Alongside key changes, dogs, goat's cheese and the entire Harry Potter franchise, Download Festival is one of my favourite things in the world. I have been five years in a row, now, I have worked there three times, and when the company I used to work with lost Download, I couldn't bring myself not to go. I shifted things around, went back to the arena ticket and hotel of my first edition, and here I went, traipsing around Donington Park to hear some great live music.
Let me tell you, first and foremost, that I am a very distraught regular Download goer - it has not rained at all. I stood in the boiling hot sunshine on a Friday afternoon, chatting with Holly, realising it was past 3pm on the Friday at Download Festival, Donington Park, England, and the apocalypse hadn't struck yet. It spat down a little on the Saturday (for good measure, I suppose), but that was it. I am still confused. My wellies are pristine. I didn't even need to wear them. I could have spent the weekend in trainers and got away with it.
What happened.
What happened.
FRIDAY
The Friday was a bit of a shambles, as it took me two hours to reach the inside of the arena and, to this day, I still struggle to understand why it took such a long time. No one searched my bag. No member of staff knew where to direct me. I didn't know the right queue for arena passes, which is why I ended up stuck between a barrier and a truck whilst Northlane were, without a doubt, tearing the main stage apart. I could still hear the vocals from where I shouldn't have been standing, and let me tell you one thing - Marcus Bridge sounds like a dream in any given circumstance. I can't believe how stellar Solar sounded from so far away.
The weekend properly started on the Firestone Stage at 2:30pm with one of my favourite bands, and the undeniable best band of the weekend : Four Year Strong. I attended both their sets (they also played the Avalanche stage later on in the day), fully expecting the Firestone one to be acoustic, and was pleasantly surprised by the full band, songs from Rise or Die Trying, and a moshpit started by people sporting dashing red hats. There are no existing words to describe how utterly and consistently brilliant Four Year Strong are when on a stage. They pick up their instruments, they start playing, and they make you want to jump, shout, mosh, break things or anything else that crosses your mind - in other words, they make you want to get involved. No other band makes me feel that way. Their set on the Avalanche stage gave me the same feeling - a feeling of belonging to something bigger than myself. Getting to hear On a Saturday live after such a long time was an added bonus, the icing on the cake.
Hardcore outfit Code Orange is, in many people's opinions, the best thing since sliced bread. Many publications have already picked them as their band of the weekend, their third album Forever has been collectively praised and will surely end up in many an album of the year list come December. I wanted to see things for myself. I suppose I just don't get what they're about. They sound alright, if I'm honest and fair. I just couldn't stand it anymore after the vocalist (who also happens to be the drummer) shouted "This isn't for fucking pussies" twice during the first five minutes of their set. It didn't seem to be for me either.
Three days after their appearances in support of Good Charlotte, in Paris, I caught Issues and State Champs again. It was an absolute pleasure seeing Issues in their element, and in an environment they rightfully deserve, a place in which they strive : in front of a crowd full of their fans. The first time I had seen them live, back at Reading Festival, in 2014, I had been stunned by the audience's involvement, and I had failed at seeing it happen again since then. Download righted the wrongs. Issues are the greatest band in the world when they have the greatest crowd in the world.
State Champs did have a great crowd, too, and it didn't take me a long time to abandon the safe side of things to throw myself in the heart of the action. By the time the band burst into 2015's Shape Up, I was crawling on top of people's heads and having the time of my life. State Champs keep imposing themselves as one of my favourite pop-punk bands at the moment, and seeing them live is always a pleasure.
I then headed to the Zippo Encore Stage for Good Charlotte. Singing along to beloved tunes and realising I still know the words to every single one of them will never, ever get old. Dancing to Riot Girl and Girls & Boys, remembering how great an album The Chronicles of Life and Death was, and reminiscing as frontman Joel Madden says we have all grown up together will never get old. Hearing the same Joel Madden, one of my teenage heroes, say that Architects are one of his favourite bands at the moment brought a tear to my eye. My favourite bands of yesteryear are all coming back, and I couldn't be happier about it.
Speaking of favourite bands of yesteryear coming back, I stuck around to watch Sum 41. My original plan was to watch half of it and head to the main stage, but I got so into their performance and loved it so much I couldn't bring myself to leave before the end. Sum 41 have been to hell and back and have overcome a lot, and, of course, frontman Deryck Whibley will mention it, will show how grateful he is for his fans and for the chance he has to be playing again. What I see on that stage is a band who, despite the struggles and the awful moments they have been through, sounds youthful and energetic. Their performance is solid yet emotional, and it would be fair to say they have schooled many of the bands appearing on the festival across the weekend. Sum 41 is the band I wasn't expecting to blow my mind when I set foot in Donington Park. I came for the nostalgia, stayed to have a dance to Fat Lip and In Too Deep, and left madly impressed.
Despite the change of plans, I managed to catch almost an hour of System Of A Down afterwards, and I will classify it as things I am just not sure I fully understand. I can vouch for the fact that frontman Serj Tankian has one of the most wonderful and unique voices I have ever heard in my life, and I was taken aback by the notes he can reach more than once. I was surprised to see I knew more songs than I thought I did (even though I let myself down because I clearly do not know the words to Toxicity), and it would be unfair of me to say it was a bad set. I was largely underwhelmed and, in my books, it lacked something. Was it pyro, was it grandeur, I couldn't tell. It lacked something to fully blow my mind.
SATURDAY
The second day of the festival was smoother, and I made it perfectly on time to catch the first band I wanted to watch, Swedish outfit Normandie. I had discovered them as support on Yellowcard's farewell tour (too soon), and I leapt at the chance of seeing them again. They were still excellent the second time around, and Philip Strand's vocals are very impressive. I can't think of a better way to start my day.
Speaking of bands with impressive vocals, say hello to Irish duo Greywind. I first heard them when they opened for Moose Blood last year, saw them play a lovely acoustic set with Farro in November and, back in January, I fell head over heels in love with their début album, Afterthoughts. A little over a year down the line, the fan of the pair I have become is impressed by the quality of their live show. Download was only the twentieth show of their career, and it showed they had mastered the art of sounding like they had done it their whole lives while retaining something youthful and truly enthusiastic in their energy. Next time they find themselves are Donington Park, they are going to need either a bigger stage or a longer slot. They're already too brilliant for a 12pm set in a tent.
I caught the end of the unclassifiable Creeper, another band on the list of acts I just don't seem to understand. I will tell you, without a doubt, that they are good. They are undeniably great. I'm just not sure it's for me. It would be foolish of me to deny their talent, still.
Back at the Avalanche tent for St Albans' very own Trash Boat. Here's another band I wasn't expecting to blow my mind the way they did. I started listening to their music when they opened for The Wonder Years in February, and in the light of what I have seen at Download, I feel like I have missed out over the past couple of years. Trash Boat are undoubtedly a pop-punk band, and their slightly hardcore edge is what makes them as interesting as they are - alongside how chaotic their live shows are. It's only 1pm and the tent is full to the brim with people crowdsurfing and echoing every word. Having As It Is' frontman Patty Walters featuring on one of their songs made for a great surprise and turned out to be what dreams are made of, as his vocals and Tobi Duncan's got along like a house on fire. As time passes, I will probably still feel like an idiot about the times when I wasn't on board and I will probably try to overcompensate, so let's say that what matters is that I am now here for the long haul, right? (See you in September)
Next stop is the Zippo Encore Stage for pirate metal band Alestorm - because yes, this is a thing, and it's not even ironic. What else do you need to know? None of it makes sense, "yo ho ho" is a real-life part of their lyrics, and their backdrop consisted in a picture of a duck coming out of a banana. Download was made for bands that make no sense and leave you with a story to tell your mates come Monday, I suppose. (They drew such a big crowd for a Saturdat at 1pm, though, I'll have to give them that)
After I am done yo-ho-ho-ing all over the place, I come back down to the Avalanche Stage for The One Hundred. The Saturday edition of the stage was a collection of bands I discovered as support acts who now made a point in taking my breath away all by themselves. When frontman Jacob Field turned up on stage looking like an extra in an eighties movie, complete with mullet, dashing yellow shorts and Hawaiian shirt, I wondered if this was the same band I had seen destroy the Trabendo alongside Crossfaith. They started playing, and there was no mistake. Such a sound and such energy is too much, too big, too bold for a small tent like this. The One Hundred are a band made for the main stages.
I was nothing short of heartbroken when Austin Carlile had to leave Of Mice & Men due to his life threatening illness, and I was so upset I wasn't even sure I wanted to see them live again. Then, Unbreakable came along, and I found myself curious to see what the now four piece would sound and be like on a stage. I was very, very impressed. Aaron Pauley has become the frontman, assuming the talking to the crowd position with grace, but mostly taking on the full vocalist job - he now does both cleans and screams. Just like Taylor said mid-set, how come someone with the voice of an angel can scream like this, and I can't think of any other sentence that would sum the new and improved Of Mice & Men better. They now showcase a lot of promise, a frontman with hidden talent, tunes for days and an improved stage presence. I'm not sure I want to hear Second & Sebring live ever again, still, but, you know. I suppose I'll be more than okay seeing them live again. I'm not going anywhere.
Back at the Avalanche stage to catch Brighton pop-punks As It Is, who have drawn a surprisingly (but pleasingly) large crowd, considering they were the least heavy band on the line up. It shouldn't work at Download Festival, and yet, it does. The band's sound finds its place, frontman Patty Walters' energy working wonders everywhere As It Is go. I might have found myself in tears during either Pretty Little Distance (which is, as the cool kids say, a true bop) or Dialtones. The first time I saw As It Is, they were playing an overheated pub in Birmingham, and if you had told me that three years later, they would bring a really, really big crowd underneath a tent at Download Festival of all places, I wouldn't have believed it.
After a quick detour by the Dogtooth to catch Scotland's finest, The LaFontaines, and then by the main stage to briefly see Pierce The Veil (I sadly had to leave before they played King for a Day), I went back to the Avalanche stage to watch the end of Knuckle Puck. I hadn't seen them since they supported State Champs, back in September 2015, and tunes like Evergreen or Untitled felt like coming home. I saw frontman Joe Taylor get up close and personal with the crowd, and the only thought that popped in my brain was, I'm home. Singing along to Pretense, which happens to be my friend Marie's favourite Knuckle Puck song, brought back lots of happy memories from that 2015 tour. Saturday was a grey day, but Knuckle Puck brough a little bit of sunshine with them, if only just for a short while.
I stayed near the Avalanche stage to watch Crown The Empire. I never know where I am standing with the Texans. The first two times I saw them, they were excellent, and turned the casual attendee I was into someone who wanted to know, see and hear more. Then, I saw them at their first Download appearance, in 2015, and left disappointed as the sound was terrible (especially in ex-vocalist David Escamilla's microphone) and there was no band cohesion to be seen. Since then, the now four piece have more or less gracefully parted ways with guitarist Benn 'Suede' Vogelman and said ex-vocalist David Escamilla, and have released Retrograde, a really good third full-length, which took them miles away from the sound they were known for. Their Download 2017 performance sounded excellent, frontman Andrew 'Andy Leo' Velasquez was on fire, and this time, I could see the band cohesion and unity I had liked back then. They have changed styles, whether it is with their appearances (Velasquez is wearing a classy pinstripe suit and bass player Hayden Tree sports a shiny silver jacket, which feels in accordance with the new album's general aesthetic) or their sound, but everything, every era merges together just nicely, and the Americans stood out as one of the strongest performances I have watched during the weekend. I now want a headline tour for Retrograde, pretty please?
I bought myself an early dinner and walked to the Zippo Encore Stage to listen to a bit of Max and Iggor Cavalera returning to Roots. I know this is not the kind of thing anyone expects me to be into, this is not even the kind of thing I am expecting myself to be into. My brother absolutely adores Sepultura's classic Roots, and I have grown up with the nineties record by proxy. Checking out its original musicians attempting at playing it in full (the set was cut short) was natural for me. Dare I say I was myself returning to roots or is this one too obvious and corny? Let's just settle on this was very good, and I wasn't disappointed. (I was, though, the youngest person in the crowd, for a change)
Back at the Avalanche for hardcore heroes Every Time I Die. (I know, the stage was dubbed the "Fresh Blood Stage" and ETID have eight albums out and a nineteen year career under their belt). The festival being quieter than usually, I find myself on the barrier quite easily, and it turns out to be the perfect spot to have my face melted off by the band's heavy sound and hard-hitting performance. The Americans have quickly become one of my favourite bands to see thanks to their extremely catchy yet heavy sound, and their frontman Keith Buckley's huge charisma. (Seriously, the man has to be one of the most ridiculously charismatic men in the scene, and maybe the world). The band's hardcore tunes unleash chaos in the crowd and Every Time I Die probably also win the award for most people going from one side of the barrier to the other. The two things that will mostly get Buckley's attention, though, are the guy dressed like Pikachu in the pit, and the "little dude" on his father's shoulders. That's what I like to hear.
The main stage is about to welcome Ocala, Florida's very own A Day To Remember, and while I try to find myself a nice spot on the left, I notice that they have very easily drawn one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, and certainly the biggest crowd of the day. No one else in this scene and in the world has such a collection of catchy, iconic hits, and there isn't a track that isn't welcome by perfectly loud singalongs and crowd action. I had to leave before the end because I'm that kind of The Story So Far fan, but from what I saw, it was a triumph for A Day To Remember, and headlining festivals is the next logical step for the Floridians.
Let me tell you one thing : I was so excited to see The Story So Far that I genuinely annoyed myself to no end. First, I made myself leave during A Day To Remember (who have been one of my favourite bands for the past eight years) as both sets were overlapping and I refused to miss even a split second of the Californians' performance. Second, I pretty much bought a weekend ticket just to see them. Maybe that one is a bit of a stretch as I loved the line-up as a whole, but the fact that it was their only European date of the summer was a major influence in my decision. Of course, I made my way to the front, and then to the pit. By the time personal favourite Nerve came on, I was angrily shouting that "I can't pass through Indio without feeling indigo" while being carried over the barrier. (I have the remains of a bruise to prove it). On stage, the Americans deliver an impressive performance without doing much - with The Story So Far, less is more in a brilliant way. If you want to watch a band who is going to make jokes, or who is going to make you crouch down, and then jump, you're in the wrong tent. Frontman Parker Cannon doesn't really talk that much - he just claps in between songs and smiles, seemingly delighted by the crowd's size and participation. Their angry, emotional pop-punk tracks are perfectly delivered, and their live rendition works wonders in making you realise just how emotionally charged they are. If I hadn't been too busy crowdsurfing, I would have been in tears at Nerve, and it would be a lie to say that anything out of the band's self-titled record doesn't make my heart skip a beat.
It took me a while to understand The Story So Far, to see why their songs didn't need an expansive frontman to carry them, to get why they were more than the group of dudes angry finger-pointing at an empty field in the music video for Quicksand. I can now see the nuances, the feelings, the pain, the fact that the words are enough on their own, the utter frustration in the lyrics. I can now safely say that The Story So Far have become one of my favourite bands, that I am excited to see what they come up with in the future, and that there are so many reasons why they are one of the best bands in the scene at the moment, if only I could put words on why it is so.
Let's take it back to the summer of 2013, shall we. Me and my brother are on holiday in England, during the Reading & Leeds weekend. I am in our hotel room, on my laptop, and the festival highlights are playing on the television behind me. I hear a song I can't really recognise sang along by a large crowd, and when I turn around to watch, all I see are fireworks and people singing their hearts out, perched on other people's shoulders. I stop everything I am doing as I can't keep my eyes off the television. One day, I decide on the spot, I will see Biffy Clyro headline a festival, and I will be on someone's shoulders as they play Mountains.
Four years later, I am in a field surrounded by friends, and Biffy Clyro are headlining the festival I am attending. They come on stage to the sound of 2016's Wolves of Winter, and there are no two ways around it : this song is still the breath of fresh air it was when I was down in the gutter, back in December. For the next hour and a half, the Scots will play a magnificent set, cleverly mixing ballads (God & Satan, Medicine, Many of Horror) and heavier tracks (Animal Style, Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies, 57), a good way to please both fans and casual listeners. The screen effects are the same as they were during the arena tour, and yet they come alive in a different way at Download. Mostly, Biffy Clyro are a band who does the whole festival headline thing with heart and soul. They have worked their way up the stages and through the years, they more than deserved their spot under the stars, never mind what the naysayers might think. Who cares if they are not a metal band, or if they had the smallest crowd out of all the headliners? This is not what should define the quality of a band's performance. I am personally sick of festivals being headlined by bands who get the top spot just because they exist and just because they will draw a big crowd, no matter how they will sound like, no matter if they haven't done anything relevant in a decade/this century, whilst there are bands who work their asses off and don't get the big spot because the organisers are scared of shaking things up.
On the 10th of June, 2017, I have seen Biffy Clyro headline a festival. Stingin' Belle, with all the fireworks, shot from both the stage and the sound tower, making me feel like I was surrounded by fireworks, was one of the happiest moments of my life. I kept looking at the sky, smiling like an idiot, grinning so much my jaw ached. I ended up on someone's shoulders during Sounds Like Balloons and Mountains - finally, I made it. Not many bands make me as utterly, completely, simply happy as Biffy Clyro do.
SUNDAY
Sunday started in shambles again as I never made it to the arena on time for Wallflower - blame the bus, but please, don't forget to check out Wallflower. Take my word for that, I might have been absent, but they are excellent.
My feet were in a lot of pain, so I decided to take it as easy as I could, limit the walking and standing up, and the first band I saw turned out to be Blood Youth, an hour and a half after my arrival. Born from the ashes of Climates, the band has been making waves thanks to their début record Beyond Repair, and thanks to the quality of their live show. I had never seen them before, and felt like I should check them out, now that I was given the occasion. As someone who didn't know a single song, and as someone who felt dizzy because of the painkillers she had taken, I throughly enjoyed myself. Make of that what you wish.
Next up for me is Fizzy Blood, on the Dogtooth stage. The tent is fairly packed, and the fivesome sound excellent, just funky and fuzzy enough for that time of the weekend. Fizzy Blood are a band whose catchy hooks make you want to dance around and shake it off. What more could you possibly want from life.
Back down at the Avalanche stage for Leeds trio Dinosaur Pile-Up. Dinosaur Pile-Up never disappoint live. From day one, I have been on board with their blend of alt-rock and grunge, and their strong Nirvana vibes. I have an endless, passionate love story with their single Eleven Eleven - it's the kind of song that I would want to listen to on repeat until "eleven" doesn't feel like a word anymore.
The next band I watched, of course on the Avalanche Stage (which was my home for the weekend) is Touché Amoré. Touché Amoré are a very, VERY good live band. I knew a couple of their songs, I knew of them, but I had never seen them, and after my first live experience, I am sure of one thing : this isn't going to be the last. Their hardcore infused sound, and their very short but heavily emotional songs easily catch my attention, refuse to let go. Three minutes into their set and I find myself wishing I knew enough words to join in. The girl next to me knows every word, and she is shouting them louder than everyone else in the tent, louder than you would expect someone standing outside of the action to shout. She somehow makes my experience better.
There is a lot of action. When it comes to the Sunday, Touché Amoré are the clear winner for crowdsurfers and moshpits. This set is a triumph.
I want more.
I decide to rest a little bit, treat myself to some overpriced curly fries, and then, I stop at the main stage for Steel Panther. I am here out of sheer curiosity and nothing else. I have listened to one of their songs, once in a blue moon, I couldn't tell you why or how I came upon it, and come to think of it, I think it was a Christmas song. They were everything I expected them to be. They had terrible "I fucked your girlfriend" jokes (which get a bit old if you make them ten times in a row, but then again, Steel Panther are here for a good time, not a subtle time), and cheesy eighties hair metal songs. I have so many questions about them, but the main one is : are they going to be the first comedy band who gets to headline Download Festival? The question seems legitimate when you take into account the fact that there were more people watching them than Biffy Clyro, who were actually headlining. I don't know how I feel about it. I'm not sure I want them to get to headliner size.
I go back to the Avalanche size for Basement. They are one of the finest bands out there, because I feel like they do everything with a lot of heart, or maybe it's just my way of saying every song they play live makes me emotional. Their emo tunes are delivered perfectly, and they get the crowd going so easily. Frontman Andrew Fisher (and his adorable dance moves) has everyone wrapped around his little finger, to a point where he can get people starting a wall of death. Why not. This is Download, after all.
(Of course, I watched Moose Blood. Of course, I cried. Sue me)
I briefly head to the Zippo Encore Stage to catch a bit of Slayer, just so I can tell my brother I have seen Tom Araya in the flesh and in the impressive beard. To be entirely fair, even though I am more than a beginner when it comes to their music, Slayer are absolutely excellent live. Would it be too much of a horrible pun to say they slay? Because they do.
Finally, it's time for Aerosmith. It's not like anyone has another option anyway, because there is no one else playing that slot. I wouldn't be surprised if the four piece had been the ones to ask for it themselves, they seem fabulous enough to ask for that kind of privilege. I mean, they are Aerosmith on their last ever UK show - a fact they don't really remind anyone on stage, which seems odd to me - why not ask to be the only option for the eighty thousand people that attend the festival.
I was expecting so much worse when it comes to Aerosmith. I have a history of old school bands sounding alright but nothing special (Black Sabbath) or just plain terrible (Deep Purple). Aerosmith were genuinely good. Good at what they did, and good at something I am not the right audience for, but entirely good. Everyone on stage sounds great, and it doesn't feel like they are showing off just to show the people in front of them they can still play, despite their age, despite the fact that they have been around since the seventies, as frontman and legend Steven Tyler reminds us. (It feels worse to hear "let's take this back to 1973" than it does to hear "let's take it back to 2002", and I wasn't even born in 1973)
Aerosmith have disappointed me in two ways, though. One, who on Earth designed the screen effects, and two, why wasn't there any pyro? If you are headlining Download Festival and it's your last ever show in the country, you better have some pyro and set one of your members on fire à la Rammstein, fly over the stage on a zip line like Beyoncé (or Kiss, if you want something more metalhead friendly), make me blind with the light of the fireworks as Kiss (again!) did back in 2015, be bloody spectacular. Having a megaphone covered in diamonds and an ocean of confetti isn't enough to render you spectacular. It makes you fabulous, though, which isn't too bad by my standards. I was strongly impressed by Tyler's outfit and general fabulousness. That's the kind of fabulous I aspire to be, someone come bedazzling everything I own with me.
More seriously, the singalong to I Don't Want to Miss a Thing was a dream. Say what you will about Aerosmith, but they brought THAT song into the world.
That's a wrap on Download for now, and I don't have a wishlist ready for 2018 yet. Maybe Bring Me The Horizon or Thirty Seconds to Mars, finally? It would be about time.