Anyone else tired of/wanting a break from Reading/Leeds festival?

[hearing_aid]

Anyone else a bit bored of Reading/Leeds festival at the moment/this year Now this isn't a massive slag off about the festival, I have many great memories of it and been the last 4 years in a row but even last year was considering not going.

I think its partly down to such a heavy rotation of bands playing all the festivals over the past years and its got to the point where the line ups are becoming increasingly boring, well for me at least. I've done Reading, Glasontbury, days at V, Camden Crawl, Benicassim, Field Day, Offset Festival, Wireless, Artrocker and a few small festivals over the last years so I guess I have partly myself to blame. This year though I have much less festivals planned, admitedly some of this is due to the financially side of things but also because of just not feeling excited about lots of the fetivals. I mean Reading have actually pulled me back in for a day if they do get Radiohead but i'm not even considering the weekend.

The only solid festival I have planned is the ATP: The Fans Strike back one in May and i'm so excited about it, been meaning to go to one for ages as they really suit one aspect of my music taste and will be nice to see loads of bands I not seen at festival before.

So just wondering if anyone is in the same or similar situation. Whether its cause like me you just have become bored with it and need a break, or you have come to dislike one aspect of the festival for whatever reason etc.

Hell, to make the thread a bit more positive who is the tottal opposite and has been years and years in a row and don;t think they will ever get bored of it. Always good to hear the other side of things!

[Lithium05]

Been to Reading every year since my first festival in 2003 and this is the most thinking Ive had to do about whether or not to get a ticket. Speaking as someone who falls more on the kerrang rather than the NME side of the rock world (to use a tired stereotype) I cant help but be dissapponted with the three bands being listed as most likely headliners, with the exception of Radiohead I dont think these bands are good enough to headline

Before I'm criticised for being a knuckle dragging metaller I feel the urge to point out that this is simply not the case - I enjoy a few "indie" bands including last years headliners The Killers, but I cant help but feel the production line of average similar sounding bands is being over encouraged by the promoters and that bands like the Arctic Monkeys dont really bring anything new to the table that should be so hugely celebrated and the numourous clones that will no doubt populate the 2nd and 3rd stages are being over booked preventing the festival from being as divesified as it should be.

Back when I first went to Reading, the second stage headliners offered something different to what the main had, I remember The Polyphonic Spree headlining at the same time as either Linkin Park or Metallica and when Blur headlined the more NME day (again apologies for the use of a stereotype) AFI were headlining the 2nd stage, clearly making an attempt to keep more people happy. In recent years however since NME started sponsering the second stage there has been a decline in diversity, particularly when it comes to the headliners, all of the punk/metal bands have been shepherded into the relatively tiny lock-up stage that doesnt have the room to offer decent sized bands as alternative headliners to the flash in the pan flavour of the month raking in their over inflated paycheque on the main stage - dont get me wrong, bands like Reel Big Fish and Less than Jake are quality in this role, however I cant help but feel the tent is too small for the Rancids and NOFX's of the world - who dont tour as often as RBF and LTJ and therefore will have more people wanting to see them. In an ideal world Id like to see more hard rock bands like Coheed and Cambria Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Airbourne or even the heavier options of Machine Head or Killswitch Engage offer something different on the second stages while the likes of Arctic Monkeys and KOL offer their chart bothering nonsense about dancefloors and combusting procreation on the main stage, but no.

I will probably still go to the festival this year as alot of my friends are going and I dont want to miss out, but as a fan of the more "alternative" bands I cant help but feel like I'm being pushed away in favour of designer wellies and silly hats

Edited February 26, 2009 by Lithium05

[Simpo]

All I know is I'm going wherever Faith No More are going!

[Spengs Muck]

the second i heard they werent having any metal headliners this year was the second i knew i wasnt going.

Reading/Leeds has become quite generic over the years. Its been in the past where you couldget every type of music you'd want there. But now its a case of it you're not indie you're not getting in.

Any festival that lets flash in the pans like razorlight or franz ferdinand headline has lost it's way.

Look how many festivals razorlight and killers are headlining this year and look how many people are complaining about how generic things are getting. The T in the park peeps are livid. Its not because these arent big bands....it's just you want something ELSE to listen too over 3 days than standard guitar lead indie drivel.

Most bands on the radio 1 stage you wont ever hear of again because every indie band has 1 good/popular song in them and then they disapear.

bring back the diversity. I thought they hit the nail on the head with Rage last year. Hearing the no metal rumor this year just made me sigh.

[thomasowen]

the second i heard they werent having any metal headliners this year was the second i knew i wasnt going.

Reading/Leeds has become quite generic over the years. Its been in the past where you couldget every type of music you'd want there. But now its a case of it you're not indie you're not getting in.

Any festival that lets flash in the pans like razorlight or franz ferdinand headline has lost it's way.

Look how many festivals razorlight and killers are headlining this year and look how many people are complaining about how generic things are getting. The T in the park peeps are livid. Its not because these arent big bands....it's just you want something ELSE to listen too over 3 days than standard guitar lead indie drivel.

Most bands on the radio 1 stage you wont ever hear of again because every indie band has 1 good/popular song in them and then they disapear.

bring back the diversity. I thought they hit the nail on the head with Rage last year. Hearing the no metal rumor this year just made me sigh.

Edited February 26, 2009 by thomasowen

[Lithium05]

Dont mind if there's no metal headliner, someone like Green Day or Blink would be sufficient, just want some diversity!

Maybe I could start one of those always effective online petitions to get Megadeth signed on as the tent headliner during the arctic monkeys...

[hearing_aid]

I would actually argue though, musically, Radiohead are a lot more diverse compared to Kings of Leon and the Arctic Monkeys then bands like Green Day or Foo Fighters etc would be.

[benisright]

Yup, Green Day are a lot closer to arctic monkeys than Radiohead are.

I just want to see whose headlining the NME tent.

[Englishdragon]

the second i heard they werent having any metal headliners this year was the second i knew i wasnt going.

Reading/Leeds has become quite generic over the years. Its been in the past where you couldget every type of music you'd want there. But now its a case of it you're not indie you're not getting in.

Any festival that lets flash in the pans like razorlight or franz ferdinand headline has lost it's way.

Look how many festivals razorlight and killers are headlining this year and look how many people are complaining about how generic things are getting. The T in the park peeps are livid. Its not because these arent big bands....it's just you want something ELSE to listen too over 3 days than standard guitar lead indie drivel.

Most bands on the radio 1 stage you wont ever hear of again because every indie band has 1 good/popular song in them and then they disapear.

bring back the diversity. I thought they hit the nail on the head with Rage last year. Hearing the no metal rumor this year just made me sigh.

[dan666]

I been going now for 5 years aswell and i must admit. As much as i loved last year. The people are getting more and more f**king annoying and younger.

It might just be me getting older and the people going are younger, But it feels like i cba to get pissed every night and run around "raving" or in "angry mobs".

I said every year that i would always go to reading no matter what the lineup is. But with my money situation this year unless there are bands i have not seen before then im not sure if i will go. After 5 years of festivaling you tend to see the same bands nearly every year and im just getting a little bored of it.

[Englishdragon]

I been going now for 5 years aswell and i must admit. As much as i loved last year. The people are getting more and more f**king annoying and younger.

It might just be me getting older and the people going are younger, But it feels like i cba to get pissed every night and run around "raving" or in "angry mobs".

I said every year that i would always go to reading no matter what the lineup is. But with my money situation this year unless there are bands i have not seen before then im not sure if i will go. After 5 years of festivaling you tend to see the same bands nearly every year and im just getting a little bored of it.

[dan666]

Thing is i think slowly over the years my friends will slowly stop going and the novelty will wear off slightly.

[neiltring]

I've been going to reading since 2002, every year without fail, wether its a free backstage ticket, i queue for 8hrs or sit on the floor outside the ticket office.

But the past few years the line up hasnt been great, the festival itself is going downhill and i think violence (not to each other) is on the rise with the kids going to Reading. My friends and i were 17 when we first started and yeah you get drunk etc, watch violence ensue and kind of go along.

Its just become more annoying, i would rather go see bands, chill and hang with friends. The 'lets set fire to things/pull down the lights or even games of Trolley' are just old hat.

I've been going to Lowlands now for 3 years, and im not sure wether because its in Holland, or theres no fires allowed, but there is no violence at all. Its cleaner and the lineup is more diverse, more so than Reading. Its more akin to Glasto really..

Anyway, unless this year has a 'to die for' lineup i doubt ill be going, i've seen all the legends of rock etc that i wanted to see, Rage was the last.

[rivalschools.price]

due to the line up i suspect quite a few will give this tear a break.disapointed tho i am,we all need to remember that there will be loads of other bands there-already looking up with rise against rumoured-so there is no need to write the festival off yet til the full line up is announced

[beLIEveR]

I had to seriously consider it when I realised that R/L weren't joking, KoL AND AM really are two of the three headliners.

This is my last big summer break unless I end up redundant or unemployed in the future, and festivals are what I've always done, so I sort of feel the need to go regardless. I'll probably continue what I did this year- buy my ticket in the presale, if I'm not impressed with the lineup I'll Scarlet Mist it.

When you've got 13 to 15 weeks off a year (or at least, in that time you only do a part time job that's easy to get time off for) you can justify doing a couple of festivals even if the lineup's iffy, you'll still have a good time. These days I feel I'm having less of a good time, and if in future I only get 4 weeks off, I wouldn't want to lose one of those AND come back even slightly disappointed.

[Bradders]

I've been going 7 years and since the first one I've never even thought about whether to buy a ticket, it just goes without saying. No change this year. In my opinion these are the best headliners since I've been going. But like I said me and all the mates have known we were going since we left last year. Like most of you I love just relaxing round a campfire with a few cans, it's one of my favourite parts of the festival. The fact that there are idiots around that would rather form an angry mob, start fires or get up to whatever other 'wacky' antics they think would make them look hard doesn't make any difference to me. I just ignore them.

The diversity complaint I think is slightly flawed. Does it really matter if the mainstage headliners are all "indie" (even though they're not)? Surely it's the headliners across several stages on one day that need to be diverse. Then you have a variety of bands to choose from...

Edited February 26, 2009 by Bradders

[pink_triangle]

I sometimes get the impression that some people think all indie fans will love the headliners and all the metal ones be driven away. My musical tastes are indie/rock and i dont own an album by any of the 3 rumoured headliners. However im not throwing a big hissy fit, beyond the headliners there will no doubt be some great current bands and hidden gems who i wil get to see for the first time before they become huge. Hey I may even watch one of the runored headliners if there is nothing else on, at least i know a few of the songs. People should forget this idea that there is some big indie conspiracy to drive away all the metalheads from readlig/leeds and accept that there are more indie bands capable of headlining the festival than metal and some years we may end up with indiecentric headliners. Of you dont like the headliners watch someone else.

[hearing_aid]

I've been going 7 years and since the first one I've never even thought about whether to buy a ticket, it just goes without saying. No change this year. In my opinion these are the best headliners since I've been going. But like I said me and all the mates have known we were going since we left last year. Like most of you I love just relaxing round a campfire with a few cans, it's one of my favourite parts of the festival. The fact that there are idiots around that would rather form an angry mob, start fires or get up to whatever other 'wacky' antics they think would make them look hard doesn't make any difference to me. I just ignore them.

The diversity complaint I think is slightly flawed. Does it really matter if the mainstage headliners are all "indie" (even though they're not)? Surely it's the headliners across several stages on one day that need to be diverse. Then you have a variety of bands to choose from...

[hearing_aid]

I sometimes get the impression that some people think all indie fans will love the headliners and all the metal ones be driven away. My musical tastes are indie/rock and i dont own an album by any of the 3 rumoured headliners. However im not throwing a big hissy fit, beyond the headliners there will no doubt be some great current bands and hidden gems who i wil get to see for the first time before they become huge. Hey I may even watch one of the runored headliners if there is nothing else on, at least i know a few of the songs. People should forget this idea that there is some big indie conspiracy to drive away all the metalheads from readlig/leeds and accept that there are more indie bands capable of headlining the festival than metal and some years we may end up with indiecentric headliners. Of you dont like the headliners watch someone else.

[thomasowen]

The point is that the orginizers just couldn't get a big metal act, it is not a case of them trying to squeeze out all metal of the festival. Greenday were approached and couldn't do it, and I'm strugling to think of another band who could have been booked and weren't elsewhere.

[deegs]

I'm feeling this after 7 years in a row of Leeds, I think most of my friends are giving it a miss this year, which is a pain, I'll be there next year but I think next year is a bit of a doubt! I don't want to miss one purely out of tradition and the fact that if I don't, ill be bored as anything sat at home the last weekend in August!

[kaosmark2]

I'm not particularly excited by any festival this year, although I'm hoping Latitude will produce something good. The bands are a bit cyclic, although hopefully with both Muse and Foos taking a break the festivals will look for some other acts.....

But yeah, I'm probably gonna go to Reading, unless the line-up is shoddy apart from Radiohead.

[Lithium05]

I sometimes get the impression that some people think all indie fans will love the headliners and all the metal ones be driven away. My musical tastes are indie/rock and i dont own an album by any of the 3 rumoured headliners. However im not throwing a big hissy fit, beyond the headliners there will no doubt be some great current bands and hidden gems who i wil get to see for the first time before they become huge.

[thomasowen]

That's my point though, ever since the NME started sponsering the 2nd stage, even when there's an indie orientated band on the main stage there's been no metal/hard rock alternative on the second stage just another indie orientated band. That's all I want from a festival that's supposed to cover all bases, I mean why is it that when the Arctic Monkeys are doing their overrated bit on the main stage, why can't we have a Megadeth or a Machine Head in the biggest tent, the closest thing to a heavy headliner there's been for the last 3 years has been the Manics and Ash, who aren't that far away in style (albeit the gulf in quality is massive) to the bands they clashed with. I know BFMV played last year and Coheed played in 2006 but I want to see some bands like this or bigger headlining the 2nd!

As a fan of Indie you're well catered for, I'd just like to see the rest of us considered! (And don't give me any of that lock-up nonsense, that stage is tiny!)

[rivalschools.price]

I really dont understand this, they have metal / hard rock acts on the main stage pretty much all day friday (Leeds) and some on main stage the other days too. They also have some hard rock acts on NME and of course two days of lock up. It is not a metal festival, if you want metal there are other festivals to go to. I mean I would appreciate some more acoustic stuff, more dance outside the dance stage etc, there is a lot more metal then pretty much any other real genre of music at the festival, anymore and it would become Download.

The thing with metal acts is they seem to be massive or have a cult following, their isn't really an inbetween like there is with indie. You mentioned Megadeth or Machinehead headlining the NME stage, but I don't think they would get a big enough audience at Reading and Leeds.