Lineup 2016

[mttJ]

Different way of going at it, how about your top 3 songs of the weekend? (3 different acts)

1. Biffy Clyro: 57

2. Foals: Two Steps, Twice

3. Raleigh Ritchie: The Greatest

[DirtyChorizo]

2 minutes ago, mttJ said:

Different way of going at it, how about your top 3 songs of the weekend? (3 different acts)

1. Biffy Clyro: 57

2. Foals: Two Steps, Twice

3. Raleigh Ritchie: The Greatest

57 went OFF

[JSmurphy]

2 minutes ago, mttJ said:

Different way of going at it, how about your top 3 songs of the weekend? (3 different acts)

1. Biffy Clyro: 57

2. Foals: Two Steps, Twice

3. Raleigh Ritchie: The Greatest

Foals: What Went Down
Biffy Clyro: Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies
CHVRCHES: Clearest Blue

[mttJ]

You know how a song's never as good on TV as it was live? Just watched Two Steps, Twice again and it looks just as good. Ridiculous performance.

[callum97]

Biffy Clyro: 57

Skindred: Warning

Frank Carter: I hate you

[Andre91]

After watching Parkway Drive on iPlayer, I get the impression that they just didn't like the festival and decided not to bother with Leeds. Constant comments throughout the set about the rest of the lineup being soft and the crowd lacking in energy, and that they would be the heaviest thing people would see etc. It really disappoints me as everyone knows Leeds' crowds sh*t all over Reading's anyway  

[JonSnow]

22 minutes ago, mttJ said:

Different way of going at it, how about your top 3 songs of the weekend? (3 different acts)

1. Biffy Clyro: 57

2. Foals: Two Steps, Twice

3. Raleigh Ritchie: The Greatest

Interested to find out if brought out any Got stars for this song?

I know at Glastonbury 2015 when I saw him he brought out Joe Dempsie and Maisie Williams, and this year Natalie Dormer and both times everyone went pretty crazy for it.

[mttJ]

9 minutes ago, JonSnow said:

Interested to find out if brought out any Got stars for this song?

I know at Glastonbury 2015 when I saw him he brought out Joe Dempsie and Maisie Williams, and this year Natalie Dormer and both times everyone went pretty crazy for it.

Yeah not at Reading sadly, think it's just not quite as much of a celebrity festival. He was brilliant though.

[callum97]

12 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

After watching Parkway Drive on iPlayer, I get the impression that they just didn't like the festival and decided not to bother with Leeds. Constant comments throughout the set about the rest of the lineup being soft and the crowd lacking in energy, and that they would be the heaviest thing people would see etc. It really disappoints me as everyone knows Leeds' crowds sh*t all over Reading's anyway  

Reading's crowd is getting worse and worse  also shame that R&L are booking fewer and fewer heavy acts each year 

[Chavmeisterdeluxe]

Parkway were loving Reading and the crowd were well up for it.

[Foals/Disclosure]

37 minutes ago, callum97 said:

Reading's crowd is getting worse and worse  also shame that R&L are booking fewer and fewer heavy acts each year 

I know that TV does not show the full picture, but Reading's crowds look like R1 Big Weekend crowds compared to the crowds I experienced at Leeds

[DirtyChorizo]

crowd at reading was fantastic this year, i noticed on the footage though this years shots of the crowd were absolute shite. didn't want to show any of the mosh pits.

[Yellow_Fellow]

1 hour ago, Andre91 said:

I get the impression that they just didn't like the festival and decided not to bother with Leeds.

Yeah why play a bad gig which every band does when you can just lose your fee for two gigs instead

[BeddingatReading]

27 minutes ago, DirtyChorizo said:

crowd at reading was fantastic this year, i noticed on the footage though this years shots of the crowd were absolute shite. didn't want to show any of the mosh pits.

Were we in the same crowds or what? The crowd at Reading when I got into it were awful, especially on the main stage, I sang along with some songs and started jumping up/dancing along with the music and I just got dirty looks from the kids in there. The only mosh pits I saw on the main stage were for the likes of Boy Better Know and similar artists which was an embarrassment IMO. 

[JSmurphy]

I'm pretty sure the cameras purposefully avoid showing any rough pits

[callum97]

3 minutes ago, BeddingatReading said:

Were we in the same crowds or what? The crowd at Reading when I got into it were awful, especially on the main stage, I sang along with some songs and started jumping up/dancing along with the music and I just got dirty looks from the kids in there. The only mosh pits I saw on the main stage were for the likes of Boy Better Know and similar artists which was an embarrassment IMO. 

Couldn't agree more, i felt awkward jumping up half the time! and like you said BBK and ASAP got more mosh pits then any band but they were full of 15/16 year olds making a fool of themselves and high of their face on drugs with their Stormzy bum bags

[JSmurphy]

6 minutes ago, BeddingatReading said:

Were we in the same crowds or what? The crowd at Reading when I got into it were awful, especially on the main stage, I sang along with some songs and started jumping up/dancing along with the music and I just got dirty looks from the kids in there. The only mosh pits I saw on the main stage were for the likes of Boy Better Know and similar artists which was an embarrassment IMO. 

Obviously in the big crowds that many of the Main Stage acts draw you're gonna get a massive variation in the liveliness of the crowd, but I was near the front for Foals, Biffy, Frank Carter, FOB and Skindred and the crowd was electric. The pits for That Golden Rule were particularly special. 

[callum97]

2 minutes ago, JSmurphy said:

 The pits for That Golden Rule were particularly special. 

Would of loved to of been in pits for That Golden Rule got front of third barrier though so not too bad, had an awesome view too

[Huckleberry Finn]

Won't give a review for every band I saw but a few thoughts from what was my 12th Reading:

My top five: The Magic Gang, Two Door Cinema Club, InHeaven, Fronteers, Cage The Elepant. Acts were generally of a high standard and I rarely came away disappointed from an act I was looking forward to.

Main stage headliners: I am a relative late comer to the brilliance of Foals, but they smashed it again. Didn't see a note of Disclosure, but from what I saw of RHCP, FOB and Biffy there were all horribly underwhelming.

Atmosphere: I decided against camping, staying off-site like I have in recent years, but didn't find the crowd to be as anti-social and eager to cause trouble, as I have previously. Appreciate I was only exposed to a microcosm of the atmosphere as a result but that was what I found.

As some have noted, toilet facilities were top notch again and queues for drinks and food were almost non-existent. That was off-set against the rising prices, true of many major events nowadays, which is really starting to grate.

Overall the festival really delivered again, despite having on paper a weaker line-up than from previous years. Have finally made my peace with the fact the increased dance/grime/rap acts the festival wants to book make it sustainable. It's about worth it, just.

[coreyt409]

First year without camping the whole weekend at Reading this year.
Decided to go with Saturday & Sunday tickets as the Friday didn't really appeal to me (although I was pretty gutted about missing both Franks on the main!) and the fact that both the Missus and myself don't enjoy camping at Reading at all (I've done other festivals but Reading's vibe is just awful), so decided to stay at a Premier Inn instead.
If you don't fancy camping I'd highly recommend it, half hour or so walk to the festival, which was a total walk in the park this year with the weather, staff were really helpful there too and couldn't do enough for us I must say!

Anyway,

Saturday

Skindred - These guys always put on a good show!  Benji had his high energy stage presence as usual and they really got the crowd going.  Pulled out all the big songs with the time they had, and I was actually a bit gutted they didn't have a longer set higher up on the bill as they really know how to pull it off! (9/10)

Parkway Drive - This may be slightly biased as I love this band but this is without a doubt in my top 3 sets of the weekend, they play so well together live and really pull out all the stops.  I was landed to see them be announced, and helped to sell me a Saturday ticket if I'm honest, one of the bands I was most looking forward too all weekend and they definitely didn't disappoint.  Genuinely gutted for those who were looking forward to seeing them at Leeds, you missed a good one! (10/10)

You Me at Six - Not too into these but the missus wanted to see them so I went along, saw them on the main in 2014 and they did surprise me, once again they were very good!  Seemed to draw a huge crowd to The Pit and we managed to get out of the tent towards the end, where we saw just how big the crowd was!  Very strong 'comeback' gig, got everyone singing along to their big hits. Expecting to see them high up next year, Sub headinline/Co-Headline with the likes of BMTH maybe. (8/10)

Eagles of Death Metal - Not a lot to say about these, we caught second half of their set and they sounded pretty good from where we were but we were sitting on the floor way back so can't say too much, was decent to listen to whilst lying on the grass with a pizza and a pint! (6/10)

Jack Garrett - This guy really surprised me!  If it wasn't for the missus I wouldn't have seen him, I dragged her away from him at Glastonbury for ZZ Top, so I owed it to her to go see him on the NME.  We only stayed for a little while as we met some friends but what I saw I was really impressed with.  Very good example of a 'One Man Band' and if he was at any festivals in the future I'll definitely be giving him a look! (7/10)

Courteeners - Don't really know a lot about these, only know one song (you can probably guess which one haha!) and we were sitting behind the sound tower chatting to some friends we met up with whilst they played, but they seemed to draw a fair crowd, everyone further in seemed to be really enjoying them & they did sound pretty good, maybe I need to listen to them a bit more, just can't seem to get into them. (6/10)

Imagine Dragons - I do not like this band.  We only saw them as we wanted a nice spot for Chilis, I saw them in 2014 and didn't think much of them and same goes for this year.  They don't seem to offer anything different, it may just be me but their sound seem very simple, band members don't seem too much into it, other than the vocalist, who personally I think talks a lot of shiiit.  Not a sub headliner in my opinion and should never have opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers. (4/10)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Considering the amount of negative stuff I've read about their live performances (example, Reading 2007) and how sloppy they are, they really ended the night on a high for me.  I love their music, and was slightly worried about being let down.  In my eyes they played an incredible set, hit after hit, the new songs went down very well and sounded great live, watched the end of the set back at the hotel and Anthony did sound a little off on the TV but live they sounded terrific.  Will be looking to get a ticket for London in December, really enjoyed the show! (9/10)

Sunday - We didn't see many bands on the sunday as we didn't get in until late due to the rain etc putting us off leaving the hotel, was a bit gutted about missing Five Finger Death Punch but there was no one for a good few hours after them so we didn't bother.

The Vaccines - These guys always go down well with me, I like their songs and they sound great live, everyone was singing along and everyone seemed to be having a great time with them on stage.  They drew a very decent crowd and I could see them sub headlining in the future, especially if what other sub headliners Reading has booked is anything to go by. (8/10)

Fall Out Boy - This band REALLY surprised me.  I really enjoyed them in 2013 but I weren't sure how they'd go about pulling off a headline show.  They managed it brilliantly, they drew a huge crowd from what I saw, much bigger than what I was expecting and for what was ideally a 'Sub Headline' slot, the crowd was incredible.  They played hit after hit, which made me realise how big they actually are after they were reeling off so many songs I'd actually forgotten they had.  I thought the pyro/lights/screen etc went down really well and made the show fit the Headline status they were aiming for, overall a great performance and a great surprise for me! (8.5/10)

Biffy Clyro - I absolutely love Biffy! Third time I've seen them now and they just get better every time, the new album isn't full of big memorable hits I don't think but they went down really well live and the setlist was perfect.  Amazing introduction into Wolves of Winter and a solid performance throughout.  Probably the best performance I saw of the weekend and I am really looking forward to seeing them in Cardiff again in December!  They are more than worthy of headlining other festivals and I was a bit gutted they didn't outright headline again this year.  The crowd wasn't as big as I expected but with The 1975 and Good Charlotte being on like someone said, it's not surprising.  I really wanted to see Good Charlotte as I've never seen them so if anyone did go see them I would love to hear about their set! (11/10)

Overall a good experience with day tickets and a hotel as this was a first for us, usually camping at festivals.  If any day jumps out at us next year I will definitely be booking again as I can't see myself spending the whole weekend at Reading any time soon.

 

Edited August 30, 2016 by coreyt409

[Foals/Disclosure]

The Leeds crowds seemed more up for it than usual, which is saying something

[Pop Punk Sucks]

8 hours ago, Andre91 said:

After watching Parkway Drive on iPlayer, I get the impression that they just didn't like the festival and decided not to bother with Leeds. Constant comments throughout the set about the rest of the lineup being soft and the crowd lacking in energy, and that they would be the heaviest thing people would see etc. It really disappoints me as everyone knows Leeds' crowds sh*t all over Reading's anyway  

Pretty odd opinion to have. Their comments were clearly tongue in cheek and they famously never cancel shows, so they're not going to cancel a festival set citing "family reasons" unless something serious happened. The crowd was fine for them, the screen at Reading was showing loads of mosh pits and people crowd surfing in rubber dinghy's and shit. 

[Pop Punk Sucks]

8 hours ago, callum97 said:

Reading's crowd is getting worse and worse  also shame that R&L are booking fewer and fewer heavy acts each year 

 

People like you are the biggest reason that festivals like Reading are booking fewer and fewer heavy acts each year. You come on here and moan that they don't book heavy acts, yet this year they booked one of the most exciting young heavy bands around in Heck and you didn't watch them. They booked one of the most interesting heavy bands of the last 10 years in Mastodon and you didn't watch them. They booked one of the most exciting live heavy bands of all time in The Dillinger Escape Plan and you didn't watch them. 

[Yellow_Fellow]

3 hours ago, Pop Punk Sucks said:

People like you are the biggest reason that festivals like Reading are booking fewer and fewer heavy acts each year. You come on here and moan that they don't book heavy acts, yet this year they booked one of the most exciting young heavy bands around in Heck and you didn't watch them. They booked one of the most interesting heavy bands of the last 10 years in Mastodon and you didn't watch them. They booked one of the most exciting live heavy bands of all time in The Dillinger Escape Plan and you didn't watch them. 

Completely right. There was so much stuff for people to see at R&L this year and I'm really really disappointed that so many posters here didn't bother to stray off the beaten track. Everyone saw basically the same thing and so many quality acts were missed. 

[Yellow_Fellow]

SERIOUSLY WHY DID NO ONE SEE SOPHIE I'M SO FUCKING DISAPPOINTED