-up is crucial. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes spectacularly wrong. The crowd can also turn on bands, which makes it all the more interesting.
ReplyDeleteMost of the audience left when Guns 'n' Roses played silly buggers. Daphne & Celeste... not so good a choice. I was one of the few who was at the front for Nick Cave who was second on the bill. Sometimes an accident happens, Weezer were unpredictably brilliant and knew how to work a crowd. I also discoverd that Mudhoney didn't like mud. I supect they didn't like honey either but there wasn't any of that around for the crowd to throw. Muse last year were awesome.
The Reading site is also incredibly easy to get to. It is basically in town and walkable from the station even with a rucksack and tent. When I lived in London, I'd commute all three days. I live in Reading now so I tend to walk!
Reading is still my favourite festival and I've been to a few in my time.
As for Leeds, I've never been there, but the BBC coverage is almost exclusively from Reading.
And as for atmosphere, the timing of the festival makes it the prefered choice of reward by parents for their 18 year olds who have just passed their 'A' Levels.
Hmmm, what is wrong with Reading and Leeds? Good Question.
ReplyDeleteAs I've been to a couple of UK Festivals including Reading, I can firmly say that it is the worst 'festival' I have been to. Its overpriced for a start, more expensive than Glastonbury and for less acts, stages and general space and days. The good thing is that they do offer day tickets but these come at £90 a pop.
There is none of the 'Alternative' stuff you may find at Glastonbury or Bestival (don't know about American Festivals regarding this) but Reading's Arena is literally a large sloped field with seven stages plonked in it with 80,000 people fighting for space. Once you are in the arena, there is nowhere to relax and if you do find a nice spot, you're likely to get pissed on. Also, the campsites are completely separate from the Arena, which is a pain as the stewards check your wrist every time you go through and unlike Glastonbury (or bestival) do not allow you to take your own drink and barely any of your own equipment into the arena.
Finally, as Was has mentioned alluded to, Reading and Leeds have very young and often unruly crowds. The type of crowds that like setting fire to tents at night, chucking around bottles of piss or just generally being twatish because its their first time away from home with friends. Its got a lot better the last couple of years but it still goes on as 98% of the crowd are made up of 18-20 year olds. If people thought the bestival audience was young and unruly then they are going to be in for a big shock, Reading is as Teenage as you can get.
The good thing about R+L though is that if you're even remotely into the 'alternative rock/punk/pop rock' scene etc. then there will be plenty of you to see. However, I will say that The Cure will certainly be the 'odd ones out at this festival', the decision for them to headline is certainly an odd as comparable bands have headlined recently and recieved very small crowds (due to the young audience) - the fear is that this may happen to The Cure. The thing probably working in the Cure's favour is that they went down well at Bestival with a relatively young audience.
Oh and the Location (for Reading) is great to get to as Was says but its not in a nice bit of land. A railway like literally runs alongside one end of the Festival and the park land its set in isn't very nice at all. Its pretty much your typical inner-city festival.
ReplyDeleteIts all a bit soul-less if I am honest, lacking of character. The best way to describe it is '80,000 teenagers in a field'.
On the other hand, if you can ignore all these issues and get into the music like many people do then it could be a great festival.
Firstly this is my opinion and others are free to disagree. When lived in Oxford I used to go to the Reading Festival quite a bit, but over the years it was become more & more corporate. The headlining acts tend to be which bands are deemed ‘hip, cool, fashionable etc’ and will appeal to the masses. Nothing really wrong with this I guess, but the sort of crowd it attracts has its drawback. A bloke I work with goes each year regardless of who is playing as - “it’s a great piss-up” & this sums up quite a lot of the crowd.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think there’s anything snobbish about not liking Reading (yes the location is good), to me it’s an XFM of festivals rather than a BBC 6 Music. For the record I’d never go to Glastonbury as you have to get a ticket without knowing the line-up... I go to Festivals to see bands I like.
Bestival was immense and the crowd were up for it, but Leeds & Reading are pretty different. If The Cure play, I’ll go (Day Ticket) but would expect a Greatest Hits set list only & that’s not really my bag.
OK, I live in the UK and obviously would love to see The Cure again this year. Reading and Leeds was pretty much THE festvial I did not want them to play. (Overpriced, bad crowd, bad atmosphere etc)
ReplyDeleteSo I'm looking at eurpean dates and I'm really interested in Rock in Roma. I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about this Festival?? Is it even a Festival or just a gig as no other artists are announced for that night? Has anyone been beofre that can shed some light on it?
Me & my brother are also thinking of Rome rather than Reading, so any info as Andrew says would be great.
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys. Was just curios about it. Now I know. I'd probably still go and just expect to deal with a few idiots.
ReplyDeleteAndrew & Benj, I posted a new topic to try and get you some help for Rock in Roma. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks Craig - BTW Reading may well be fine, but I would have thought a 90 min GH set list would be likely. I just can't see this crowd enjoying Shake Dog Shake etc
ReplyDeleteNot sure if this is real or not but
ReplyDeletehttp://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0ma3fDNV41r4sasro1_500.jpg
I think trouble is being slightly overstated. I was in the operational control centre in 2010 and it's a slick operation.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with 2009 was mostly down to two things, a stupid "tunnel" for Them Crooked Vultures playing a "secret" gig which funneled the crowds into bottleneck and allowing campers to stockpile burnable material (mostly plastic) and for stewards to not act quickly enough.
I took my 18 year old nephew there in 2010 and was quite happy to let him loose on his own to wander as he pleased.
Reading Festival has always been "corporate". I got my first guest pass in 1987 as a guest of Entec who were the touring sound and lighting arm of The Marquee Club and they used it as a showcase. Even then it was an industry "lig". Luckily for most festival goers the muzik biz are drinking in the guest area where the beer is more expensive than out in the arena.
The event is timed to finish at 11pm... however the entertainment licence is up to 12am. The plug will be pulled ;0)
Anyway, fingers crossed.
Sean Keavney on BB 6Music was getting very excited about The Cure playing Reading this morning, he then played Fascination Street
ReplyDelete