Here we go, my 15th Reading Festival weekend in Reading, UK. about 40+ miles straight west of London on the M4. So Lidia (my most excellent wife!), David Roberts (one of my best friends & from south London) and me are picking up our passes Friday afternoon in Covent Gardens and we are off....WAY OFF!! 40 miles out of London and suburbs does not mean a 40 minute commute; not in the least, try almost 2 hours!! London is an amazing place, but it has it's "WTF" things going on everyday, they just put it in their bag's and deal with. Such as some of the wickedest traffic I have ever seen and experienced! I have driven in this madness numerous times and have left it a humble man with a head ready to explode. So we get to the hotel which is connected to the Reading Football Club (Division One League) and that rules. Love UK football (soccer) and did buy a jersey...sweet!! So we set off in a taxi (no driving this weekend as it will be ON!!) to the site to get our backstage wristbands. We arrived late afternoon to the sounds of Fall Out Boy; suburban Chicago fake punks. I think this band is one of those throw away bands we will never think or talk about in the future. A waste of space on the musical horizon and the Backstreet Boys of punk....yuck!! I was a little bummed we had missed; Funeral For A Friend, a northern UK rock act that has always peaked my curiosity. They are doing things outside the box in their genre and seem to take great care of their fans in the UK, Europe and Japan. I definitely recommend checking them out. So we grab a beer backstage and it's a perfect day....in the low 70's and a few lovely, white clouds high above. Placebo are taking the main stage, so we take a few steps out onto the pitch and find a fairly close place to the stage and get ready for this London act to kick off our Reading Weekend!! Friday afternoon the site is just starting to fill up for the impending musical tsunami! I have seen Placebo several times in the states and thought they were OK, had several nice singles. The crowds never seem to much care one way or the other, so it was a bit hard to get into it. NOT SO TODAY.....must have been a good 20,000+ watching their late afternoon set and it made a HUGE difference. The crowd was well on their side and took part in most every song. I did not realize they have a good 10+ singles that have charted in the UK. Weather was rocking and so were these London lads. Totally loved the set and stayed for most of it. Headed back for a beer and set the rest of the course for the day and night.
Next decision was an easy one....Kaiser Chiefs were on in twenty and we needed to get ready and stake our spot as near the stage as possible. I love the Kaisers and have been onboard since the 1st single from this Sheffield band (ie reads northern UK act); Oh My God. I was hooked and then they dropped a huge bomb on me in; I Predict A Riot. Still one of my top ten singles of this decade...OH YEAH!! So the new cd is as good; if not better, than their other good cd's. So it was with great pleasure and anticipation i took my place in the pitch next to the other 40,000+ punters waiting to sing along with the boys. Now I do have a soft spot for a band that starts things off with the song I would start their set with and they did...spot on guys!! Never Miss A Beat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQK7RYDQlSs&feature=fvst) is the song of the summer for me at this moment and there it is, raging onstage right before me and it sounds, smells and feels so wonderful. I f*ckin' love this place! They bang thru what seems like a greatest hits sets and only falter for a moment. They have the crowd right where they need to be and drive this one home big time. By the time they play; I Predict A Riot, it's all over!! We scurry backstage and I am feeling fine....too fine.
Here is where crucial discussions are taking place. You have a South London lad (David), Polish born US citizen (my wife) and me the Yank all putting out two cents worth in re: the impending choice that had to be made and soon. You see Kings Of Leon closed the main stage tonight and started at 10pm; David's choice. However; Faith No More had been a late addition the the massive NME tent as the first night's headliner at 10:15pm, my wife's choice. So the crucial decision was thrust at my feet and I nobly accepted this duty. In a Soloman like blurred mind set (beers and "bits and bobs"...i love the english slang) I decided that we see the first 30 minutes or so of KOL and then head to the NME tent (5 minute walk) for the start of FNM and then conclude our evening back at the end of KOL's set. HA! Well best laid plans of mice and men usually go into the ditch. We didn't drive it into the ditch, it was the sound, the swirling winds and the fact that KOL seemed to wilt under the mess. What a huge disappointment they were. Sound was crap and the vocals were buried. They seem a bit dazed by the constant touring for the better part of a year. Saw a few songs and literally ran to the NME stage to see the start of Faith No More! F*ckers were 20 minutes late and you could tell they were none too happy to be in a tent after 11 years apart and I thought they had a point. Couldn't they have been squeezed on the main stage at some point over the weekend? They did rock the world when they were on their game and that was quite often. So we are in the tent; must hold 10,000 people, biggest i ever saw, and they are late. I then realize more and more people are leaving KOL and heading for the tent. It was half full at best when we arrived and by the start of the set, it was over flowing. I either saw the last or second to last show; still trying to verify, in Milwaukee in 1998 and the last song they played was the Theme To Midnight Cowboy...too cool. They walk on and launch into the same song and my hairs are standing right up! Awesome to say the least. Well done men! Then it just doesn't stop, song after song, hit after hit; everyone losing their minds again and for the first times. This is why I love music and why this sh*t matters. I hold Lidia for most of the set as she jumps up and down with a smile that wants to get bigger, but can't. Midlife Crisis, Easy, Epic, From Out Of Nowhere (go listen to this now...i will wait...still as fresh as it was decades ago) and Falling To Pieces; i was misting up...naw...just really buzzed and smiling my ass off. Best line was Mike Patton's...."We're in the tent and Fuck everyone else....let's go!" We straggle back to try and catch a few of KOL's last sounds as they are scheduled to play longer than FNM. WE get there and they have just finished; early. Weird, heard they had sound issues the whole set and the singer kinda freaked a bit and went all insecure. We did make the right decision...hell yeah! Back to the hotel and recoup for day 2.
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