Well overall that was....

[micawber]

This one was inspired by an evil TV Show.....The really wild show!

[Mouseboy11]

I want my money back. I want my money back ...... inspired by Watchdog. He watches too much telly. I just hope that he doesn't f*ck his voice up doing that stuff.

[lharris92]

great weekend topped off with the odd shower.

some of the comedy was awesome if a bit twisted (late night gimp fight, reginald d hunter) and the two guys before rdh.

music was good too: hadouken!, every time i die, lower than atlantis, young guns, atdi, pabh, the gaslight anthem were all solid but for me the foos, mongol horde, green day, bullet and billy talent topped it all off.

also the security were really good natured this year and were having a joke or two with people. lot of younger people again (but maybe thats just everyone else getting older - including me ).

glad i left sunday after the foos though, gave me a full nights sleep which was needed

[sjseabass]

This one was inspired by an evil TV Show.....The really wild show!

[micawber]

......plus what happened at the campsite after made Sunday one of the best days of my life .

[Justiceforcedave]

The average age at Reading is definitely getting younger and younger. Only 28 and I felt like an old man in Orange Camp this year! Are there really less 'post-GCSE kids' there at Leeds? I think it's time to move to White camp - not at the hotel stage just yet!!

[Gingetastico]

Underwhelming.

After booking my 2011 ticket I was saying that 2011 would be my final goodbye to Reading. After 2011 I knew I would be back this year. I can safely say that this year lacked a certain... magic that made my last three so good. I don't know, maybe I missed something this year. It will take something major for me to return next year. (Especially because I dont want to spend my 21st birthday travelling home)

[JFKvsNixon]

You can't leave it like that!!! What happened, or don't I need to guess?

[Justiceforcedave]

I want my money back. I want my money back ...... inspired by Watchdog. He watches too much telly. I just hope that he doesn't f*ck his voice up doing that stuff.

[Dan R]

The average age at Reading is definitely getting younger and younger. Only 28 and I felt like an old man in Orange Camp this year! Are there really less 'post-GCSE kids' there at Leeds? I think it's time to move to White camp - not at the hotel stage just yet!!

[sjseabass]

You can't leave it like that!!! What happened, or don't I need to guess?

[Dan R]

Well he didn't fuck it up when he was singing in Million Dead did he?

[edfirth]

Well at Leeds iv always camped in blue which is one of the busiest camps, and seen a few post-GSCE kids but theyve not been a huge presence. As soon as I got to reading I felt old (and im only 20). This was the first time iv really understood its reputation. I think up north theres fewer parents who can fork out £200 for their kids to go to a festival.

[Mouseboy11]

I dont think he screamed like that with million dead, now its a whole other beast

[micawber]

I think that the festival in general had a slightly older contingent than usual this year. I didn't see as many youngsters about (though there were still more young than old (old being 20+ for Leeds))

[edfirth]

Yeah, funny that, contrary to the other comments, I thought that there were fewer youngsters (16-19) than usual (Reading) compared to the last 6 years. And I'm over the hill, so I can tell the difference. I can't comment on the campsite, but as usual it was the 20-30 year olds throwing cups and bottles, and not the much maligned teenagers.

[ivan]

Yeah this, he sounds demonic at times!

Also all those at PABH missed out on an amazing Of Monsters and Men set!

[micawber]

For me, the new/breakthrough acts stole the show over the established stars. I loved Of Monsters and Men, Alt-J and The Black Keys.

[Dan R]

All these comments about of monsters and men is making me sad. My phone randomly set itself half an hour fast, so thought id missed them, then wandered into the arena and saw them go offstage.

[Jaybles]

great weekend topped off with the odd shower.

some of the comedy was awesome if a bit twisted (late night gimp fight, reginald d hunter) and the two guys before rdh.

Edited August 27, 2012 by Jaybles

[Chavmeisterdeluxe]

Oh I forgot Twin Atlantic, they were absolutely brilliant too.

[tays9]

As somebody who has been at Reading every year since 2004 (when a weekend camping ticket was £122) this year is the first year where I think the additional year-on-year cost has been justified. I’m not going to gush on and say it was the best Reading ever, but things have come on in leaps and bounds over the last two years.

Some points:

Improvements to infrastructure – I think everything just ran a lot smoother this year, from the sound (which was excellent on all four music stages) to the security, and the “ghostbuster” teams seemed a lot more pro-active than in previous years. I’m a fan of the new main stage decals, and maybe it was my imagination, but the screens were a little bit bigger.

I think the layout of the arena needs a little tweak – there are still minor bottle necks down by the Lock-up / NME tent, although this was only an issue during mass exoduses of the NME stage late at night (where people went towards the main stage). Some screens on the back of the two disabled viewing platforms wouldn’t go amiss, as well as more signs in the arena (eg Disabled platform 1, Ice Cream Truck 4) – as it would make it a bit easier to meet people who get separated in the arena.

Beer / Breakfast Bap – Whilst I was initially a bit disappointed that this had seemingly been downgraded from an arena pint and burger, it was well executed on both the wristband exchange and in the mornings – although I Skol must be the cheapest lager FR could've bought in wholesale (Gaymers or Tuborg would've been more logical choices, given their sponsorship). I’d be very interested to hear how many people had their bap on Saturday given the rush for Green Day.

I’d like to see the queue pen system introduced at the bars (mainly the ’72 and ’78 by Main stage) as it was quite easy to get served and avoids people piling in all at once. It works well at V Festival (Chelmsford), but I fear that Reading’s arena doesn’t have the space.

Lineup – I’m not gonna harp on about ‘x should be above y’ etc, I’ve always thought festivals are about going to enjoy what you like, and finding something new for the times inbetween. I saw (and enjoyed) bands I didn’t plan to see (The Subways / Hadouken) but sadly missed things I wanted to due to stage clashes (SBTRKT and Two Door Cinema Club amongst others), but such is life. Next year I’d like to see a slightly bigger Festival Republic stage, and I’d be very interested in an outdoor NME tent (and can only presume it hasn’t been done before because of sound bleed or other space issues).

Punters – normally this is a point of contention – in terms of youngsters acting up it wasn’t that bad, and certainly nowhere near the "antics" that the more longstanding attendees got up to in their 'heyday' (Trolley Wars etc). One thing that didn’t go unnoticed was the amount of young girls wearing very very short cutoffs!!! (not a complaint, but one could almost tell which breakfast bap certain young ladies had chosen that morning...)

All in all - a really enjoyable weekend, but my body feels broken (due to consumption of Gaymers) and I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed tonight. As for whether I reach my milestone tenth Reading remains to be seen (depends on price, lineup etc)

Hope everyone else had a great time!

Edited August 27, 2012 by tays9

[the wonderwhy]

Really enjoyed my first time- definitely coming back next year if I can avoid. Only negatives were some douchebag destroying my tent on Saturday (and then clearing the rest of the camp on Sunday) and Crystal Castles being absolute rubbish.

Other than that, it was awesome. The Cure were incredible and I'm so bloody happy that I finally got to see them in all their glory. Twin Atlantic were probably the 2nd best band of the weekend, they were really good. In fact, the NME tent probably had the best acts all round- Of Monster and Men, Tribes, Howler, Django Django, Passion Pit, Spector and The Joy Formidable. Lucy Rose, Feeder, Kasabian, Florence, The Vaccines and Kaiser Cheifs (was pleased they played mainly old stuff) were wicked as well.

Wonderful atmosphere too

[rug568]

Best Reading yet. I think the weather helped, and obviously the awesome line up really contributed to it. I thought the security were quite good and the organisation was fantastic, especially for Green Day.

We were camped around some privately educated bellends though. Watching them trying to roll a spliff was fucking hilarious.

This was the first year i went with people who have very similar music tastes so that was nice.

Getting out of the car park in white was a fucking nightmare, needed more organisation.

Will probably go next year as long as there is a decent line up.

Highlights:

Foo Fighters

The Cure

Green Day

Hives

Twin Atlantic

Billy Talent

ATDI

Kaiser Chiefs

Black Keys.

[liam]

I’d be very interested to hear how many people had their bap on Saturday given the rush for Green Day.

I’d like to see the queue pen system introduced at the bars (mainly the ’72 and ’78 by Main stage) as it was quite easy to get served and avoids people piling in all at once. It works well at V Festival (Chelmsford), but I fear that Reading’s arena doesn’t have the space.

Edited August 27, 2012 by liam