Lineup 2018

[thewayiam]

8 minutes ago, Chinaski_ said:

That was the last year I went too, but they still had acts like The Cure, At the Drive In, The Shins, Foos, Black Keys, Justice etc who appeal to older crowds and adds diversity to the audiences. I don't see why they can't have these kinds of acts alongside the teeny bopper acts as well, but they need 12-15 of them to attract people down not 2/3. 

Sounds like the majority of the line up was u16 if they had to go with their parents then. Not exactly a strong market to target as they will change their minds on what they like later on. 

Not all with parents but some. Depends what you like I guess, I've never before ended my evening in NME and The Pit and not see a main stage act after 3rd from top I don't think but I enjoyed that. I can't stand The Shins. The thing is when Reading sold out the quickest for ages....it's more of the same for the festival.

[thewayiam]

2 minutes ago, Chinaski_ said:

Off the top of my head, Jack White, Qotsa, The Breeders, The Distillers, Justice, Tame Impala, BRMC, Parquet Courts, David Byrne, Chemical Brothers were playing festivals this year and they would be an improvement on the constant repeats, Courteeners, Vaccines, FOB etc. I'd certainly still go for acts like that and so would many others who no longer go. 

QOTSA did their own show and last played in 2014, people moaned when it was Blink again after only 4 years.

Distillers aren't about...no one has booked them for the later summer here, Tame Impala I don't see being a Reading band at all. BRMC to play Reading now...I don't see it, Chems I can see but just not sure they fit the mould and David Byrne wouldn't bring enough fans. 

Dua Lipa was the only really pop act on main stage if you like, others are very chatt friendly but either have a indie rock past or rap/hip hop/grime past....but that is as big as ever right now. Papa Roach in the pit was the best booking for me personally.

[TheWaters]

Decided to see a bit of Bexey while waiting for Frank Carter and I know I've said I really don't like him, but he's insane live. Packed out tent all jumping, even did a few Lil Peep songs at the end. I was with @UndergroundSound for DFA and other than us and a few others (most of whom were with us lmao) not many people were too interested. Bad Sounds had a much bigger crowd before it emptied out for DFA. 

Meeting Rou Reynolds during HMLTD was great haha.

Some of the best acts of the weekend for me:

Swmrs - surprisingly brutal crowd and a massive wall of death I went right over in.

Bring Me The Horizon - Easily one of the best sets f the entire weekend, incredible.

The Fever 333 - Only saw the end but they looked very good.

The Front Bottoms - Managed to get right to the front for them and they definitely impressed. Did quite a few older tunes too.

Travis Scott-  I was absolutely off my face so I only remember about 5 songs but what I do remember was absolute quality.

Annie Mac - The only headliner I thought was any good on the Friday, well the only act that stopped the comedown lmaooo.

BROCKHAMPTON- Absolutley incredible. Managed to get pretty close in, whole tent was bouncing. Was a bit of a crush but so worth it. Still would've liked to have seen Carti but am not gonna complain because we got 50 mins of B'hampton.

$uicideboy$- A really great crowd, good mix of songs too.

Kendrick Lamar - Managed to get right down the front and scream every single word haha, time of my life. Not so sure on his visuals though lmao. "Remember these words I WILL BE BACK" then walking off gave me goosebumps.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes- Absolutley insane as always. Getting everyone to run around the outside of the tent in the rain was a highlight. He also said he'll be back in Reading next year, then looked off stage and said "Oh and we have a tour date here" Implying he was talking about the fest first.

 

(Also I'm pretty sure I talked to a couple of people on here at points and I'm incredibly sorry I was a mess)

[TornShaun]

18 minutes ago, TheWaters said:

The Fever 333 - Only saw the end but they looked very good.

 

The Fever 333 were insane! I was at the front! Just uploading the full set to YouTube! 

[TheWaters]

1 minute ago, TornShaun said:

The Fever 333 were insane! I was at the front! Just uploading the full set to YouTube! 

Nice one, drop a link when it's uploaded mate, would love to see the full set!

[Andre91]

Who the fuck says ‘teeny bopper’? 

[Logan1996]

Got dragged to the Fever 333 , and dear lord they set the bar high for the weekend. Not been blown away like that for a while

[she bangs the drums]

1 hour ago, Chinaski_ said:

Off the top of my head, Jack White, Qotsa, The Breeders, The Distillers, Justice, Tame Impala, BRMC, Parquet Courts, David Byrne, Chemical Brothers were playing festivals this year and they would be an improvement on the constant repeats, Courteeners, Vaccines, FOB etc. I'd certainly still go for acts like that and so would many others who no longer go. 

Add King Gizzard, Iggy, Young Fathers, Hives, Run the Jewels, Enter Shikari and Prodigy to this list.  

The only positive thing is many of the landfill or repeats should be missing next year. 

[she bangs the drums]

1 hour ago, thewayiam said:

QOTSA did their own show and last played in 2014, people moaned when it was Blink again after only 4 years.

Distillers aren't about...no one has booked them for the later summer here, Tame Impala I don't see being a Reading band at all. BRMC to play Reading now...I don't see it, Chems I can see but just not sure they fit the mould and David Byrne wouldn't bring enough fans. 

Dua Lipa was the only really pop act on main stage if you like, others are very chatt friendly but either have a indie rock past or rap/hip hop/grime past....but that is as big as ever right now. Papa Roach in the pit was the best booking for me personally.

I agree about Papa Roach. 

Disagree about QoTSA, FoB played last in what 2016? That was a poor and lazy booking. They are not a headline act for this festival though I appreciate they have worked their way up, they just aren't big enough to sell mass tickets (maybe if they had reformed after 5-6 years away) QoTSA are a band improving all the time. Not a chance that FoB (and even KoL these days) could sell as many tickets as they did for Finsbury Park. 

[dentalplan]

7 minutes ago, Logan1996 said:

Got dragged to the Fever 333 , and dear lord they set the bar high for the weekend. Not been blown away like that for a while

They do seem like the real deal. The more I listen to them, the more I think it's probably not for me but I'd be really happy if people could get behind guys like that rather than willing the RATM guys to leave their mansions and reunite.

[Logan1996]

5 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

They do seem like the real deal. The more I listen to them, the more I think it's probably not for me but I'd be really happy if people could get behind guys like that rather than willing the RATM guys to leave their mansions and reunite.

I would love to see them get a bit more exposure and play a few more uk festivals/shows. the energy they had was second to none

[thewayiam]

3 minutes ago, she bangs the drums said:

I agree about Papa Roach. 

Disagree about QoTSA, FoB played last in what 2016? That was a poor and lazy booking. They are not a headline act for this festival though I appreciate they have worked their way up, they just aren't big enough to sell mass tickets (maybe if they had reformed after 5-6 years away) QoTSA are a band improving all the time. Not a chance that FoB (and even KoL these days) could sell as many tickets as they did for Finsbury Park. 

I don't disagree about FOB...it was poor and the crowd that the fest got to watch them even two years has changed and that was found out. Tbf to them as well they always took a lower slot than for their tours they were selling and another Infinity on high edition would have put them to headline....instead they fucked it. Half the issue there for me is their roots have gone and now they just produce shit. If you want to go mainstream the. You got to do it correctly. Tbh I think KOL are a lazy booking too....they are irrelevant now to be honest...imo anyway.

Talking of next year though I didn't think about FF being an option, but I don't see a Drake as well. FF Drake and TOP/BMTH would be too big and The 1975 are going to fit in somewhere.

[VCK]

My problem with the line up this year isn't the amount of non-guitar acts, but the guitar acts they did book. How is it possible for Fall Out Boy to headline a festival, with Panic! At The Disco, The Kooks, The Wombats and The Vaccines taking up high main stage slots, in 2018?

I understand that at the minute guitar music is having a bit of a lull compared to how it was 10-15 years ago, but there have still been some big enough names out there that were around this summer.

Fair play to the likes of Dua Lipa, Travis Scott and Post Malone who, by all reports, put on shows that justified their slots. Guitar acts should be watching their performances and figuring out how to get responses like that.

[Andre91]

16 minutes ago, VCK said:

My problem with the line up this year isn't the amount of non-guitar acts, but the guitar acts they did book. How is it possible for Fall Out Boy to headline a festival, with Panic! At The Disco, The Kooks, The Wombats and The Vaccines taking up high main stage slots, in 2018?

I understand that at the minute guitar music is having a bit of a lull compared to how it was 10-15 years ago, but there have still been some big enough names out there that were around this summer.

Fair play to the likes of Dua Lipa, Travis Scott and Post Malone who, by all reports, put on shows that justified their slots. Guitar acts should be watching their performances and figuring out how to get responses like that.

Excellent post. 

FOB clearly aren’t a headline draw going by the crowd they had at Leeds. KOL had a small crowd too, as did The Libertines the other year. They aren’t shifting tickets as headliners.

Edited August 27, 2018 by Andre91

[dum surfer]

With how incredible brockhampton were and considering they have a new album dropping in September, can anyone see FR getting them back next year for a higher slot on main?

[VCK]

28 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Excellent post. 

FOB clearly aren’t a headline draw going by the crowd they had at Leeds. KOL had a small crowd too, as did The Libertines the other year. They aren’t shifting tickets as headliners.

Sadly I think the time for bands like KOL and The Libertines has passed. Fun at the time but I guess people eventually grew tired of that formulaic four chord Indie rock type stuff.

Plus when watching the crowds for Kendrick, Post Malone, Travis Scott and Dua Lipa this year, and Boy Better Know the other year, I've wondered when the last time a rock band on the main stage at Reading got the crowd going as wild as those acts have. The entire crowd was bouncing for Kendrick's set.

I think rock will make a comeback eventually but right now it's EDM and hip hop that's really galvanising the youth, and Reading and Leeds have done well to cater to that market this year, as they always have done with trends in music.

[dentalplan]

39 minutes ago, VCK said:

My problem with the line up this year isn't the amount of non-guitar acts, but the guitar acts they did book. How is it possible for Fall Out Boy to headline a festival, with Panic! At The Disco, The Kooks, The Wombats and The Vaccines taking up high main stage slots, in 2018?

I understand that at the minute guitar music is having a bit of a lull compared to how it was 10-15 years ago, but there have still been some big enough names out there that were around this summer.

Fair play to the likes of Dua Lipa, Travis Scott and Post Malone who, by all reports, put on shows that justified their slots. Guitar acts should be watching their performances and figuring out how to get responses like that.

Who else are they supposed to book? The alternatives are likely even more outdated and irrelevant. The ones that people are posting on this thread certainly are.

I dunno if the footage is deceiving but the likes of The Wombats, The Kooks, The Vaccines all seemed to get pretty big crowds belting out the words to newer songs - Two Door's crowd last year (I imagine they'd be classed there if The Vaccines are) was reportedly humongous. Just cos they've been around a while doesn't mean people don't know 'em. And we've gone over it plenty but some of these bands are about as big as they've ever been. Really doesn't seem like the problem to me. Maybe yr problem should be with stagnant indie rock as a whole.

[dentalplan]

@Mattymooz can you come thru with some clashfinder statistics please? You only seemed to post them before we actually knew what stage anyone was on.

[danz026]

1 minute ago, dentalplan said:

Who else are they supposed to book? The alternatives are likely even more outdated and irrelevant. The ones that people are posting on this thread certainly are.

I dunno if the footage is deceiving but the likes of The Wombats, The Kooks, The Vaccines all seemed to get pretty big crowds belting out the words to newer songs - Two Door's crowd last year (I imagine they'd be classed there if The Vaccines are) was reportedly humongous. Just cos they've been around a while doesn't mean people don't know 'em. And we've gone over it plenty but some of these bands are about as big as they've ever been. Really doesn't seem like the problem to me. Maybe yr problem should be with stagnant indie rock as a whole.

 

 

Exactly. Those bands are pretty much the crown jewels of British indie at the moment outside of Arctic Monkeys, Catfish, The Libertines, The1975, Bastille, Foals, Courteeners, Muse and either half of the Gallagher clan, all of which are at least sub-headliners at R&L if booked again and three of them (The1975, Arctics and Muse) won't play unless they headline.

 

[gregbanks]

Neighbourhood Weekender is the best indie festival other than TRNSMT

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, dum surfer said:

With how incredible brockhampton were and considering they have a new album dropping in September, can anyone see FR getting them back next year for a higher slot on main?

Yep I wouldn't be surprised if they've already been asked to return next year. 4th/5th main I reckon.

[gfa]

I got back from Reading last night, unfortunately my whole camp decided to leave around 9pm before KoL which we heard while walking away which was a shame. Had a great time regardless, no particular favourite but the favourites consist of brockhampton, fall out boy, wombats, rex orange county, frank carter, pendulum, kendrick, vaccines and fickle friends.

Friday was a sort of mediocre day, we started with the secret Wombats set which had a few rarities from the first album which was nice to hear i've seen them a fair amount of times but didn't like their second Reading set as it was kind of ruined by the lack of moshing due to being so densely packed. BMTH are a band i'm not particularly a fan of but I did decide to see them and the atmosphere was great. Then noticed it was Fickle Friends next who i enjoyed at Community in 2017 so I decided to revisit them and they put on a good show. Kooks were shocking, the most exciting thing about their performance was these people next to us making quadruple shoulder stacks, Naive and She Moves in her Own Way were good it just felt like a chore waiting for them. We went back to camp and returned for FoB, their 'big songs' were great live and the screens were fun to watch as someone who doesn't really know their songs, I think they put on a good show for a headliner who shouldn't really be headlining, shame it was so empty though as the atmosphere wasn't brilliant.

Brockhampton was absolutely packed on friday and I lost all my group during the first song. I got dragged to it similar to rex and kendrick but I enjoyed all three of them (except Kendrick but that was only because of the dust, he was brilliant), i didn't go to Dua Lipa as the only people i found after brockhampton were going to Rex Orange County so I went there instead of Dua Lipa although if I had the choice I would of picked Dua Lipa but i don't think i would of enjoyed it alone. Saturday was definitely my favourite with just this alone, let alone the bit of Pendulum we saw before heading to get a good spot for kendrick.

Sunday was a bit of a weird one, I started with AJR who were in the dance tent which is not really what I would expect, especially at 2pm when they have a song with over 300 million listens, although the tent wasn't completely full from what I remember but thats probably just because of how early they are and most people would overlook them who are interested in them due to being on the dance stage. They put on a brilliant show despite being very weird at the start. Next it was to the Frank Carter secret set which was the only pit show I saw which was great, we got there as the circle pit around the tent started which was fun and as ever, the atmosphere was brilliant. We then got told there was a 21 pilots secret set at R1 stage which was a lie by a group of stewards so we saw the DMAs after who had like tons of flares for some reason in a half full tent which was weird. Got dragged to J Hus which was shockingly bad even like the roadmen said it was shit. Then went to Riton and Kah-Lo for rinse and repeat, then Wilkinson for Afterglow before heading to The Vaccines for the final set of the weekend.

~

Also visited the silent disco on Friday and Saturday night which had huge "2 hour queues" which took half an hour. It was interesting seeing what was played there as classic indie/rock songs were making waves, along with chart music, edm and grime. There was a huge boo when the dj teased Mr Brightside then before the first chorus decided to turn it off and called it shit which was great, leading the other dj to put it on his channel. Silent Disco was suprisingly fun

[Chinaski_]

34 minutes ago, VCK said:

Sadly I think the time for bands like KOL and The Libertines has passed. Fun at the time but I guess people eventually grew tired of that formulaic four chord Indie rock type stuff.

Plus when watching the crowds for Kendrick, Post Malone, Travis Scott and Dua Lipa this year, and Boy Better Know the other year, I've wondered when the last time a rock band on the main stage at Reading got the crowd going as wild as those acts have. The entire crowd was bouncing for Kendrick's set.

I think rock will make a comeback eventually but right now it's EDM and hip hop that's really galvanising the youth, and Reading and Leeds have done well to cater to that market this year, as they always have done with trends in music.

It's because the guitar acts they book are boring and MOR. KOL looked pretty decent when they were playing Aha Shake Heartbreak at the start of their set, then they descended into the stadium stuff and it was dull. I think the likes of QOTSA, Jack White, Arctics, Green Day, Metallica could get the crowd going. I think we're in a serious lull at the moment with regards exciting new bands, everything just sounds like a rehash of before or new bands have nothing that distinguishes them from their peers. It's all Gallagher and Strokes lite. 

[danz026]

16 minutes ago, gfa said:

I got back from Reading last night, unfortunately my whole camp decided to leave around 9pm before KoL which we heard while walking away which was a shame. Had a great time regardless, no particular favourite but the favourites consist of brockhampton, fall out boy, wombats, rex orange county, frank carter, pendulum, kendrick, vaccines and fickle friends.

Friday was a sort of mediocre day, we started with the secret Wombats set which had a few rarities from the first album which was nice to hear i've seen them a fair amount of times but didn't like their second Reading set as it was kind of ruined by the lack of moshing due to being so densely packed. BMTH are a band i'm not particularly a fan of but I did decide to see them and the atmosphere was great. Then noticed it was Fickle Friends next who i enjoyed at Community in 2017 so I decided to revisit them and they put on a good show. Kooks were shocking, the most exciting thing about their performance was these people next to us making quadruple shoulder stacks, Naive and She Moves in her Own Way were good it just felt like a chore waiting for them. We went back to camp and returned for FoB, their 'big songs' were great live and the screens were fun to watch as someone who doesn't really know their songs, I think they put on a good show for a headliner who shouldn't really be headlining, shame it was so empty though as the atmosphere wasn't brilliant.

Brockhampton was absolutely packed on friday and I lost all my group during the first song. I got dragged to it similar to rex and kendrick but I enjoyed all three of them (except Kendrick but that was only because of the dust, he was brilliant), i didn't go to Dua Lipa as the only people i found after brockhampton were going to Rex Orange County so I went there instead of Dua Lipa although if I had the choice I would of picked Dua Lipa but i don't think i would of enjoyed it alone. Saturday was definitely my favourite with just this alone, let alone the bit of Pendulum we saw before heading to get a good spot for kendrick.

Sunday was a bit of a weird one, I started with AJR who were in the dance tent which is not really what I would expect, especially at 2pm when they have a song with over 300 million listens, although the tent wasn't completely full from what I remember but thats probably just because of how early they are and most people would overlook them who are interested in them due to being on the dance stage. They put on a brilliant show despite being very weird at the start. Next it was to the Frank Carter secret set which was the only pit show I saw which was great, we got there as the circle pit around the tent started which was fun and as ever, the atmosphere was brilliant. We then got told there was a 21 pilots secret set at R1 stage which was a lie by a group of stewards so we saw the DMAs after who had like tons of flares for some reason in a half full tent which was weird. Got dragged to J Hus which was shockingly bad even like the roadmen said it was shit. Then went to Riton and Kah-Lo for rinse and repeat, then Wilkinson for Afterglow before heading to The Vaccines for the final set of the weekend.

~

Also visited the silent disco on Friday and Saturday night which had huge "2 hour queues" which took half an hour. It was interesting seeing what was played there as classic indie/rock songs were making waves, along with chart music, edm and grime. There was a huge boo when the dj teased Mr Brightside then before the first chorus decided to turn it off and called it shit which was great, leading the other dj to put it on his channel. Silent Disco was suprisingly fun

 

 

Flares at DMA's gigs is because Liam Fray is a big supporter of DMA's and thus there is a lot of fanbase crossover between them and Courteeners, whose fans have always been big on setting flares off. Courteeners and DMA's on the same bill on the same day is always going to lead to loads of flares on the crowd.

[Huckleberry Finn]

Another superb weekend at Reading.

My major takeaway however was the poor crowds many of the up-and-coming guitar bands got, and the reception for the likes of The Kooks and The Wombats.

Such a shame to see acts who are offering very little dynamism and creativity get such a massive reaction for songs which they've been dining off for over a decade, while artists who are trying to do something different weren't being recognised.

Fickle Friends, Blinders, Pretty Vicious, Shame and Hinds were my personal highlights.