The Reading Festival 2001
After years of using sleeping in a tent as a feeble excuse not to attend festivals, the strength of this years' Reading Festival line up obliged me to fork out my hard-earned dosh on a weekend ticket and the train fare from Hampshire to Berkshire. Arriving at the site as a camping virgin (as opposed to a "camp virgin", which I'm sure is a whole different matter altogether), my good friend Bill and I were relieved to bump into friends from Portsmouth, who proceeded to demonstrate their manliness to respective girlfriends by constructing our newly purchased tent for us, with us barely lifting a finger Bonus! As much as I'm sure it's fun to simply hang around the camp fire and eat beans from a tin all day long, I had the important task of catching as many bands on as many different stages as I possibly could...
Friday 24th August, 2001
Enjoying the unnervingly good weather and basking in the sun while heavily coated in sun cream, the first band of my weekend was the Lo-Fidelity All-stars on the main stage. One of several bands whose material I was unfamiliar with, they came across as a very laid back, yet well mixed blend of live instruments, dub and samples. A couple of songs by The Moldy Peaches in the Evening Session tent (a big tent with roughly the same capacity as the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre) didn't allow me to form an opinion, mainly as the female singer with the large hairdo spent the whole time uncontrollably laughing. Back on the main stage, Run DMC did what you'd expect 'em to, rapping over a DJ'd backing track. The hits came thick and fast, and they got the crowd going, but was it really necessary to tell us who they are THAT many times? Yes, we know you're Run DMC, and you're quite famous, thanks!
Mid afternoon provided us new music fanatics with the first event of the weekend: The Strokes, New York darlings of the NME, and a band with hype enough to warrant moving them from the Evening Session tent to the main stage - a great idea due to the numbers of people keen to see them, but a pain in the arse as far as the schedule was concerned, with no one quite sure what time any acts were to begin after the performances were amended. Despite looking a little overwhelmed by the numbers in the audience, The Strokes impressed, and banged out a set of songs almost identical to how they appear on record: witty and energetic, with a modern sound incorporating many earlier US influences. After that 40 minute set, I promptly legged it over to see Birmingham's King Adora - a band who are renowned for short sets (their first gig at Pompey's Wedgewood Rooms set the band a personal best with barely 19 minutes). While not on the value-for-money list, they're a band I've always had a soft spot for, as they sound sexy, confident and prove that ugly people need not be excluded from making exciting music! 'Vibrate You' is one of my albums of the year, and live they recall the Manics, Placebo, Supergrass and other indie icons, whilst still sounding distinct and original.
I caught a bit of Iggy Pop's set, and spent that time wondering how he can be in his sixties and look fitter and more muscular than most people my age. Then came my highlight of the weekend: PJ Harvey. A woman who's gone from strength to strength with each album, and whose stage presence has grown ten fold since I saw her at the Pyramids in 1992. Best if I don't go on too much about her black two piece outfit and knee length boots (as I'll get too distracted to finish this article), but she rocked and put many other performers to shame with her blues influenced rock classics. In an ideal world, 'This Is Love' would be a number one single! After a few drinks in the groovy Bacardi Bar, we heard the tail end of Gary Numan's performance (never thought I'd hear 'Cars' played live), and he obviously still thinks that the musical revolution ended in 1991 with Nine Inch Nails. I am Kloot did a competently performed collection of tunes that amount to no more than Oasis B-sides, and Green Day proved you can still impress a crowd by setting fire to a drum kit, even if your songs are pants.
The Friday evening ended with me running as fast as I could away from the wishy-washy Travis's set, and gaining solace in Scottish miserablists Arab Strap. Tempted as I was to leap around like a pre-pubescent lunatic to Ash's lively material, I sensibly opted for the melancholic and disturbed sounds of the Strap, possibly my favourite band, depending on how sulky I'm feeling. They began with several technical errors, and a few loud 'pops' over the speakers, but soon settle into a relaxing set of songs concerning past lovers, problems, drunken episodes, and funerals. Not your ideal party music, but a nice calming end to a hectic first day.
Review: Andrew Morrison
Saturday's Review
Sunday's Review
(This review appeared as a two page feature in the October 2001 edition of the University Of Portsmouth's Student Union Magazine
Pugwash.)