2019 festival

[sacred shape]

One thing that I didn't realize was how smoky/smoggy the Leeds campsites were at night. It was almost hard to breathe the air quality was so bad, and our clothes/hair stunk of smoke even though we'd only spent 20 mins walking through back to the car. Is it always like that?

[Peskybee]

I had a great weekend, the heat was pretty disgusting but watching some of my favourite bands helped me to forget all about that.

Some of my highlights include: Twin Atlantic, Press Club, Royal Blood, The Chats, Billie Eilish, Twenty One Pilots, SWMRS, Enter Shikari, The Distillers, Frank Carter and ADTR. 

Didn't think I'd want to come back after last year but I'm very excited to see what they can pull out the bag for next year. The Slipknot posters around the arena, as well as them being played at the main stage has me hopeful.?

 

[Huevos]

Joji was actually fantastic, looked so happy to be there as well he could barely contain himself

[efcfanwirral]

3 hours ago, sacred shape said:

One thing that I didn't realize was how smoky/smoggy the Leeds campsites were at night. It was almost hard to breathe the air quality was so bad, and our clothes/hair stunk of smoke even though we'd only spent 20 mins walking through back to the car. Is it always like that?

Yep - I remember that from 2012 - horrible. Reading was like that thursday night but didnt seem anywhere near as bad the other nights 

[Followill]

Another great weekend at Leeds, it really was a struggle this year in the heat with the water situation by the Sunday being a bit of a nightmare. Just gave up at the point they were sold out at the bars as the queues for the taps were massive, that needs resolving.

Friday

Enter Shikari: Great start to the weekend 30 minutes was too short but they packed it out with bangers.

Machine Gun Kelly: Quite surprised how good he sounded, crowd were loving it.

Holy Goof: Dance tent was booming for this then the set just kinda stopped out of nowhere? Apparently a barrier break from too many people trying to get into the tent, but there was heaves of space at the back, nobody seems to walk around the entrances everyone just seems to pile into the same one.

ADTR: Such a shame that they just aren’t really leeds demographic anymore as they killed it but honestly didn’t feel like a subheadliner.

Foo Fighters: Been waiting years for this and it didn’t disappoint. Yes Dave drags songs out a little too much and could easily turn this into a two hour set instead, but it’s clear how much they love being up there and they have the crowd eating every moment up. 

Saturday

You Me At Six: Fairly dull, maybe I was just struggling in the heat but felt they would of been much better indoors.

Pale Waves: Smashed it, got so much bigger since last year and sounded very tight.

Royal Blood: Was expecting this to be a bit boring as the set hasn’t massively got anything new in it since the last few times I’ve seen them but it just seemed to click well,  sounded great.

The 1975: Best headliner of the weekend, tune after tune and was just a great time. Shame they really didn’t play anything rare especially since reading got A Change Of Heart and The City but can’t complain at a great set.

Sunday

AJ Tracey: Crazy how big of a crowd he got wasn’t expecting that, decent set.

Billie Eilish: Stupidly busy again how they thought to put her in the tent originally I don’t know. Was okay but nothing exceptional, won’t be surprised to see her co-headlining within the next year or two.

Blossoms: Great set in the sun, crowd loved the Bowie cover. Always used to be against these getting bigger slots at Leeds but thought they were fully deserving this time round.

Twenty One Pilots: Surprise of the weekend, thought they put on a massive show and as a very casual fan I loved it. The Oasis cover with posty was a proper festival moment too.

Post Malone: Top end to the weekend, think if you don’t know most of his songs you may find it a bit dull but seemed for the most part everyone was loving it. 

Overall a top weekend, utter shame how irresponsible the under 18s seemed to act this year. Too many of their face taking stuff in quantities they didn’t know how to handle/from people they didn’t know, really dangerous game. Trouble seemed to flare up again in orange camp on the Sunday night like the old days so was glad to not be camped there for once. 

Defo felt a lot busier this year too at certain points so don’t feel Leeds struggled to shift tickets as much as usual.

Next year would love to see BMTH or Slipknot there as an optimist.

 

[callum97]

Only went for the sunday at Reading but had a great day!

Mayday Parade - small crowd but sounded okay and decent enough setlist, crowd got involved for the mr brightside cover

Yungblud - pulled a big crowd, brought out MGK and honestly sounded great. Got the crowd going and everyone was loving it. Even bumped into him at maccies on the way home ?

Enter Shikari - Great as always, high energy and good setlist for the short time they had. Not as good as their 2014 set though.

Bullet for my Valentine - Good secret set, got their 10 mins early and couldn't even get inside the tent. Good set list and they sounded really good too. Crowd were loving every minute of it.

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes - Absolutely smashed it! Frank Carter has a brilliant stage presence and knows how to work a crowd. Set list was mainly newer material but i really enjoyed it and so did most people around me. 

ADTR - now i was right near the front for this as i LOVE ADTR! I really liked the set list and they sounded fine but really felt like it was lacking something? Jeremy sounded not that interested and there wasn't much crowd involvement. Really liked Rescue Me live but unsure on Degenerates. I didn't feel like i was watching a band that was subbing the foo fighters, maybe they are better at their own shows?

Enter Shikari (pit) - caught the last half of shikari but kinda wished i left ADTR early and saw all of the set as they sounded amazing in the tent. The energy was unreal, a lot more energetic than the main stage performance. The passion that these guys have is unquestionable and they are a great festival booking. 

Foo Fighters - Stood near the back as i was knackered from the heat and didn't have the energy to stand at the front for 3 hours but i really enjoyed the whole set! Vocals were brilliant, loved the Rick Astley moment, loved the pyro! some songs went on for too long but they were a lot better than i expected and would happily go and see them again.

 

[C14S]

Some personal thoughts:

Only my 2nd Reading but So so so much better than last year.

Am 17 but already getting annoyed by 16 yr old GCSE people 

in terms of sets:

Becky Hill: Crowd was pretty hot but she was a bit w*nk

Puppy: Great fun, crowd was small as though

Royal Blood: Absolutely fantastic. Keep improving every time I’ve seen them. One of the top few sets for sure.

The Chats: So much fun. Hilarious and have a great stage presence, but also so tight and well rehearsed. Definitely gonna go see them in December. Personally my 2nd fav set.

1975: Never been a fan and only caught about 10/15 mins, but crowd was red hot and the stge set up was awesome

Dave: caught the last half an hour ish, gotta say much better than I expected, felt a bit bad for the Thiago Silva guy his voice was gone

Boston Manor: solid set, good crowd.

Slowthai: was absolutely horrific when I saw him warming up for slaves, threw up on the crowd and all sorts but much better this time

AJ Tracey: got dragged to him by mates, regret agreeing to go. So dull

Billie: again got dragged there, realised she was lip syncing, left pretty quickly. Expect better from such a big name

Of Mice and Men: pretty sick crowd, had a lot more production than I expected too. Good fun.

Octavian: pretty decent all round, absolutely kicked off when skepta came out for bet. Glad I went there instead of TOP who I was told were comfortably the worst of the headliners.

Post: tons better than last year when the sound seemed to fuck up a bit, personally find his music a bit dull but his performance seemed pretty good.

SWMRS: had never seen them before, tons better than I expected.

Shikari: Only caught the main stage slot, they killed it. Nice to see them having a laugh too.

FCATR: Only ever seen them before in Watford where I was a bit underwhelmed but this was 10x better. Def ul there with my fav sets.

ADTR: tbh only went to get a good spot for foos, felt like probably 50% of the front section was the same, maybe why it felt a bit flat. 

Foos: Somehow just keep getting better. Always a massive moment for me when I see them, by far my fav set of the weekend, Rick astley moment was class. Also so great to see them take the piss a bit w the oasis stuff and joke around on stage even more than normal, Taylor fake throwing daves DG 335 off stage etc.

Overall had an incredible weekend. Will 100% go again if the lineup is close to how good it was this year.

[tomnw]

Finally popped my festival cherry - bit of a late bloomer at 26, but better late than never! I got a day ticket for Friday at Reading and went alone. I went mainly for The 1975 (£70 is amazing value, even just for one act, considering solo gigs are like £35), however I really liked the look of the line-up that day so of course I made the most of it. Arrived at 12ish (drove so didn't drink) and saw as follows:

Swimming Girls - They were on the BBC Introducing stage at the time I entered. First bit of music I heard/saw so wondered over there. They sounded good and I'm aware of a couple of their songs.

The LaFontaines - Had heard of these guys before but was sure they were rock/indie, so was confused as to why the were on the Dance stage, but I had a gander then realised what was going on haha. Didn't stay long but lots of energy for lunchtime!

Sea Girls - The name didn't ring a bell, but they played a few songs where I was like "Oh, I know this one!" Big and lively crowd!

Mini Mansions - Have liked this band for a while. Got there early as I saw the size of the crowd that Sea Girls had, but was kind of disappointed that they had the smallest crowd the R1 tent that I'd see all day. They are a great band. Saw them wandering around the field after (still dripping with sweat).

Charlie XCX - She was good. Not a massive fan but everyone knows her songs so was good vibes in the crowd. Was very hot though so headed back to the R1 tent early to get a good spot for Clairo.

Clairo - Love Clairo. I'm yet to listen to her new album in full but 'Bags' is favourite song at the moment. She seemed a little shy but I'm not sure she's used to doing big shows. One of my faves of the day - a rare chance to see her.

Tough Love - Needed a bit of shelter from the sun so went to the Dance tent. Every single drop was the same, and the crowd doing that annoying chant got boring quickly. Just not my thing I'm afraid.

Joji -  Bland music but very loud and interacting crowd - didn't need to say "What's up Reading?" every 30 seconds.

Pale Waves - Love these guys. Have seen them once before supporting The 1975. Songs are all a bit samey but they're all bangers so had a very good time! They sound great live.

Royal Blood - They were ok. Their songs lack variety (again, they're all bangers to be fair), and they don't seem to have huge stage presence. Could be more creative visually which would really help!

The 1975 - After Royal Blood there was quite a big gap of nearly an hour. Thankfully, lots of people left so I got a good spot for The 1975. I had a tactical pee after Pale Waves which saw me to the end of the day and meant I could stay put after Royal Blood. The boys smashed it once again. Nothing special in terms of setlist but if it ain't broke, don't fix it (but what would it take to get Settle Down back?). Graphics and visuals were sublime. Matty's stage presence is up there with the best. Crowd were loving it. This was my 6th time seeing them since 2013. Not that many compared to other fans but 3 of those shows were their 'biggest to date' (The Forum in LA, First O2 Arena show, then Reading) so feels like I've followed them on their journey. Really proud to see how far they've come. Where do they go from here? Glasto headline slot?

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by tomnw

[tomnw]

Expanding on Joji:

Saw this dude out of pure curiosity. Sat at the back of the tent and watched on the screen. I was aware of him as his daft Youtuber alter-ego Filthy Frank but was shocked that this is his new 'look'. His music is very boring and is standard 'Youtuber-to-musician' music that appeals to young teenagers as deep and philosophical, but to me it was a bit shite.I can't take him seriously as he hasn't grown his fanbase 'organically' as a musician and it's kind of insulting to other artists who could take that slot. If he was invited to fill out the tents,  then by that logic, Pewdiepie's gonna headline next year?

[C14S]

2 minutes ago, tomnw said:

If he was invited to fill out the tents,  then by that logic, Pewdiepie's gonna headline next year?

Slipknot, Pewdiepie and BMTH. Heard it here first

[tomnw]

Just now, C14S said:

Slipknot, Pewdiepie and BMTH. Heard it here first

Trisha Paytas secret set.

[CRW5252]

8 minutes ago, tomnw said:

Expanding on Joji:

Saw this dude out of pure curiosity. Sat at the back of the tent and watched on the screen. I was aware of him as his daft Youtuber alter-ego Filthy Frank but was shocked that this is his new 'look'. His music is very boring and is standard 'Youtuber-to-musician' music that appeals to young teenagers as deep and philosophical, but to me it was a bit shite.I can't take him seriously as he hasn't grown his fanbase 'organically' as a musician and it's kind of insulting to other artists who could take that slot. If he was invited to fill out the tents,  then by that logic, Pewdiepie's gonna headline next year?

I hate to break it to you but most artists don't grow their fan-base 'organically'. That's just not how the music industry works unfortunately (there are exceptions of course).

Regardless, it's the quality of the music that actually matters. I quite like Joji, at least it is different to the majority of pop music. His style is never going to be to everyone's taste.

[JSmurphy]

Is there any excuse for the food in the arena being so awful?

[rivalschools.price]

Still not fully recovered but here’s my review- 

Friday-

Puppy were awesome but had a small crowd.

Laura Jane Grace- Absolutely Fantastic.Would definitely go and see her on her UK tour if it wasn’t this week(far too soon after the festival)

Royal Blood - really good but the sound wasn’t great where I was ( to be fair, this was the only time over the whole weekend)

The Chats- Packed tent, all smiling, all dancing. Brilliant 

Bowling for Soup - Tent was absolutely packed out and everyone singing along, perfect end to the Friday.

Saturday- Had a great time wandering around the site but the lack of bands I wanted to see on Saturday reduced the value of the ticket for me, left at about 9.45pm on Saturday after seeing three or four half hour sets by Shikari acoustic, half of Bad Nerves, Dinosaur Pile up and Of Mice and Men (and three of those were last minute replacements and a secret set).

If they aren’t going to cater for rock fans and treat the Lockup/Pit like an afterthought or a half arsed attempt then I wish they’d just let us know and we can go elsewhere. 

Im well aware that rock/metal/punk fans aren’t their top demographic any more but the amount watching Bowling for Soup instead of 1975, Ghostemane and Of Mice and Men instead of 21pilots and Post Malone suggest that there is still enough going for them to justify putting on a decent bill.

Sunday - was the total opposite of Saturday, Had so many bands I wanted to see I was moving from stage to stage all day.

Youngblud seemed a good start to the day and had a decent crowd for the time slot.

Loved Enter Shikari main stage set, yes it was short but they rattled off a good few classics and sounded great.

Decided to watch the Distillers rather than the secret BFMV secret set as its prob the last chance to see them and Bullet will be round again many times in the future at Download. Sounded great, Brodys voice isn’t to everyone’s taste but they played all the classic and I enjoyed their set.

Frank Carter- awesome, what else. Surely the 10th or 11th  time I’ve see him in his various bands and he has been brilliant every single time 

Fidlar- yet another band to pack the Pit out, great band, great set.

ADTR- thought they put a great show on and had a decent crowd, prob enjoyed this set more than most over the weekend but it was the first time I’d seen a full set by them. Would be happy if they turned up at Download next year, whatever slot.

Shikari again- third time for the weekend. As good as expected.Caught a tiny bit of Basement as well but couldn’t fit them into  my packed Sunday schedule, the bit I heard sounded good though.

 

Foos- fourth or fifth time I’ve seen them and they were as great as ever. Was glad to get a main stage headliner in. Would rather they did a two hour slot without dragging each song out but that seems to be their thing so I won’t argue with it.

Yes the weather was hot but after getting a soaking at Download I promised myself I wasn’t going to complain 

All in all. A fantastic weekend once again but for the first time in 18 years I may wait until I know their Pit/Lockup plans before I stump up for a weekend ticket.

Edited August 27, 2019 by rivalschools.price

[rivalschools.price]

7 minutes ago, JSmurphy said:

Is there any excuse for the food in the arena being so awful?

Yeah, I stumped up £8 for the worst noodles I’ve ever tasted.

[rivalschools.price]

I wonder if Foo fighters are aware/care that just about everyone says they would rather they didn’t stretch every song into an extended jam?

[Andre91]

18 minutes ago, JSmurphy said:

Is there any excuse for the food in the arena being so awful?

The food was horrendous. £9 for the most basic shitty chicken noodles. Which I paid like a mug.

They need that giant turkey leg place they have at Download. 

[TheWaters]

Food I had was decent. Paid £12 for a good size pizza, fries and a drink. £6 for a proper meaty quarter pounder, £8 for 3 big pieces of chicken and chips. Was quite impressed actually this year

[Aech]

22 hours ago, jonnyisRFC said:

Yeah they were great! Half the tent left after they played “smoko” though ?

I imagine they were like me and assumed it was the end and wanted to get to Bowling For Soup. Soon as they started pub feed I fucking sprinted back into the pit.

[baggie92]

Woodward's Farm burger between The Pit and the Festival Republic tents was very good

[C14S]

The Ostrich Burger place was decent 

[Dangerbreaks]

At leeds, the wood fired pizza for 8 quid by the main stage on the left was quality. 

[Andre91]

I’ve had some time to think of my top 10 sets of the weekend. Plenty of surprises in this list for me: 

1. The 1975 - by far the best set of the weekend. I was completely blown away from start to finish. It was a ballsy move opening with a new song but it went down so well. The setlist was fantastic. They have SO many bangers. I had the greatest time all set dancing around and singing my heart out with all of my mates. It might just be the best headline performance I’ve ever seen. It felt so special. 

2. Ghostemane - complete chaos from the get go. He is a star and had the crowd eating out of his hand. He understands metal and hardcore in a way that none of these other crossover rappers do. It was as violent, frantic and dangerous a set as anything I’ve ever seen. There was some worry that the set would get shut down after the sound guy cut the sound after bassist climbed the rigging and was swinging from the lights above the stage. It was all good though. I never expected the tent to be that packed on a Sunday night, let alone for the entire crowd to split down the middle (all the way to the back) for a wall of death but it happened and it was savage. He would go down an absolute storm at Download. 

3. The Story So Far - short set but they filled it with as many bangers as they could. The crowd in front of the barrier was going nuts from beginning to end. I lost my voice for the rest of the weekend following this set. I crowd surfed a tonne and it was just the most fun I had all weekend. I would love to see them with a longer slot headlining The Pit / Lockup next time. 

4. Twenty One Pilots - the biggest surprise of the weekend for me. Possibly any weekend at any festival. WOW. They were brilliant. I’ve never been a fan and never planned on seeing them but I am so glad I did. They showed that they are deserving headliners. The stage show was great and they’ve got more bangers than I realised. They had a really big crowd who were really into it. I honestly never expected to rate them so highly but they were properly brilliant. 

5. Pale Waves - just so much fun. I love their sound. The tent was packed and everybody was singing every word. The front woman is a star. Everything she does just screams star to me. I really want to catch them on tour. I’m expecting a big main stage slot for them next time. 

6. A Day To Remember - one of my all-time favourite bands and the set I was most looking forward to and whilst I had a blast throughout (including a lot of screen time on the big screens perched on my mate's shoulders and crowd surfing), I came away  thinking it was just fine. There’s something that didn't quite click. Whether it was the small crowd, the lack of big stage show or the new songs sounding weak, I’m not sure. They’re a band I’ve been championing for a while as being more than ready to step up and headline Download but after this set, I think they’re some way off and would be better suited to headlining Slam Dunk. 

7. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - the best frontman on the planet. Frank & the Snakes always smash it out of the park and this was no different. I love the new album (it’s currently my Album of the Year)  and the songs from it sounded great. The crowd wasn’t huge but was really into it where I was. I wish they had longer but they brought their A game as always. They’re only going to continue getting bigger and bigger. I can see them headlining one day. 

8. Press Club - they were excellent. They were so energetic (particularly the front woman, who is another star). The tent got fuller as the set went on which was great. They’re just an excellent little band with some great singalong tunes. I urge anyone who had any sort of interest in guitar music to check them out. 

9. nothing, nowhere - I’ve been wanting to see him for a while and he didn’t disappoint. The band were really good and added a lot to the set. The tent was quite full and the majority of people knew a lot of the words which made a great atmosphere. I was gutted that he didn’t close on Nevermore but Hammer was great. 

10. Enter Shikari - So low as I only managed to catch the second half of their Pit set as they clashed with both TSSF and ADTR (what a stupid, stupid booking decision) but they were the same old Enter Shikari I love. They’re just the best. The tent was the busiest I saw it all weekend and I had to fight really hard to get in but it was worth it. They played 5 sets across the two days which is mad and from what I heard they were all well attended. I think they’re back in the festival’s sights and will get a big main stage slot on the next album. 

Overall, it was probably the best Leeds I’ve been to in terms of performance quality. I saw so many good sets. Even some bands that I don’t like at all that I watched due to other people I went with wanting to see them were good. I can’t stand Blossoms but I thought they were good enough. You Me At Six were even decent. 

Foo Fighters were tedious and I cleared off half way through but I enjoyed bits and pieces until it got too much.  

The only set that I thought was rubbish was Charli XCX. She was lip syncing awfully. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Andre91

[Andre91]

double post 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Andre91

[lidds]

6 hours ago, Followill said:

Another great weekend at Leeds, it really was a struggle this year in the heat with the water situation by the Sunday being a bit of a nightmare. Just gave up at the point they were sold out at the bars as the queues for the taps were massive, that needs resolving.

Friday

Enter Shikari: Great start to the weekend 30 minutes was too short but they packed it out with bangers.

Machine Gun Kelly: Quite surprised how good he sounded, crowd were loving it.

Holy Goof: Dance tent was booming for this then the set just kinda stopped out of nowhere? Apparently a barrier break from too many people trying to get into the tent, but there was heaves of space at the back, nobody seems to walk around the entrances everyone just seems to pile into the same one.

ADTR: Such a shame that they just aren’t really leeds demographic anymore as they killed it but honestly didn’t feel like a subheadliner.

Foo Fighters: Been waiting years for this and it didn’t disappoint. Yes Dave drags songs out a little too much and could easily turn this into a two hour set instead, but it’s clear how much they love being up there and they have the crowd eating every moment up. 

Saturday

You Me At Six: Fairly dull, maybe I was just struggling in the heat but felt they would of been much better indoors.

Pale Waves: Smashed it, got so much bigger since last year and sounded very tight.

Royal Blood: Was expecting this to be a bit boring as the set hasn’t massively got anything new in it since the last few times I’ve seen them but it just seemed to click well,  sounded great.

The 1975: Best headliner of the weekend, tune after tune and was just a great time. Shame they really didn’t play anything rare especially since reading got A Change Of Heart and The City but can’t complain at a great set.

Sunday

AJ Tracey: Crazy how big of a crowd he got wasn’t expecting that, decent set.

Billie Eilish: Stupidly busy again how they thought to put her in the tent originally I don’t know. Was okay but nothing exceptional, won’t be surprised to see her co-headlining within the next year or two.

Blossoms: Great set in the sun, crowd loved the Bowie cover. Always used to be against these getting bigger slots at Leeds but thought they were fully deserving this time round.

Twenty One Pilots: Surprise of the weekend, thought they put on a massive show and as a very casual fan I loved it. The Oasis cover with posty was a proper festival moment too.

Post Malone: Top end to the weekend, think if you don’t know most of his songs you may find it a bit dull but seemed for the most part everyone was loving it. 

Overall a top weekend, utter shame how irresponsible the under 18s seemed to act this year. Too many of their face taking stuff in quantities they didn’t know how to handle/from people they didn’t know, really dangerous game. Trouble seemed to flare up again in orange camp on the Sunday night like the old days so was glad to not be camped there for once. 

Defo felt a lot busier this year too at certain points so don’t feel Leeds struggled to shift tickets as much as usual.

Next year would love to see BMTH or Slipknot there as an optimist.

 

That's a shame to hear about the Orange camp, I haven't been since 2011 but after watching the coverage this year I'm very tempted to return again (Did about 6 year in a row before then) Always camped in Orange fairly close to the entrance, maybe i'm more suited to green these days !