Reading Festival 2011
Friday 26th to Sunday 28th August 2011Little Johns Farm, Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8EQ, England MAP
£192.50 for a weekend ticket - SOLD OUT, £82.50 - Friday or Saturday
Daily capacity: 90,000
The streets of Reading are almost deserted, it seems many festival goers have taken advantage of early entry Thursday, and it's under a leaden sky that we join the queues to get in as the rain falls from the sky. From the amount of rain it's quite quickly apparent that it will be muddy underfoot today, and boots are a necessity.
There's something about Reading Festival that has kept me coming back year after year, regardless of the line-up, and I'm unable to identify exactly what it is. Perhaps it's the accumulation of various amazing performances over the years, or the fact the site is compact, flat and easy to get around with a determined step I was able to sample 70 acts in one weekend, a feat that's hard to replicate at any other festival this summer.
I think perhaps it's the people it attracts, the crowd are always lively but not unfriendly, and prone to do some crazy things. Be it walking about in crazy costumes (although this festival is not fancy dress), or trying to build mammoth human pyramids in the crowd, they are always entertaining.
On the Main Stage there's a line-up of rock friendly acts including The Blackout, New Found Glory, Bring Me The Horizon, Rise Against, Deftones, and The Offspring draw in busy crowds. As do Foster the People on Festival Republic, who are followed by the musical excellent music noise of The Antlers which is lost on most of the crowd.
Over in the Dance Tent there's a line-up of DJs and live acts to keep the up for it crowds entertained. Nero especially brings in a massive crowd.
The Vaccines, and Noah and the Whale follow and both create the opportunities for the crowds to join in. The biggest crowd of the day assembles in front of Jared Leto's Thirty Seconds To Mars who have brought costumes and a proper stage set. They also invite their fans up on stage, and Leto strips to dress in a Primark tiger suit. They're also one of the many bands who ask the crowd to sit down, and then jump up - it's the new trendy thing to do apparently! It's a case of girls in the crowd dragging their blokes along, and it doesn't matter what music they make, you can hardly hear it over the shrill screams.
Beady Eye are headlining the other stage, and whilst they're a decent enough band, it's a woeful performance, not that the rabid fans of Liam and/or Oasis care.
These days there's a few late night options in the Silent Disco, and cinema, but after an earlier drenching it's feeling cold and so we make our way back to our beds.
review by: Scott Williams
photos by: Karen Williams / Zelah Williams
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