mandypants Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I've spent the last 20 minutes reading this thread and it has made me sad. I have just booked tickets for Leeds 2010 having got sick to the back teeth with V being chav-tastic. Sounds like Leeds is just as bad, if not worse. Surely someone must have something positive to say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serginhowardinho Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I've spent the last 20 minutes reading this thread and it has made me sad. I have just booked tickets for Leeds 2010 having got sick to the back teeth with V being chav-tastic. Sounds like Leeds is just as bad, if not worse. Surely someone must have something positive to say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benissright Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 This is my last reading, but one of my favourites. If the council make it so that fires are banned. I genuinely fear for peoples safety next year. It would be an idiotic proposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festivalgirl4 Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 i'm guessing they were hoping having the 'organised bonfire' would reduce fires this year but clearly not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halfpint Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I was at Lollapalooza a couple of weeks back. It was so clean in comparison to Leeds. Whenever I finished a drink or food, I looked up and there was a bin there. The recycling initiative meant that they gave out bin liners that if you filled you got a sticker. If you got enough stickers you got something or entered into a draw etc. I didn't bother with this myself, but then I don't bother with the cup collecting at Leeds, and just make sure that someone that is bothered gets my rubbish/cup. It honestly made a big difference. Crowds are like sheep. Also there's no camping at Lollapalooza. Everyone stays in hotels and hostels as it's right in the centre. I reckon this cuts down on the "Lord of the Flies" effect at Leeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyabis Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I ended my 8 year run with Reading and decided not to go this year. Looks like i totally made the correct decision. Reading this thread it sounds like everything I thought had gone wrong with the festival the past few years has gotten even worse this year. The campsite banter has died off and the lineup has completely gone down hill. At the moment I can't see myself ever returning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beLIEveR Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I had a great time listening to the bands all weekend but I definitely won't be turning up to Leeds festival again. I was threatened with violence twice while at the festival, my friend had his belongings taken and the amount of drunken idiots around the place has turned me off completely. Not to mention that the whole place was dirty, smelly and felt really forced. Leeds was fun while it lasted but i'll be taking my business elsewhere from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benj Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 As a Reading goer who stayed in a hotel, I did not think the festival crowd was any different to that of the last 3-4 years, I suspect many of the moaners on this front have probably themselves just grown out of eing able to be around that age of campers. The changes to the arena were definitely for the best, seeming to ease congestion and create far more space for seating, esp around the Tent, where we ended spending most of our time . The only issues for me were the massively extended walking distance to get into the Arena from town, having to go through Red Gate, which seemed mad and the weather which was awful. Deffo the second worse for me in 13 Readings (2004 being the only worse one). It was sooo cold with that wind blowing, I was forced to buy a fleece on the Sunday, it was truly miserable and deffo had an effect on our enjoyment of the festival. As someone who initially supported it, I have to say the line-up wasn't that great in the end, with Enter Shikari, Gaslight and Dananana... being the only really stand out performances for me. The Gossip being by far the best headliner (and I saw bits of 5) kind of says it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemaiden Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 As a Reading goer who stayed in a hotel, I did not think the festival crowd was any different to that of the last 3-4 years, I suspect many of the moaners on this front have probably themselves just grown out of eing able to be around that age of campers. The changes to the arena were definitely for the best, seeming to ease congestion and create far more space for seating, esp around the Tent, where we ended spending most of our time . The only issues for me were the massively extended walking distance to get into the Arena from town, having to go through Red Gate, which seemed mad and the weather which was awful. Deffo the second worse for me in 13 Readings (2004 being the only worse one). It was sooo cold with that wind blowing, I was forced to buy a fleece on the Sunday, it was truly miserable and deffo had an effect on our enjoyment of the festival. As someone who initially supported it, I have to say the line-up wasn't that great in the end, with Enter Shikari, Gaslight and Dananana... being the only really stand out performances for me. The Gossip being by far the best headliner (and I saw bits of 5) kind of says it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benj Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 I saw Billy Talent, Arctic Monkeys and Lostprophets and would expect that they were all better than the Gossip, I heard Faith No More were excellent as were Marmaduke Duke, so that is a strange statement to make.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spwan-of-the-devil Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Can i say i did want to go to leeds this year before seeing the line up.. And ive done V and Download.. but there were bands who i did want to see but only one that i hadent which was the Deaftones.. and as well reading whats gone on here and some of Downloads trouble sounded bad this year we got out as quick as to avioid it after the year before.. As this year you could tell it was going to kick off.. But still it sounds worse than this year at Download which sounded bad.. so I may go to Leeds for a day if its a good line up but thats it.. Other than that i will stick to Download and V (if they pull a Green DAy or REM) as its local.. for me... You have V.. Leeds is a bigger version of V... Download is a bigger version of Soni and still the great amtmosphire.. why because i think it has bands and entertainment for all for,, me im 23,, it had Limp Bizkit.. and Trivium and for the older Journey and FNM... and it all goes well together.. Download Rules but i just think as well when it turns into a Sunday at Festivals ALL TW@TS come out to play... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candourhandle Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 I'm 17 and can't help but find a lot of the "the festival has changed so much over the last x years" remarks funny. I'm going to sound really blunt here but maybe it's just that you're getting older, the kind of music which encaptivated you in your youth is no longer the kind of music which inspires the youth of today, just as the music which inspired your parents is different to that of your own. No doubt many of the younger festival goers today will eventually become veterans as you are and complain in a similar way; I just find the whole concept too cliche to take seriously. Moreover, I call bullshit on the "bands have been getting progressively worse" front. Last year saw possibly the best lineup in reading/leeds history. My favourite bands are The Cure, System of a Down, Metallica and John Coltrane whereas, for example, my friend of the same age's favourite bands are The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Foals and Pendulum. The lineup last yeat offered a great deal to both me and my friend despite our differences in taste. The 2007 lineup, although arguably not as diverse, also featured an array of influential, great live bands. I'm not going to lie, I found the lineup this year poor in comparison to previous years, but this year was the exception, not the rule. Next year there are a great many good bands that should be free to do reading/leeds which weren't available this year such as The Strokes, Beastie Boys, Blink, Pearl Jam, Muse, Pixies (possibly) and by having an arguably poor year this year, we've taken some 'undesirable' bands out of contention. At the end of the day, the experience you have at the festival is subjective, a great deal depends on where you camp, who you camp with, what you've brought, which day you arrived, which bands you like and so on and although the input of others may have no weight in your decision as whether or not to attend the festival again, I find it pretty crass to put your decision down to the average age of the festival goer (which I don't think has ever really changed) and this year's poor lineup, given that it's been good in the past and is likely to be good next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemaiden Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 I'm 17 and can't help but find a lot of the "the festival has changed so much over the last x years" remarks funny. I'm going to sound really blunt here but maybe it's just that you're getting older, the kind of music which encaptivated you in your youth is no longer the kind of music which inspires the youth of today, just as the music which inspired your parents is different to that of your own. No doubt many of the younger festival goers today will eventually become veterans as you are and complain in a similar way; I just find the whole concept too cliche to take seriously. Moreover, I call bullshit on the "bands have been getting progressively worse" front. Last year saw possibly the best lineup in reading/leeds history. My favourite bands are The Cure, System of a Down, Metallica and John Coltrane whereas, for example, my friend of the same age's favourite bands are The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Foals and Pendulum. The lineup last yeat offered a great deal to both me and my friend despite our differences in taste. The 2007 lineup, although arguably not as diverse, also featured an array of influential, great live bands. I'm not going to lie, I found the lineup this year poor in comparison to previous years, but this year was the exception, not the rule. Next year there are a great many good bands that should be free to do reading/leeds which weren't available this year such as The Strokes, Beastie Boys, Blink, Pearl Jam, Muse, Pixies (possibly) and by having an arguably poor year this year, we've taken some 'undesirable' bands out of contention. At the end of the day, the experience you have at the festival is subjective, a great deal depends on where you camp, who you camp with, what you've brought, which day you arrived, which bands you like and so on and although the input of others may have no weight in your decision as whether or not to attend the festival again, I find it pretty crass to put your decision down to the average age of the festival goer (which I don't think has ever really changed) and this year's poor lineup, given that it's been good in the past and is likely to be good next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benj Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 At the end of the day, the experience you have at the festival is subjective, a great deal depends on where you camp, who you camp with, what you've brought, which day you arrived, which bands you like and so on and although the input of others may have no weight in your decision as whether or not to attend the festival again, I find it pretty crass to put your decision down to the average age of the festival goer (which I don't think has ever really changed) and this year's poor lineup, given that it's been good in the past and is likely to be good next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beLIEveR Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 I refuse to believe that Candourhandle isn't a regular trying to make a point. But regardless of who s/he is, that's spot on. The lineup was poor this year, but it was still a good festival in my opinion, admittedly made far better by where I was camped. Most lineups of recent times have been very good, and the average age hasn't changed, we're simply getting a year closer to/further past it each time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lithium05 Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 (edited) You've got a point. Plus 2004 was arguably a weak line-up and it was followed by probably the strongest set of headliners in the past 10 years (Pixies, Foos and Iron Maiden) Sadly I fear that due to the bucks apparently lying on the trendy side of things, a set of headliners like 2005 seems unlikely. Also I fear we may see more bands prematurely promoted to headline status in a similar vein as KOL and AM. Kasabian, The Cribs, Pendulum, MCR, Bloc Party (wouldn't put it past them) are all potential candidates if they realise all they need to do is relentlessly force a catchy single down our throats until Joe Public can't help but buy a ticket, wait silently through the set before screaming "CHOON" when they play said catchy single. Edited September 2, 2009 by Lithium05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Explosions_In_The_Sky Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 (edited) I'm 17 and can't help but find a lot of the "the festival has changed so much over the last x years" remarks funny. I'm going to sound really blunt here but maybe it's just that you're getting older, the kind of music which encaptivated you in your youth is no longer the kind of music which inspires the youth of today, just as the music which inspired your parents is different to that of your own. No doubt many of the younger festival goers today will eventually become veterans as you are and complain in a similar way; I just find the whole concept too cliche to take seriously. Moreover, I call bullshit on the "bands have been getting progressively worse" front. Last year saw possibly the best lineup in reading/leeds history. My favourite bands are The Cure, System of a Down, Metallica and John Coltrane whereas, for example, my friend of the same age's favourite bands are The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Foals and Pendulum. The lineup last yeat offered a great deal to both me and my friend despite our differences in taste. The 2007 lineup, although arguably not as diverse, also featured an array of influential, great live bands. I'm not going to lie, I found the lineup this year poor in comparison to previous years, but this year was the exception, not the rule. Next year there are a great many good bands that should be free to do reading/leeds which weren't available this year such as The Strokes, Beastie Boys, Blink, Pearl Jam, Muse, Pixies (possibly) and by having an arguably poor year this year, we've taken some 'undesirable' bands out of contention. At the end of the day, the experience you have at the festival is subjective, a great deal depends on where you camp, who you camp with, what you've brought, which day you arrived, which bands you like and so on and although the input of others may have no weight in your decision as whether or not to attend the festival again, I find it pretty crass to put your decision down to the average age of the festival goer (which I don't think has ever really changed) and this year's poor lineup, given that it's been good in the past and is likely to be good next year. Edited September 2, 2009 by Explosions_In_The_Sky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancidpunk_76 Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 All in all, a great weekend. Until Sunday night......... No matter how many great bands i saw, what a laugh i had or memorable performances i caught - HAVING TO LEAVE AT 2.30 IN THE MORNING BECAUSE YOU FEAR FOR YOUR SAFETY JUST DOSN'T CUT IT. I'm not just talking about stamping/jumping on tents (with or without people in them), i'm not just talking about setting anything/everything on fire, i'm not just talking about dodging missiles (like full cans or beers) and i'm not just talking about having a firework lit and aimed at us (luckily it missed). What i am talking about is Melvin Benns complete lack of control of his own punters. If he can't garuntee he'll at least TRY and keep us safe within the grounds of his festival then he can frack right off. Melvin Benn stated "more security and increased Police presence". Where??? I was in purple - between the hours of midnight and 2am we didn't see a single security guard nor copper. In fact, it took almost 90 minutes for the fire brigade to turn up. We weren't at the epicentre of the trouble but were still having to dodge missiles whilst attempting to guard our tent - so we packed up and fracked off. Cheers Melvin! Been attending Reading since '96 and for the 1st time..... i'm not looking forward to next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancidpunk_76 Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 (edited) Apologies - double post Edited September 2, 2009 by Rancidpunk_76 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beLIEveR Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 I don't know if this will make you feel better or worse Rancid, but the bit of purple furthest away from the arena was easily the grimmest bit of the entire campsite come Tuesday. You could tell people were going mental in yellow and green, but the worst part of purple was by far the worst of the whole site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoTWire Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 I'm 17 and can't help but find a lot of the "the festival has changed so much over the last x years" remarks funny. I'm going to sound really blunt here but maybe it's just that you're getting older, the kind of music which encaptivated you in your youth is no longer the kind of music which inspires the youth of today, just as the music which inspired your parents is different to that of your own. No doubt many of the younger festival goers today will eventually become veterans as you are and complain in a similar way; I just find the whole concept too cliche to take seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5co77ie Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 (edited) Sorry the music programme statement above is wrong. Rock and indie landfill is dying a death though, there's so many other interesting music forms out there personally I'm glad the festival is showcasing them - I don't believe thse musical directions are being pushed by the media. Fact is La Roux was relatively unknown when she was nominated for the Mercury music prize - Kitsune (the record label) did a great job of finding decent talent - it's a label movement going on here - in the mould of all classic label movements from 4AD, to Creation, to Atlantic, to Island, to Factory - it's always the same. Google the acts on Kitsune and many of them were at Reading - we are heading/headed for a wave of French Electronica Edited September 2, 2009 by 5co77ie spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5co77ie Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 To highlight the point acts on Kitsune: * Adam Sky * Alan Braxe * Alex Gopher * Archigram * autoKratz * Black Strobe * Bloc Party * Boys Noize * Cazals * Chew Lips * Crystal Castles * Cut Copy * Digitalism * Guns N' Bombs * Fantastic Plastic Machine * Fischerspooner * Foals * Fred Falke * Hadouken! * Heartsrevolution * Hot Chip * I Scream Ice Cream * Joe and Will Ask? * Kaos[disambiguation needed] * Khan * Klaxons * Lacquer * La Roux * Lost Valentinos * Passions * Pin Me Down * Playgroup * Phones (Paul Epworth) * Romuald * Shakedown * Simian Mobile Disco * Ted & Francis * The Teenagers * The Things * Tom Vek * Tomboy * Towa Tei * Two Door Cinema Club * VHS or Beta * The Whip * The Whitest Boy Alive * Wolfmother * Yelle * You Love Her Coz She's Dead * Metronomy Hardly all on the radio, yet they have big fanbases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkymunkey Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 To highlight the point acts on Kitsune: bands Hardly all on the radio, yet they have big fanbases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Explosions_In_The_Sky Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 To highlight the point acts on Kitsune: * Adam Sky * Alan Braxe * Alex Gopher * Archigram * autoKratz * Black Strobe * Bloc Party * Boys Noize * Cazals * Chew Lips * Crystal Castles * Cut Copy * Digitalism * Guns N' Bombs * Fantastic Plastic Machine * Fischerspooner * Foals * Fred Falke * Hadouken! * Heartsrevolution * Hot Chip * I Scream Ice Cream * Joe and Will Ask? * Kaos[disambiguation needed] * Khan * Klaxons * Lacquer * La Roux * Lost Valentinos * Passions * Pin Me Down * Playgroup * Phones (Paul Epworth) * Romuald * Shakedown * Simian Mobile Disco * Ted & Francis * The Teenagers * The Things * Tom Vek * Tomboy * Towa Tei * Two Door Cinema Club * VHS or Beta * The Whip * The Whitest Boy Alive * Wolfmother * Yelle * You Love Her Coz She's Dead * Metronomy Hardly all on the radio, yet they have big fanbases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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