Reading - Day 3

First, the music…

Mallrat

Nice enough for a Sunday morning slot - Lana del Reyesque but not quite to that level.  She looked like a kid and actually said "this song is dedicated to my dog".  She did manage to get into the Reading vibe by swearing once, but I'm sure she's apologised to her mother since.

The Ks

More 90s guitar indie or maybe 00s - I get so confused.  In a weekend of excessive swearing, the lead singer managed to top most people by using the C word - but did so in a way that was amusing and didn't feel forced, unlike a lot of other people.  This was followed by one of the band mooning the audience, to which he said "I told him not to get his arse out.  This is going out on the BBC and you say fuck or bugger and you definitely can't get your arse out".  The music was actually pretty good as well - the guitarist was on fire.  They also played "cover snippets" - just a verse of a couple of well known songs, which actually worked well as a concept.

Willow

Someone I've managed to avoid so far - she was rockier than I expected.  But not impressively so - her voice is nothing to write home about.  She also seemed to think I had the slightest interest in her opinions - and she was wrong.

Abby Roberts

Apparently, she's one of the Tikky Tokkers - she got some points for playing The Cardigans "Love Fool" in a Julee Cruise-style, which worked quite well.  The rest of it was "fine I guess" although I did chuckle when she went "oh shit - social media are here".

Gayle

One I attended at random, not thinking I knew and I quite liked the girl and her guitar and thought she showed a lot of promise.  And then she played "ABCDEFU" and I went "Oh, THAT Gayle"!  The kids loved it (and I have to admit it's got a pretty sing-along-able chorus".

Digga D
Just no.

Pale Waves

For some reason, I though they were your usual anodyne indie boy-band.  But the presence of a female singer/guitarist and drummer suggests I was slightly wrong.  They were pretty good - slightly rockier Haim which I think I might like even more not live, so I shall try to check them out.

The DMAs

This was absolutely fine in a "generic US radio-friendly rock" kinda way - by which I mean it wasn't really fine.  And they're Australian, so they should know better.

Crawlers

They were very big with the kids, but I actually liked them a lot as well - it was fun pop-rock.

"Has anyone had their heart broken?"

<small cheer>

"Has anyone still got a provisional licence?"

<massive cheer>

"This song's for all the bitches that can't drive!"

Run The Jewels

They're not really my thing, but they're a fine hip-hop partnership with good lyrical skills.  I couldn't help thinking that most of the audience were thinking that the 2 late 40s guys on stage were like watching your dad rap.  But they got a big cheer for their thoughts on the moshpit "Gentlemen, if you did not come with her, keep your motherfucking hands off her - or we'll jump in and sort you out".  And I don't doubt that Killer Mike would - he's a big lad.

Bastille

I thought they were OK, but I was told I was wrong and they were UTTERLY BRILLIANT.  Unfortunately, I missed "Pompeii" because I was tracking down a teenager - who turned out to be in a tent next to...

Charli XCX

One day I'll remember that Charli has been around forever and has produced a load of bangers (not a word I use often, but I think it applies here).  But that day was not yesterday, so I found myself being pleasantly surprised by every track.

Halsey

Mr Ambassador, you are spoiling us with these strong and talented ladies!  I like them, but this really was a very impressive set - just them on the stage for an hour or so, belting out some very decent tunes.  They covered "Running Up That Hill" and definitely did it justice - which is possibly more than I'd manage.

I didn't go and see The 1975 because I'm not a massive fan and I knew I was having to get up at 4:30 - I listened to their stuff on the way back to the tent and nothing I heard made me wish I was still in the stadium.  However, in the end I only got about two hours kip so I'm unable to remember too much more about yesterday, although I do recall being asked whether I was a) called Neil or b) Elton John.  I suspect the lack of sleep was starting to tell on people.

To sum up, it was a day for the female singers, but The Ks managed to spare the guys' blushes - them, Pale Waves and Crawlers all feel worthy of more exploration to me.  In terms of the overall festival experience, I enjoyed the musical elements more than I was expecting to - a lot of the bands did a great job, often in quite a short slot.  I did feel very old at times, but was generally tolerated because I just kept out of the way - I suspect had I visited a moshpit or two, things would not have ended well (but that was never going to happen).  Another age related issue is that I found the camping tiresome - it was a long walk back to the tent from the arena and getting any sleep was challenging, particularly on the last night (but from what the security guard told us I was very glad we were in the "quiet" campsite).  

However, this festival trip wasn't really about me - it was about the young people I was "supervising" (I saw some of them at least once a day) after some great GCSE results and they all seemed to have a good time (or too much of a good time, in some cases) so I was happy to be there and got to enjoy some fine musical performances to boot, some of which I would never have experienced without hearing them excitedly discussing the people they HAD to see.  In the words of a wise woman "I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way" - and I can assure you there are no other circumstances under which I would have seen Megan Thee Stallion live.  So that's a good thing, right?

Day 2