Recap : Download Festival 2016
08:07
I think I have mentioned it about ten thousand times now, Download Festival is my favourite festival in the whole world. At least. I have complained about its line up and about how it blatantly refused to take any sort of risk in its headliners list, but I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't go back. I mean, the rumours for next year include Metallica and it hasn't put me off - you can tell Download and I, we're forever.
I have also said about a trillion times that I am a volunteer at Download and have been for the past couple of years. I have started in 2014 for professional experience and I have carried on because I had the best time of my life. 2016 was no different.
We get there on the Tuesday, get our shifts and thanks to Taytay's amazing planning skills, I end up not missing out on any band. At all. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday night after Iron Maiden? Hell to the yes. This shifts were spent in the Gold campsite (if you were there, yes that was me walking around in a blue hi-vis jacket) where we played beer pong (without the beer, because attending to people's safety and drinking alcohol doesn't really go together), I got proposed to, we made friends and talked Scandinavian currencies with a very drunk Norwegian man who owned an inflatable dinosaur. Download, my dear old friend.
As always, the weather proved to be disgusting as soon as the music started and after being stunning for three days. I went from getting the most ridiculous tan lines of my entire life to walking around in a gigantic yellow poncho which earned me the nickname of "big fat mango" (But also sunshine, lemon and flower), from being too hot to stay in my tent to being covered in mud from head to toe. I also lost my blanket in the mud. Sorry. I was exhausted before my shift, I had just watched Iron Maiden and I wanted to cry, I didn't mean to litter.
The funny thing is with the weather, you're always going to see VIPs complaining about the mud and the rain, and they'll post online a picture of their festival inappropriate Dr Martens boots (why would you go to a festival in anything other than wellies is beyond me) with a tiny little speck of mud on the sole (because less people in the VIP area means much less mud, these people actually see the grass during the weekend, a luxury that us peasants stopped having after Babymetal) and the truth is, they haven't really experienced Download.
The funny thing is with the weather, you're always going to see VIPs complaining about the mud and the rain, and they'll post online a picture of their festival inappropriate Dr Martens boots (why would you go to a festival in anything other than wellies is beyond me) with a tiny little speck of mud on the sole (because less people in the VIP area means much less mud, these people actually see the grass during the weekend, a luxury that us peasants stopped having after Babymetal) and the truth is, they haven't really experienced Download.
BANDS I WATCHED :
- Royal Republic (Friday, Lemmy Stage) : I had a very vague memory of them supporting The Offspring back in the day, but they were here, we were here, it would have been rude not to - and it would have been a big, fat mistake not to. What a band, my friends, and what a way to wake up a crowd and open a festival. Royal Republic are catchy, jokey, cheerful and they're incredible at what they do. They're also the proof that Sweden can't seem to do anything wrong. (Did we need it? Not really, but it was nice regardless)
- Alien Ant Farm (Friday, Lemmy Stage) : Did I watch Alien Ant Farm just to listen to Movies and Smooth Criminal? You bet I did. And I'm super happy I did. Considering the fact that Movies was in the middle of the setlist, the whole "waiting around for that one song" feeling wasn't too present, and Alien Ant Farm proved to be really good. Nothing compares to jamming to a pop punk cover of, arguably, the best Michael Jackson song in a field when you've had too much cider already. (Yes, already. Blame the Somersby house)
- Babymetal (Friday, Lemmy Stage) : So, by this point I was drenched and had come to realise my coat wasn't waterproof, but you know what? To hell with that. I love Babymetal and I don't care who knows it. I think Su-Metal, Moametal and Yuimetal are some of the bravest ladies in this industry, and damn it their music is catchy as hell. So, yes, they were half an hour late and the wrath of God was pouring all over me, but yes, they are absolutely amazing and the musicians who play with them are probably better than some well-known bands. And they're probably better live than some well-known bands.
- The Amity Affliction (Friday, Zippo Encore Stage) : At that moment, a whole lot of people were either running for cover in one of the tents or getting ready for Lemmy's tribute, and the crowd in front of the Zippo stage was far from being massive and far from being enough to my taste. Did it stop the Australians from producing an incredible set? Absolutely not. The setlist was a good mixture between their best known songs (Pittsburgh, Don't Lean on Me) and their newer material (I Bring the Weather With Me) and it was perfect from start to finish. Forget about the rain, forget about how disgusting I felt, forget about my ugly sob fest during Pittsburgh. It was a beautiful moment and one I'm happy I was a part of. Full stop. (Little story about The Amity Affliction, Download and me, the first time I saw them was at Download 2014 because they were the sort of ex boyfriend's favourite band. And here I am two years later. With a whole lot of perspective, I'd rather have The Amity Affliction in my life than him)
- Glassjaw (Friday, Zippo Encore Stage) : Glassjaw didn't exactly get the best slot as they were clashing with legends Korn (probably busy destroying the main stage whilst playing the bag pipes or something) and there wasn't more than a hundred of us in there. I simply walked to the barrier after getting myself a well deserved halloumi sandwich and since I had to go put on some dry clothes, I missed out on a chunk of the Americans' performance, but I enjoyed what I watched. The fact that one of my all-time favourite bands (Kids in Glass Houses) wouldn't have been a band at all if it wasn't for Glassjaw drew me there, and I'm glad it did. It weirdly enough felt like a trip down memory lane.
- Twin Atlantic (Friday, Zippo Encore Stage) : Once again I was being an uncool kid on the Zippo Encore Stage, but there was no way in hell I was missing Twin Atlantic. Obviously, it was raining buckets and my arms were freezing (try to dance with a poncho!) but I had the absolute best time and the Glaswegian outfit proved to rise to the challenge (despite a crowd that should have been so, so much bigger). The material extracted from new baby GLA sounded absolutely massive, and the older songs are now certified anthems. Main stage next year? Please.
- All Time Low (Friday, Zippo Encore Stage) : First, I would like to say a massive thank you to whoever in All Time Low had the idea to have fire on stage as it kept me warm and dried my person and my clothes a litlle bit when the rain stopped. So, you see, that one girl at camp said she'd walked past the stage when the Americans were playing and the crowd was "pitiful", her words. And maybe it was. Maybe there was a small amount of people and it wasn't exactly a Wembley headliner. But you don't just randomly watch All Time Low. You randomly watch the weird German metal band who has fire all over the place, but not the pop punk band who happens to headline the second stage. We were all fans here, and the atmosphere was incredible - sing alongs everywhere, dancing and enthusiasm from everyone, no one too cool to do anything. It was just fun and, weirdly enough, the proof that All Time Low aren't just a fun band. They know how to deliver in the best way, they're talented musicians and performers and no one compares to the way they interact with a crowd. They fully deserved that headline spot.
- Beartooth (Saturday, Lemmy Stage) : I'm always excited to see Beartooth live as they are one of my favourite bands, but the excitement levels went through the roof when it was official they would be opening the main stage. Saying they rose to the challenge is nothing short of an understatement. It was a fucking triumph. The size of the crowd was frankly impressive considering it was barely even lunch time on a Saturday in an ocean of mud, Beartooth looked so confident you would have thought the main stage was their living room and a group of people dressed as lobsters could even be seen moshing like there was no tomorrow. Beartooth are going from strength to strength and if there's one single thing to keep from that set, it is that they are here to stay.
- Atreyu (Saturday, Lemmy Stage) : I didn't exactly watch Atreyu but we were sat there, eating our fat boxes of healthy food (best food stall of the weekend, by the way) and we randomly heard the band's frontman asking for "some double fisting". That was too confusing a moment not to point it out.
- Palisades (Saturday, 4th Stage) : I'd seen Palisades once, supporting Our Last Night on a boat in Paris, and even though I wouldn't qualify them of best band in the world, their strange mixture of metalcore with nü-metal and Sean Paul vibes sort of caters to my interests, in an equally strange way. Hence how I found myself watching them on a Saturday afternoon. I don't know if I should have enjoyed them as much as I did, but here you go. That's the thing with Download, you'll even be surprised by which band surprises you.
- Milk Teeth (Saturday, 4th Stage) : It was a Saturday afternoon and the tent where Milk Teeth were playing was absolutely packed. I double checked the weather in the great outdoors, and even frontwoman Becky Blomfield was so stunned she asked the crowd if it was raining. And it was surprisingly sunny, and I suppose we didn't realise Milk Teeth were as big as they are. It was a Beartooth-like moment - a whole lot of people, a confident band, a stage that feels like a living room, just no one dressed as a lobster (but hey, they had a big fat mango, it's not too bad). And yes, I also believe Milk Teeth are here to stay. They're one of these bands who bring something new to the table with their unique style, resolutely modern but clearly influenced by 90s grunge bands (think Garbage), and they're the apparently needed proof that talent is still alive in this world.
- Slaves (Saturday, 4th Stage) : First of all, we're talking about American Slaves, Jonny Craig's Slaves, not English Slaves, Massive Ego Slaves (I mean, English Slaves called US Slaves "Imitation Slaves" in an interview, if that isn't proof of a massive ego...). Anyway. I had thought I'd never get to see Slaves ever again after they sort of broke up earlier this year, and then Jonny Craig announced he'd still carry on and do the whole thing by himself. I suppose that's what I like about this band, they're like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans - you never know what you're going to get. I mean, they let you think they've broken up and they're about to cancel a whole European tour, and then they do everything as planned. What did I get at Download, you ask? One of my favourite sets of the weekend, a Jonny Craig on top form, a performance to die for and a stunning crowd, yes small but loud enough to make anyone believe there was five thousands of us in that tent.
- Bury Tomorrow (Saturday, Zippo Encore Stage) : Gig number twenty-eight and all that, hi. Speaking of bands you've seen that many times can feel redundant, but I think you should just know how proud I am of that band. I remember seeing them on the third stage three years ago, I remember seeing them destroy the main stage two years ago, and now they've shattered the second stage on a vaguely sunny by Download standards Saturday afternoon and they're becoming bigger and bigger and all that, by staying humble and down to Earth, and they're giving me hope that the next generation, the next bands that are going to change the face of metal, is going to be full of good people. Just good people. (Also super talented ones, as per, but you know that already)
- Neck Deep (Saturday, 3rd Stage) : A couple of songs in, facing a packed tent, Neck Deep frontman Ben Barlow asks if it's raining and then says, with no bad blood whatsoever, that we're probably all here because Architects aren't. And a couple of weeks after the loss of Tom Searle, that specific moment, that tiny memory breaks my heart into a tiny million pieces. With a whole lot of perspective, I'm glad they produced an absolutely stunning set, and I wish I had more words, I wish I could capture the atmosphere, the celebration, the singalongs, the joy on the members' faces. I wish I could. Looking back, I can tell it was one of those moments, moments you will never forget, moments that mean something so special, yet when it's happening, you don't know.
- There was a stop at the Lemmy Stage to check out Megadeth, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would, and Deftones, who sounded brilliant yet completely different from what I remembered, which is something that seems to happen every single time I see Deftones live.
- Skindred (Saturday, Zippo Encore Stage) : So, two years ago, I'd watched Skindred on the main stage and my guess is "I didn't get it". Two years later, I'd let everyone drag me there and I'm glad I did. It was a whole lot of fun, the kind of performance that can show you why on Earth a band like them is as big as they are. The Newport helicopter (and probably the best thing to come out of Newport) could be seen from the front to the food stalls (and I wouldn't have been surprised if contractors themselves had taken part in it). I also want to give a shout out to the man who thought it perfectly reasonable to break dance in the mud. My hero.
- Black Sabbath (Saturday, Lemmy Stage) : I was there for the experience and just so I could say "I've seen Ozzy in the flesh". I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and it may have been down to the fact that I know next to nothing about the mighty Sabbath. I also appreciated the moment when Ozzy ran from one side to the stage to the other and made it out alive. I can tell everyone around me was genuinely surprised. Also they had cool pyro. Jesus. You can tell I'm not a fan.
- Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes (Sunday, 3rd Stage) : I was slightly late and slightly disappointed no one had set fire to the stage during Attila, but Frank Carter wiped all that away in a matter of seconds. First, you should all know that even though we were standing outside of the tent, we could feel the intensity and the emotion in everything, and it's a moment like this that threw Frank in the list of my favourite artists. Or something. You gotta have something special to make people run around a tent on a Sunday at 2pm and to break someone's heart from a million miles away.
- Breaking Benjamin (Sunday, Zippo Encore Stage) : I briefly watched them just so I could tell Taytay I did, and the only thing I thought was that I was happy one of my best friends got to see one of his favourite bands for the first time. That's it. (They also sounded really good, but in that moment, it was not my priority)
- Don Broco (Sunday, Zippo Encore Stage) : Don Broco are one of these bands that I want to watch do ridiculous things - ridiculous in the best way. I want to see them bring palm trees on stage, I want to see them play Thug Workout when they're opening foor Five Seconds of Summer, I want to see them wear white suits with Bring Me The Horizon. I didn't get the white suits or the palm trees, just the realisation that wherever they go, Don Broco are a ray of sunshine. Every single song is summer encapsulated in a perfect three minutes and a half, every single song makes me want to dance like the night is young, every single song makes me want to sing along. And that's what I did. I had a dance, I did a sing, even though it was raining and my mud stained poncho was the closest thing to the sun there was in Donington, and I marveled at how far they've come, how they can bring a decent sized crowd to the second stage with funky tunes and a song like Thug Workout when Disturbed are being down with the sickness at the same time.
- Speaking of Disturbed, we managed to hear the aforementioned Down With the Sickness before dinner. What a tune, my friends. WHAT. AN. IMMENSE. TUNE.
- Billy Talent (Sunday, Zippo Encore Stage) : Billy Talent are one of these bands. You know, the ones you never really get crazy about, you don't binge listen to them, those who don't provoke a mad amount of excitement around the world. And then you see them, and you have an epiphany - you're watching something special. Billy Talent are a band I've always appreciated, always liked seeing live, always thought they were underrated, even though I've often heard "yeah, but they always do the same thing". They're the proof that if it's not broke, then don't fix it. And they're also the proof that the steadiest bands, the quietest bands, the underhyped bands can create the best moments. It was raining in Donington, it was raining quite hard, actually, and there were people from the barrier to the hill, and everyone was singing and having a good time, and the rain didn't matter when Red Flag kicked in. And it's all I wanted.
- Nightwish (Sunday, Lemmy Stage) : I'd call this a happy accident. We just ended up there as the sun started to shine again and I didn't know what to expect. I mean, people had described Nightwish to me as "discount Evanescence". I suppose I had a vague idea of the genre, but not much else. I wouldn't say they'll become my favourite band, but if we ever cross paths at a festival again, I'd totally stick around. First, they had awesome pyro, and I love a bit of pyro. So many fireworks when the sky had just started clearing. Second, Floor Jansen is one hell of a frontwoman and she has one of the most stunning voices I've ever heard. Third, everything about that band looked like it belonged to the Lord of the Rings and on a Sunday at 7pm, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. To be quite honest with all of you, I don't understand why so many people hate that band and why everyone got angry when they were announced as second to Iron Maiden. I don't get it.
- Iron Maiden (Sunday, Lemmy Stage) : It's a bit hard to find the words for me to talk about Iron Maiden. I've grown up with their music and they are my brother's favourite band and whatever happens, they'll always be in my life. Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris and their bandmates, former bandmates included, are household names at home. They're like some distant cousins that you only ever see once a year or something but you always talk about them fondly, like "Oh, Bruce? He just casually got a Spitfire to fly over the stage he was headlining at Download. What's he going to do next?" (Just so you know, it's been three years and my brother is still not over the Spitfire moment. We probably refer to it with so much fondness you'd think a baby was born that day).
So, what Bruce and his friends did next was headline Download to promote their newest record, The Book of Souls. See, I hadn't listened to it much, but it didn't really matter. The new songs merged with the old ones with such harmony you could have thought they were all extracted from the same album. Whatever their albums sound like, Iron Maiden always manage to produce logical setlists and absolutely amazing shows. Seeing Iron Maiden live is pretty much like seeing a play, if you will. There's a sense, there's a beginning and there's an end, there are surprises every minute and you truly don't know what they're going to come up with.
I mean, they played an eighteen minute song including a fight between Bruce Dickinson and the band's mascot, Eddie. AN ACTUAL REAL LIFE FIGHT.
And truth is, they're probably the only band who can pull that kind of stuff off - the fights, having "Climb like a monkey" as an actual lyric, the massive mascots and props, travelling with their own plane, the Spitfires over the stage.
Because truth is, there isn't and there will never be a band like Iron Maiden. Ever.
(I also want to give a shout out to the guy who turned around to us and offered us some moisturiser from the moshpit. For some strange reason, he made my night)
And, that's a wrap.
A couple of hours after watching Iron Maiden, me and Taytay headed to Gold camp one last time for our last shift. There was no partying going on, no Ginger Matt to propose to me, just us, our half broken radio, my safety blanket and me falling asleep. And we went back to our camp, the goodbyes started and I had a nap and more goodbyes happened and I weirdly enough made a friend on the way home. (There was also Ed Force One. Damn Bruce, back at it again with the planes)
There are rumours for Metallica to headline Download 2017 and considering they're releasing a new album soon, it's probably as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow. And I'd rather do anything than watch Metallica live, but I'll still be there in June 2017, covered in mud from head to toe, sporting a brightly coloured raincoat and a cheap Primark flower crown, drinking too much cider and having the time of my life.
0 comments