xgoatboyx

What little I remember from the last few days

Thursday: woke up at six am, showered got dressed shaved, grabbed my bags and got a bus to Rochester train station. Got the train to Victoria, got on the underground to Paddington then a train straight to Reading. Pikey cunts offering to buy my ticket all the way to the festival grounds, sent a txt to Mills but he didn't reply. Got my wrist band and something to eat then waited by the campsite entrance until I saw him with Nick, Genet and Becky. Nick called Luke to find out were their tents were. Went all the way out into the yellow camp that especially smelt of cow dung, Mills and Nick moved over their tent so I could fit mine in, got it up in record time

Had a walk around, saw this sign

Me and Mills came the conclusion that there is one cat there that everyone can stroke. More people who are friends of Nick's friends arrived whose names escape me. Had my own little Vegan barbeque then had a fire


Friday: Got up stupidly early, went into the village near the campsite and picked up a few essential items came back then went into the arena.

Send More Paramedics: Before they even play their second song the power on the Lock Up Stage goes out, B'Hellmouth gets off stage and starts walking up to people saying "Brrrraaaaiiiins" after five minutes the power comes back on and they finish their set


When they finish someone taps me on the shoulder, I turn around and it's Steve, he managed to get a ticket right at the last minute (snap) and came up with his friends from college.

Municipal Waste: Not as great as the last time I saw them but still Thrashtastic


Rise Against: I've been waiting years to see them since they first came over to England when they toured with Sick Of It All on their first album, kept missing them every time they came back, and it was fucking worth the wait.


After they finished I saw this sign go up


Bouncing Souls: Lots of little kids pogoing so I didn't risk tacking a picture. Not the best performance I've seen them do but still good all the same.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: The new stuff sounds more arty and less popy, may actually get round to getting it, left half way through and caught the end of Hundred Reasons set

Body Count: The band started off playing the intro to Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath with samples of police sirens then Ice T came out wearing a Michael Myers mask. They hardly touch the new stuff and pretty much play all of the first album (I'm not complaining). Before the last song Ice T says "This is the new English national anthem" and they launch into Cop Killer. They later come out and do an encore of Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix with Ice T's son


Sick Of It All: There's not a lot else I can say that I've already said many times before, they are my favourite live band, this is the thirteenth or fourteenth time I've seen them. They play a similar set to the one at Download but they do change up a few songs. Lou tells us they played We Stand Alone for the first time in ten years earlier that week but if we wanted to hear it we'd have to go the London show they're doing with Madball and Walls Of Jericho in a few month (I'm there).


Came back to the tent had another Vegan barbeque and sat around the camp fire until I got tired.
Saturday: Decided to go into Reading, started looking for a public toilet and accidentally found The Oracle, which I hadn't been to since me and Steve came up to visit Mike at Uni. They made everyone who looked like they were going to the festival get in a line to use the toilet but everyone else they just let in (cunts). Went into HMV and bought Undisputed Attitude by Slayer then grabbed something to eat from Marks & Spencer and started to make my way back to the festival, along the way I realised I forgot to get some new socks and chap stick so I walked into the village near the festival and got them there. Went back to my tent threw my stuff inside and headed for the arena.
Flogging Molly: I only have Drunken Lullabies right now, their set made me want to check out the rest of their stuff. Dave King tells us that they're playing on the Lock Up Stage later today "when we'll be a little bit more well oiled if you know what I mean"
Came back to the tent and had a chat with Mills, Nick and Genet who pointed out one of the tents behind us had been abandoned and was blowing about in the wind.

Went back into the arena
Be Your Own Pet: A lot more chaotic and Punkier than I thought they would sound, got their album from the Rock Box stall afterwards.
Against Me!: Everyone is going on about how much they sound like Billy Bragg but you can pick up a lot of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Albini influence in their music, aside from one song I liked the only thing I'm really interested in picking up by them is their first EP.
Came back to the tent to find Mills with Steve stuffing a tiny amount of tobacco and loads of hash into a pipe. Went back into the arena.
Alexisonfire: I've made my mind up, I love this band, they may be Emocore but at least they don't sound like every other band in the genre.



Flogging Molly: Less talk between songs, they played some of the same stuff they did earlier with a few changes (including Swagger which was just cool to sing along to)


Arctic Monkeys: They actually aren't that bad live but it's cold and I just look at my watch and think "Fuck it, Anti-Flag are on in a minute"
Anti-Flag: Not as bad as the last time I saw them, they open with One People, One Struggle (literally, their last good song before they went shit). They rip through all the classics and the new shite. A few songs towards the end the bass player tells us to look either side of where we are standing and shack hands with whoever's their "make some new friends" I'm too shy but loads of people come up to me, smile, shake my hand and say hello, me being a somewhat polite lad I smile, shack their hands and say hello back. During the last few songs people have started climbing the tent polls in the middle to jump off of them security stand on the bottom of the polls where everyone can see them to intimidate them from stopping people climbing them, Justin Sane sees this and gets he crowd to chant "JUMP" at them which they do as well as throw stuff at them.
Came back to the tent, no one was around so I got some wood and started a fire before everyone got back.
Sunday: Walked into the village early in the morning and started to feel really weak, I realised it was because I'd hardly eaten anything so I went into the caf to get a plate of chips and a bottle of orange juice but because I was so fatigued what first came out was "Can I have a bottle of chips?" Went to get a fruit salad from Marks & Spencer's but they weren't open so I walked back to the campsite and got one from the fresh fruit stall that was one penny more then Marks & Spencer's and actually better. Went into the arena and saw Mills walking around so I started to fallow him and wait 'til he noticed me but I lost him when I had to do my bootlace up, saw him behind me while I was waiting for Mastodon to come on and told him this. While I was waiting for Mastodon to come on I was playing with my phone camera and after having the thing for nearly a year I finally figured out how to work the zoom and colour contrast.
Mastodon: Fucking awesome set that was tighter than a nun's chuff, new stuff sound more Rock orientated (not a bad thing), fucking brillent.



Left the arena and went to the record fair, picked up Against Me!'s first EP albums by Naked Raygun and The Slackers and well as a rare Sage Francis CD and a Low box set. Came back to my tent, laid done and listened to music, got bored after two hours and decided to get something to eat and head back into the arena. Suffered through the last twenty minutes of Bullet For My Valentine's set so I could get as close to the front for Slayer, thought most people would leave after Bullet For My Valentine, wrong.
Slayer: The sound was better but the set list wasn't from the last time I saw them, they didn't play all the songs I wanted to hear but they played Seasons In The Abyss and Dead Skin Mask so I can't complain too much, they also didn't play Angel Of Death which I was actually glad for, not that it's a bad song, I just hear it getting plaid too much.



That zoom doesn't really help as much as you'd think it would.
Came back to the tent everyone was there but left to watch Pear Jam. I got some wood and started a fire, thought to myself this wasn't the definite end I was looking for but then I realised the whole weekend was a definite end of my Summer like it was when I was at college. Listened to all of the Low box set by myself until everyone got back, Luke brought out some more wood and we sat round the camp fire 'til I felt tired, said my goodbyes then because I knew I'd leave before they woke up.
Monday: Got woke up by the sound of the rain, the loud mouth middle class twats shouting next to our circle of tents and the couple having sex in the tent directly behind mine. Waited for the rain to stop then started backing up my tent (just under ten minutes, a new record!)

Walked to Reading train station, got a single to Paddington, got the Circle Line to Victoria then got a single to Rochester and called my Dad to pick me up on the train. As Dad drove me home he explained that Matalan had burnt down on Friday night, they had to close the road off which caused Morrisons to lose most of it's business as their customers couldn't drive in, nice one.