Reading Festival 2017 Review

So I attending Reading Fest for the first time this year and saw quite a few bands for the first time, this is what I made of them.

-fRIDAY-

Jimmy Eat World: sEVEN / tEN
Coming onto stage with a slow burner followed by heavy hit Bleed American the crowd were immediately bouncing along singing the words back. Slugging out some fast paced classics and slowing the crowd for more modern ballads, they eventually pulled out their biggest hit 'The Middle' bringing a nostalgic end to the set.

Boston Manor: sIX / tEN
Tapering between in rock star style and dickishly late the Manor guys played their first song 20 minutes after due time, still performing strong with fast hard hits such as Stop Trying, Be Nothing and Trapped Nerve causing a circle pit round the tents support poll they rocked the stage hard, before spinning the chilled Broken Glass. The singer telling the crowd he'd been waiting all day for this slot was taken with irony though before finishing their set nearly half an hour late.

Queens Of The Stone Age: nINE / tEN
"You know why we're here, we're here to rock" blasting straight into No One Knows for their (no so) secret slot on the NME stage as people flocked from all around after hearing the news. Their on stage swagger oozed coolness between slamming back into their set, after playing new single The Evil Has Landed for the first time live introducing the band and then himself Josh, the lead singer, bid the crowd farewell and claimed they'll be back soon.

You Me At Six: sEVEN / tEN

Another band late on stage but partly excused due to the circumstances of QOTSA secret set. Silhouettes shone through a thin cloth the hung in front of the stage as the band appeared with a slow building opener. To no fault of their own, there was a power shortage half way through the set giving them limited lights and instruments but Josh, the singer, assured the crowd no power was needed and began the song in A Capella. Playing new songs from Night People and classics from Take Of Your Colours, their passion saved the show.

-sATURDAY-

The Pretty Reckless: fIVE / tEN
Lounging onto the stage dressed in black they slurred into Follow Me Down with all the band giving it their best bar the singer looking a bit worse for wear (and sounding even more-so). They played their way through songs from the new album with old classic 'Make Me Wanna Die' thrown in slightly out of place, before ending with the lyrics of Take Me Down slurred into the mic while the singer danced or stumbled around the stage. They played at 1:45.

Pvris: sEVEN / tEN
Clearly issues with the sound for this set. Lynn Gunn, front woman, was seen adjusting her ear piece for longer than she was actually singing. Playing newly released songs they still put such a strong performance forward changing tones and notes she couldn't hit to make the songs run smoother, running riot over the stage pumping the crowd for their full 40 minutes. Playing guitar, keys and drums herself she really took the performance by the neck and made it her own.

Defeater: eIGHT / tEN
A seemingly flawless set in comparison to most others I saw, coming onto stage on time with a minor introduction before blasting straight into their set, avoiding much talk and crowd interactions they took the simple road and done what they were paid to which was stand on stage and play their music.

-sUNDAY-

Architects: nINE / tEN
In an incredibly emotive set by the guys following the anniversary of guitarist Toms tragic passing the band truly gave it their all. Starting with Nihilist they then screamed through fan favourites Naysayer and Gravedigger in what is a massive achievement for the UK Metal scene. They ended with an emotionally tear jerking tribute to Tom, with lead singer Sam asking the crowd for help singing as he wiped his eyes ready for Gone With The Wind.

Liam Gallagher: nINE / tEN
Waltzing on in his signature cagoule and glasses and tambourine in hand met with 'Liam' chanted by the masses it wasn't long before flares were alight to the sound of Rock n Roll Star. Shredding through songs from his unreleased album and Oasis classics smoke sticks coloured the crowd. '[Rock n Roll Star] Fucking rare these days' and 'No fucking miming up here' were slight digs he let slide about other bands on the bill. Finishing with the second ever (after Leeds Fest) solo performance of Wonderwall will be something people talk of for a long time, the crowd filled with girlfriends on shoulders while the boyfriends held back the tears and everyone sang back every single word.

Halsey: eIGHT / tEN
Set with a floral wall at the back of the stage for the band to play on Halsey glided onto stage into Gasoline, putting on a dance fuelled performance she wandered the stage and at points even came into the crowd, filling the tent with giant inflatable balls for Colours before setting off huge steam cannons and fire shoots during her final song. The band couldn't help but look slightly disinterested due to their lack of involvement and position away from the spotlight but that didn't hinder Halsey powerful gig.

Muse: tEN / tEN
Simply phenomenal. Lighting the stage with neon glasses and light up guitars, lasers cut into the crowd as Matt Bellamy, lead singer, cooly lead into Dig Down a big crowd pleaser. Bringing their full lighting and pyrotechnic rigs they slashed through hits such as Hysteria, Plug In Baby and Super Massive Black Hole, putting all their fireworks on show for the final song before encore Take A Bow. As the band walked back on stage Bellamy exclaimed 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you one of the best singers this countries ever made' and out walked Brian Johnson from AC/DC before getting right into a cover of DC classic Back In Black for the first time since his stepping down from the band in early 2016. The Band had a massive finish with Uprising followed by Knights of Cydonia with fireworks timed to the guitars and confetti cannons to paint the crowd. A truly amazing sight to behold.