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Download 2010 - Wellies, Wombling and Wonderfulness - Friday
posted on Wednesday, 16 June 2010 @ 09:34 | permalink
 All aboard the shuttle bus! All over the web, there are probably plenty of blogs cropping up about the weekend - and plenty of pictures. So I've decided to illustrate mine with a personal touch. Instead of professional looking pictures of the acts, expect to see shots of what really made my weekend - the people, the moments, the things that made the weekend truly memorable, accompanied by little anecdotes from the weekend. They're likely to be posted on the wrong days, as they cover the Wednesday and Thursday too, but hopefully they'll give you all an insight into how it's so much more than the bands that truly made it a fantastic weekend. 36 Crazyfists were on their usual excellent metalcore form, despite below par sound quality, and the personal peeve that their best known track, Slit Wrist Theory, was played at a faster speed - something which seems to often happen at their festival performances. They also showcased new tracks from their upcoming release, however it was clearly the oldies that had the afternoon moshpit fiends working overtime.  After a run (well, a leisurely stroll via the hog roast stand!) over to the second stage, this year named the Ronnie James Dio stage as a tribute to the fallen metal superstar, A Day To Remember played a storming set. Two years ago, the Florida clan were playing to a small but devoted crowd, but this year presented a huge mass of bodies extending back into the space, showing how far these guys have come in such a relatively short time. During their set, it's easy to see why, as their mix of catchy tunes and crunching breakdowns had the crowd singing, stomping and causing a riot.  Chilling with boardies at the Download Forums Boardie BBQ. And yes, that gorgeous vision in shocking pink is my boyfriend. Back to the main stage, Killswitch Engage (replacing Wolfmother, who were forced to pull out due to illness) showed exactly why they are considered a Download favourite. Despite yet more problems with the sound, a seemingly running problem, the crowd's voices were in full force for their closing track, their cover of Dio's Holy Diver, not unusual as a closer, but this year, it felt understandably more poignant.  When it comes to supergroups, Them Crooked Vultures hold some of the rock world's most prestigious stars, drummer Dave Grohl, . However, their set was middle of the road, relatively dull and certainly didn't put the 'super' in supergroup. A newish conception with just one album to their name, most of the punters seemed to know exactly WHO they were, but when it came to what they were playing, it was a different story. The set did serve as a nice opportunity for a few to indulge in a nap though, before the evenings headliners...  Now, I'm torn on AC/DC. Before discussing the set, lets look into their appearance with regards to Download Festival itself. Their name was missing from merchandise, they didn't appear on the lanyard or programme, and it generally felt as if they were playing a gig at Donington Park, that happened to coincide with the festival. Fair enough, the band are a massive coup for the organisers to book, especially as they vowed never to play a festival, but many seemed to feel the band were snubbing the festival. Controversy aside, the band blew the majority of the festival punters away. Issues with vocals and a ridiculously long solo were thrown aside as the band blasted out their biggest hits, sending the crowd wild to Back In Black, You Shook Me All Night Long and the other songs that have made a massive impact on the history of rock music. The stage show was as epic as expected, with a large train and blow up doll - 'Rosie' to those who know a bit about the band. As someone who's not a massive AC/DC fan, I probably didn't appreciate it all as much as the die-hards, and disagree with their snubbing of the festival. Despite this, they managed to impress me and entertain, giving a performance that could easily be remembered as legendary. Labels: download, festival, live |