NEWS
EVENTS
A Weekend At Reading Festival
Indie | Tuesday 27th August 2013 | Aaron
It was a weekend that has left me a broken man and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The experience of camping, mosh pitting at every attempt and sore eyes from seeing so many unbelievably bright leggings has made the weekend just gone one of the best.
The festival that coincides and shares the same acts with Leeds Festival was host to a huge array of acts, showing off talent through all musical genres.
Arriving on Thursday meant there was a day of easing into what was in stall. Setting up camp, meeting other campers and exploring the many campsites. An electrifying buzz was evident on arrival and before I knew it, it consumed me. Overly extroverted, chatty and energised, Thursday was just one thing, carnage. A searing headache and high anticipation for what was to come greeted me in the morning.
Meticulous planning was the first task, deciding which acts to see, the sprint to the next tent and strategically choosing our rest locations. Kodaline and Green Day were the pick of the performances with both hugely animated on stage and both getting the crowd involved – mosh pits galore! Skindred also showed a top performance with his clear charisma shining through during his slot. A night ended at 3am led to a morning starting early and a Green Day induced headache.
Saturday was the day that had many people on their toes. Hip-Hop star Eminem was the performer and no one wanted to miss the show! Slim was easily the stand out performance. It could have been easy for him to deliver an average performance with someone of his status ready to get the pay cheque and roll, but not Shady. Opening with ‘Survival’, ‘3am’ and ‘Kill You’ was a great start to the show. Guest appearances from Dido and Haley Williams Charismatic banter with the crowd and his hype man rounded off another quality days of music.
Feeling slightly weak but with spirits still high, I trudged through the Sunday. Fall Out Boy, Wretch 32 and headliners Biffy Clyro were of course top notch, but it was Disclosure who truly stole the show in my eyes. Spectacular visuals, vocals from Sam Smith, Aluna Francis and Ed Macfarlane and the overly hyped fans made it a show to remember. Not to mention the 3 man tower that took place on not my shoulders! It brought to an end to a fantastic weekend.
Music was not the only thing that was attention grabbing at the festival. Reading was home to many colourful characters for the weekend. A man in my group of friends whom I had nicknamed ‘Meth Man’ was hit. His brilliant fluorescent golden jacket and no lack of stories made him a very boisterous character. Another was the festivals own King Kong. Climbing one of the masts during Fall Out Boy’s performance, the crowd backed him ahead of the security, even when he did give us a full moon to look at. Lastly, the brilliant people who had costumes made every walk to any destination an amusing one. Gandalf, the Power Rangers and Jesus himself all made appearances at a festival that will undoubtedly be missed by the thousands of attendees, if you get a chance to go – do it!
Now I’m off to crawl back into my hole, crack open the paracetamol and cry into my pillow – till next year Reading!
Aaron Fraser/@AFraser26
