There are times when you think you have a great idea, no
festivals in 2015 was one of these ideas for me.
Until the announcements began.
Until the announcements began.
With the run that was built up for the Sunday of Download,
the decision for a day ticket was pretty swift. You may be thinking that one
day isn’t overly breaking the no festival rule and I would agree. Unfortunately,
with a mix of more fantastic announcements filling the line-up and very low
will power. I ended up getting a full weekend ticket for Download 2015.
This is how the festival panned out for me.
This is how the festival panned out for me.
Stage Key: Main – M: Zippo/2nd
– Z: Maverick/3rd – MV: Jakes’/4th – J
Scores out of 10
Scores out of 10
Friday
Slightly delayed arriving at the arena before being caught
up in the mega queue that had sprung up. I was wondering why it was taking so
long to get people in until I saw how the new “cashless” (will talk about this
more in a moment) system was working with the scanning of tickets. So I think
that will need addressing to keep the flow of people constant. One option I’ve
seen mentioned is to open the arena 2 hours before the music begins rather than
the current 1 hour. But then I’m sure there are plenty of people at Live Nation
being paid great amounts of money for their ideas so I’ll leave it to them.
Once I was onto the hallowed ground the first port of call was for a cold bottle of water as the temperature had really ramped up. It was also my first chance to see the supposed media heightened horror of a cashless festival first-hand. I asked for a water and then held my wristband up to the little scanner which beeped with a green light and stated “Payment Successful” and showed my remaining balance. Not only did the system work perfectly for me all weekend, it made life so much easier without messing around with notes and jangling change. And I definitely felt safer not having to carry my wallet with me. I understand there were a few problems for some people and this will need to be addressed before next year, but I have nothing but praise for the system.
So, onto the first band of the festival which turned out to be; Lacuna Coil (M-8) had great energy on the main stage and made use of the ramp which made its return from the 2014 festival. Christina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro entertained the sizeable crowd that had surfaced in the bright sunshine with a set that spanned the band’s career. The cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy the Silence’ was devoured by the crowd before a powerful finale of ‘Our Truth’.
After a bit of exploring around the newly laid out festival site, I managed to find myself down at the front for Clutch (M-10) and I’m really glad I did. They were superb and the setlist couldn’t have been better. On the screens during the festival there was an interview with lead singer Neil Fallon saying that his biggest fear is not being able to do what he loves. And it was extremely evident that he, and his bandmates, love playing music. One thing I enjoy as a music fan & festival goer is seeing bands playing with passion for the fans and not for commercial gain (although that is a real bonus!) A real tight unit with some belting tunes stapled this as a top scoring set.
With Five Finger Death Punch up next on the main stage I made myself scarce to find some good music….I mean an alternative choice. For this I was slightly spoilt as I could’ve gone to the tent to see Sylosis but ended up heading to Corrosion Of Conformity (Z-7) for my first visit of the 2nd stage this year. Some old school heavy metal was a good choice for the following bands I’d be seeing and C.O.C were really enjoyable, I just wish I knew more than one of their songs and would likely have been more invested in them.
I stuck with 2nd stage to catch a couple of songs from Thunder (Z-7), who would’ve likely scored higher if I’d stayed with them for longer. They sounded very good and can still blast out the hits like it’s….well 2011 when they re-formed.
From British rock to British heavy metal and Judas Priest (M-10) smashed the main stage to pieces taking no prisoners. I have seen Priest on a number of occasions but I think this may have been the best. Tearing through each epic hit like a dog with a T-bone steak and giving Download an hour of intense metal with face melting riffs and Rob Halfords signature screams. Even giving me a surprise by singing (most of) ‘Breaking The Law’, which has been left to the crowd the last few times I’ve seen them.
Heading around to the Zippo stage to see a band that clashed with this year’s headliners in 2013, and who I decided to watch instead. Black Stone Cherry (Z-8) clearly suffered with some technical problems at the beginning of their set, possibly due to the sustained rainfall that had settled over Donnington (and making me rue the decision to only take a hoody with me). Even though it is their staple set opener, the opening words of ‘Rain Wizard’ “Here comes the rain!” was extremely apt. They are always so shocked and grateful at the fans that turn up for them, “in the bullshit rain” as guitarist Ben Wells puts it (he’s not wrong!). I can’t see another band more worthy, I have seen them grow from venues that hold 400 people to owning arenas and they will only continue to grow with the calibre of music they are pouring out. They gave us a new song ‘Roadrunner’ which sounded just awesome!
I went to Wembley to see a band for the 4th time in January; now it was time to make that 5 times. Some bands know how to control the stage and capture the audience from the second they walk out, Slipknot (M-10) are one of those bands and thoroughly proved it with another slaying of the main stage headliner spot. The addition of new album, “The Grey Chapter” has given the band an even bigger arsenal of ear-pounding, fist-pumping songs to blast through. I’d have preferred ‘Killpop’ to have been left at home but no matter, the head banger of ‘Custer’ mixed with stalwarts such as, ‘Duality’ and ‘Eyeless’ left no-one with the notion that Slipknot didn’t deserve to be there. As with Black Stone Cherry, the band recognise the UK as a huge part of their fanbase and Corey Taylor thanked the crowd on numerous occasions. I’m one of those people that always laugh when a band says how “this is the best gig we’ve ever played” or “you are the best crowd ever”, but it’s obvious just how close to the heart the Maggots (Slipknot fans) are to band.
And with that brain-melting performance, it was the end of the first day and an extremely successful one it was. The decision to attend the full weekend looked to have been a very good one, apart from being soaked through to the bone. This is one reason that the new festival attendance of staying in a hotel becomes a superb idea.
Once I was onto the hallowed ground the first port of call was for a cold bottle of water as the temperature had really ramped up. It was also my first chance to see the supposed media heightened horror of a cashless festival first-hand. I asked for a water and then held my wristband up to the little scanner which beeped with a green light and stated “Payment Successful” and showed my remaining balance. Not only did the system work perfectly for me all weekend, it made life so much easier without messing around with notes and jangling change. And I definitely felt safer not having to carry my wallet with me. I understand there were a few problems for some people and this will need to be addressed before next year, but I have nothing but praise for the system.
So, onto the first band of the festival which turned out to be; Lacuna Coil (M-8) had great energy on the main stage and made use of the ramp which made its return from the 2014 festival. Christina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro entertained the sizeable crowd that had surfaced in the bright sunshine with a set that spanned the band’s career. The cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy the Silence’ was devoured by the crowd before a powerful finale of ‘Our Truth’.
After a bit of exploring around the newly laid out festival site, I managed to find myself down at the front for Clutch (M-10) and I’m really glad I did. They were superb and the setlist couldn’t have been better. On the screens during the festival there was an interview with lead singer Neil Fallon saying that his biggest fear is not being able to do what he loves. And it was extremely evident that he, and his bandmates, love playing music. One thing I enjoy as a music fan & festival goer is seeing bands playing with passion for the fans and not for commercial gain (although that is a real bonus!) A real tight unit with some belting tunes stapled this as a top scoring set.
With Five Finger Death Punch up next on the main stage I made myself scarce to find some good music….I mean an alternative choice. For this I was slightly spoilt as I could’ve gone to the tent to see Sylosis but ended up heading to Corrosion Of Conformity (Z-7) for my first visit of the 2nd stage this year. Some old school heavy metal was a good choice for the following bands I’d be seeing and C.O.C were really enjoyable, I just wish I knew more than one of their songs and would likely have been more invested in them.
I stuck with 2nd stage to catch a couple of songs from Thunder (Z-7), who would’ve likely scored higher if I’d stayed with them for longer. They sounded very good and can still blast out the hits like it’s….well 2011 when they re-formed.
From British rock to British heavy metal and Judas Priest (M-10) smashed the main stage to pieces taking no prisoners. I have seen Priest on a number of occasions but I think this may have been the best. Tearing through each epic hit like a dog with a T-bone steak and giving Download an hour of intense metal with face melting riffs and Rob Halfords signature screams. Even giving me a surprise by singing (most of) ‘Breaking The Law’, which has been left to the crowd the last few times I’ve seen them.
Heading around to the Zippo stage to see a band that clashed with this year’s headliners in 2013, and who I decided to watch instead. Black Stone Cherry (Z-8) clearly suffered with some technical problems at the beginning of their set, possibly due to the sustained rainfall that had settled over Donnington (and making me rue the decision to only take a hoody with me). Even though it is their staple set opener, the opening words of ‘Rain Wizard’ “Here comes the rain!” was extremely apt. They are always so shocked and grateful at the fans that turn up for them, “in the bullshit rain” as guitarist Ben Wells puts it (he’s not wrong!). I can’t see another band more worthy, I have seen them grow from venues that hold 400 people to owning arenas and they will only continue to grow with the calibre of music they are pouring out. They gave us a new song ‘Roadrunner’ which sounded just awesome!
I went to Wembley to see a band for the 4th time in January; now it was time to make that 5 times. Some bands know how to control the stage and capture the audience from the second they walk out, Slipknot (M-10) are one of those bands and thoroughly proved it with another slaying of the main stage headliner spot. The addition of new album, “The Grey Chapter” has given the band an even bigger arsenal of ear-pounding, fist-pumping songs to blast through. I’d have preferred ‘Killpop’ to have been left at home but no matter, the head banger of ‘Custer’ mixed with stalwarts such as, ‘Duality’ and ‘Eyeless’ left no-one with the notion that Slipknot didn’t deserve to be there. As with Black Stone Cherry, the band recognise the UK as a huge part of their fanbase and Corey Taylor thanked the crowd on numerous occasions. I’m one of those people that always laugh when a band says how “this is the best gig we’ve ever played” or “you are the best crowd ever”, but it’s obvious just how close to the heart the Maggots (Slipknot fans) are to band.
And with that brain-melting performance, it was the end of the first day and an extremely successful one it was. The decision to attend the full weekend looked to have been a very good one, apart from being soaked through to the bone. This is one reason that the new festival attendance of staying in a hotel becomes a superb idea.
Saturday
Before the weekend, the weather forecast showed Friday to be
hot & dry, Saturday to be a washout with Sunday bringing up a cloudy cool
day. So after the drenching I had unexpectedly received on the Friday, I headed
to the shop to pick up a new hoodie and also found some cheap ponchos (yes, I
should have taken some with me, my bad!). Supplies purchased and it was off to
Download day 2. However, as soon as I left the hotel the poncho went on, I was
hoping that with the rain on the Friday and it being like that in the morning
that the weather-front had hit earlier and the rain wouldn’t take up much of
Saturday. Wishful thinking in the end.
Making it into the arena to see a band I haven’t seen since
2007, Funeral For A Friend (M-6) unsurprisingly drew a rather small crowd in the rain, which was a shame as
it seemed to knock them off their pace a bit. They were good enough but it
seemed rather flat. They spoke about previous attendances of Download and how
they were playing in the exact same spot as their first appearance in 2003,
coming full circle. Although they didn’t seem to realise that this isn’t a good
thing!
Moving on to a bit of early afternoon thrash metal which Malefice (Z-6) duly obliged with. A frantic 25 minutes ploughed from the stage with vocalist Dale Butcher leading the crowd with head banging and circle pits all over the place. I’m not sure what I felt was off with them but they just didn’t keep hold of my attention which is why their score is lower than I personally thought they’d get.
Time to take things down a notch and enjoy some Finnish cellists playing through their repertoire. Apocalyptica (Z-4) couldn’t have disappointed me much more than they did with the few songs I stayed to watch. They have added a vocalist from somewhere which was the start of taking much of the performance away. They included 2 songs from the new album which I haven’t heard, possibly more my problem than theirs but still! I was coming off a fairly poor showing at Wacken last year and this did nothing to help repair my opinion of them.
I really need picking up after Apocalyptica and I was hoping that a band I have wanted to see for years would do the trick. They did that and went beyond. What a fantastic performance by Hollywood Undead (M-9). Powering through new and old songs, interacting with the crowd, bouncing around like lunatics and just fully enjoying themselves. The energy just flowed from the stage and infected the crowd who bounced and sang with the good time they were clearly having. If I get the chance to see them again I definitely will, preferably out of the rain this time, much harder to move your feet when they are stuck in mud! My only gripe with the set is it appeared that possibly a tape was used during ‘Undead’, the vocals seemed to stay rather constant throughout. But who knows, either way, the rest of the set was sublime with each band member having the spotlight and belting out tune after tune. Thank you Hollywood Undead, you really started my Saturday!
Moving over to the newly-named Maverick stage for the first time this year it was evident that it was indeed a much bigger tent than previous years. And yet, you still couldn’t fit in everyone to see Upon A Burning Body (MV-8) destroy the stage. A blistering set from the Texan metallers happily lapped up by the boisterous crowd. Leaning heavily on their 2014 album “The World Is My Enemy Now”, UABB finished with a cover of ‘Turn Down For What’. On record this features Ice-T from Bodycount and with them due to sub-headline this stage later in the day I was hoping that he would make an appearance with them. Unfortunately this didn’t happen and his parts were just added with a tape playing. Can’t win them all I guess.
Testament (Z-9) handed us a 30 minute thrash fest. With pulsating beats emanating from the stage, these metal veterans treated us to a 6 song set that spanned their career. Including a back-to-back of ‘Practice What You Preach’ and ‘Into The Pit’ which had me beaming from ear to ear. They could easily have enjoyed being on stage for longer and I wouldn’t have complained.
Sticking with 2nd stage and catching a couple of songs from Carcass (Z-7) before heading off for a long stint at main stage was a good call. I always enjoy seeing Carcass and they were really on form from what I saw. I imagine if I had stayed for their full set the score would be higher.
Time for a run of main stage bands who were a large part of why I ended up attending for the full festival. First, Rise Against (M-8) just always seem to have fun when they play and the smile during this set on Tim McIlrath’s face is evidence of this. I was expecting them to play more from their new album “The Black Market”. But they just threw out more of their classics, much to the crowd’s pleasure, ‘Prayer Of The Refugee’ was particularly ferocious.
I really hoped that I could see a full set from the next band; in 2013 I arrived late to catch their last few songs. And late last year they played here in Portsmouth, well…they were playing until someone jumped from the balcony and the gig was cut short. So, could A Day To Remember (M-10) live up to the hype? Simply yes, and more. If this band aren’t Download headliners in the next few years I’ll be very surprised. They have everything down to a tee. Stage show, crowd interaction, songs that have already moved toward being anthemic and an adoring fanbase which is growing at an incredible pace. As with other bands, ADTR paid tribute to the UK as being massive supporters of them. Throwing in a cover of Oasis’ ‘Champagne Supernova’ was a little bit special, although Jeremy saying “get back together guys” was unnecessary. Just me? Fair enough. An amazing set from a band going from strength to strength and I was able to see it all!
Last year I finally saw Faith No More (M-10) and although they were awesome (I gave them the max rating then as well), it is now clear that they were suffering from sound problems. There was none of that on Saturday and the guys just blew it away. It was ace to hear ‘Motherfucker’ with absolute clarity and once again, Mike Patton showed that is a comedy genius along with a fantastic vocalist. During their cover of The Commodores’ ‘Easy’ Mike jumped off the stage to allow a crowd member who was being stretchered away to sing before asking the crowd what they did to him, in a light hearted manner. He also spotted someone who was obviously waiting for Muse and “couldn’t give a fuck about Faith No More…bitch”, the camera panned to said person and they couldn’t have looked any more bored, almost falling asleep on the barrier. There was no chance I’d be sleeping as FNM ripped through classics and new songs alike. Fantastic set by these guys and I hope they stick around for a while this time.
Moving on to a bit of early afternoon thrash metal which Malefice (Z-6) duly obliged with. A frantic 25 minutes ploughed from the stage with vocalist Dale Butcher leading the crowd with head banging and circle pits all over the place. I’m not sure what I felt was off with them but they just didn’t keep hold of my attention which is why their score is lower than I personally thought they’d get.
Time to take things down a notch and enjoy some Finnish cellists playing through their repertoire. Apocalyptica (Z-4) couldn’t have disappointed me much more than they did with the few songs I stayed to watch. They have added a vocalist from somewhere which was the start of taking much of the performance away. They included 2 songs from the new album which I haven’t heard, possibly more my problem than theirs but still! I was coming off a fairly poor showing at Wacken last year and this did nothing to help repair my opinion of them.
I really need picking up after Apocalyptica and I was hoping that a band I have wanted to see for years would do the trick. They did that and went beyond. What a fantastic performance by Hollywood Undead (M-9). Powering through new and old songs, interacting with the crowd, bouncing around like lunatics and just fully enjoying themselves. The energy just flowed from the stage and infected the crowd who bounced and sang with the good time they were clearly having. If I get the chance to see them again I definitely will, preferably out of the rain this time, much harder to move your feet when they are stuck in mud! My only gripe with the set is it appeared that possibly a tape was used during ‘Undead’, the vocals seemed to stay rather constant throughout. But who knows, either way, the rest of the set was sublime with each band member having the spotlight and belting out tune after tune. Thank you Hollywood Undead, you really started my Saturday!
Moving over to the newly-named Maverick stage for the first time this year it was evident that it was indeed a much bigger tent than previous years. And yet, you still couldn’t fit in everyone to see Upon A Burning Body (MV-8) destroy the stage. A blistering set from the Texan metallers happily lapped up by the boisterous crowd. Leaning heavily on their 2014 album “The World Is My Enemy Now”, UABB finished with a cover of ‘Turn Down For What’. On record this features Ice-T from Bodycount and with them due to sub-headline this stage later in the day I was hoping that he would make an appearance with them. Unfortunately this didn’t happen and his parts were just added with a tape playing. Can’t win them all I guess.
Testament (Z-9) handed us a 30 minute thrash fest. With pulsating beats emanating from the stage, these metal veterans treated us to a 6 song set that spanned their career. Including a back-to-back of ‘Practice What You Preach’ and ‘Into The Pit’ which had me beaming from ear to ear. They could easily have enjoyed being on stage for longer and I wouldn’t have complained.
Sticking with 2nd stage and catching a couple of songs from Carcass (Z-7) before heading off for a long stint at main stage was a good call. I always enjoy seeing Carcass and they were really on form from what I saw. I imagine if I had stayed for their full set the score would be higher.
Time for a run of main stage bands who were a large part of why I ended up attending for the full festival. First, Rise Against (M-8) just always seem to have fun when they play and the smile during this set on Tim McIlrath’s face is evidence of this. I was expecting them to play more from their new album “The Black Market”. But they just threw out more of their classics, much to the crowd’s pleasure, ‘Prayer Of The Refugee’ was particularly ferocious.
I really hoped that I could see a full set from the next band; in 2013 I arrived late to catch their last few songs. And late last year they played here in Portsmouth, well…they were playing until someone jumped from the balcony and the gig was cut short. So, could A Day To Remember (M-10) live up to the hype? Simply yes, and more. If this band aren’t Download headliners in the next few years I’ll be very surprised. They have everything down to a tee. Stage show, crowd interaction, songs that have already moved toward being anthemic and an adoring fanbase which is growing at an incredible pace. As with other bands, ADTR paid tribute to the UK as being massive supporters of them. Throwing in a cover of Oasis’ ‘Champagne Supernova’ was a little bit special, although Jeremy saying “get back together guys” was unnecessary. Just me? Fair enough. An amazing set from a band going from strength to strength and I was able to see it all!
Last year I finally saw Faith No More (M-10) and although they were awesome (I gave them the max rating then as well), it is now clear that they were suffering from sound problems. There was none of that on Saturday and the guys just blew it away. It was ace to hear ‘Motherfucker’ with absolute clarity and once again, Mike Patton showed that is a comedy genius along with a fantastic vocalist. During their cover of The Commodores’ ‘Easy’ Mike jumped off the stage to allow a crowd member who was being stretchered away to sing before asking the crowd what they did to him, in a light hearted manner. He also spotted someone who was obviously waiting for Muse and “couldn’t give a fuck about Faith No More…bitch”, the camera panned to said person and they couldn’t have looked any more bored, almost falling asleep on the barrier. There was no chance I’d be sleeping as FNM ripped through classics and new songs alike. Fantastic set by these guys and I hope they stick around for a while this time.
The main stage headliner didn’t really do much for me so I now had a decision to make, who to see?!
I decided to split some sets up and get a good dose of bands I hadn’t seen before.
Starting with Marilyn Manson (Z-8). I’ve heard many reports about MM, in that he is either really good or terrible. I have to say that in my opinion he really brought his A-game to Download. Although disappearing after each song was annoying, possibly more as I knew I wasn’t staying for the whole set. But I was able to see ‘Disposable Teens’, ‘mOBSCENE’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’ so that left me pretty darn happy. His voice sounded good and he owned each song, although the wind had picked up so there was some sound loss creeping in. Not sure if I would see another Manson show, but I can at least say I’ve seen him and wasn’t left disappointed.
Moving across to the hill at main stage I stood and watched
a bit of Muse (M-8) whilst I waited for my Saturday
headliners to begin, before catching the end of the set afterwards as well. As
I said earlier, Muse aren’t a band that I’m overly bothered about. I enjoy the
hits but have never really invested much time in them. After seeing them I
think this opinion is still the same. Seeing ‘Hysteria’, ‘Supermassive Black
Hole’ and ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ was almost perfect for me. Not taking anything
away from the band as they are superb at what they do and technically stunning,
it’s just that the music leaves me with a shrug of the shoulders feeling. I
think that if I saw them indoors at their own show then maybe it’d change my
opinion of them, who knows.
In the middle of my 2 viewings of Muse I saw a band that I have liked since their inception. Hey! Hello! (J-10) were absolutely superb, with new vocalist Hollis J at the helm and, whilst I did like Victoria Liedtke, what a replacement! Hollis controlled the crowd whilst Ginger Wildheart and the band fired out riff after riff. A fair amount of pyro effects were used in the tiny tent which was a little worrying when it didn’t look like the band had room to move let alone letting off flashbangs and the like! I wondered how the newly situated tent would fair with sound bleed from main and 2nd but was grateful to notice that you cannot hear a damn thing whilst the band are pounding out tunes. They played a couple of new songs which will be on the new album, the fact that there will be a new Hey! Hello! Album is the best news! Amazing stuff and a very worthy festival headliner for me.
In the middle of my 2 viewings of Muse I saw a band that I have liked since their inception. Hey! Hello! (J-10) were absolutely superb, with new vocalist Hollis J at the helm and, whilst I did like Victoria Liedtke, what a replacement! Hollis controlled the crowd whilst Ginger Wildheart and the band fired out riff after riff. A fair amount of pyro effects were used in the tiny tent which was a little worrying when it didn’t look like the band had room to move let alone letting off flashbangs and the like! I wondered how the newly situated tent would fair with sound bleed from main and 2nd but was grateful to notice that you cannot hear a damn thing whilst the band are pounding out tunes. They played a couple of new songs which will be on the new album, the fact that there will be a new Hey! Hello! Album is the best news! Amazing stuff and a very worthy festival headliner for me.
Sunday
Forecasters saying that the Sunday would be cool, cloudy and
mainly dry was so nice to see after the constant rain of the previous day.
Deciding on wearing my light rain jacket and a hoodie I left for the shuttle
bus. After the 15 minute walk I was covered in sweat with the sun beating down,
thanks weather prediction! Not that this lovely weather lasted long.
Sirens In The Delta (J-8) were first up and since I have heard them on
record I have wanted to see them. They didn’t disappoint. Ferocious start to
the final day with these Teeside metallers. Vocalist Katie has an extremely
powerful voice which is backed up by the bands fierce guitars and drums.
Another band I have wanted to see for a long time is H.E.A.T (Z-9) and now that I have, I want to again! Fantastic set which I would’ve been happier to see last a lot longer than the 25 minutes they had. Packing in all the songs I wanted to see and seeing lead singer Erik Gronwall bouncing around in the crowd enjoying it just as much as the fans was awesome. With the bands I’d be seeing later in the day this old school rock group was a great warm up.
Hung around at second stage to catch a couple of songs from Von Hertzen Brothers (Z-7) whom I really enjoyed when they supported The Wildhearts. Once again they were very good for the 3 songs I saw, which included ‘Flowers & Rust’ which helped as I knew it! However, I wasn’t staying with them long as there was more pressing issues.
Namely going to the tent to see Evil Scarecrow (MV-9) perform some “Blue Peter metal” as they put it. With cardboard robots, mud & straw from the floor replacing expensive flashy pyro and a scuttling mosh. If you get the chance to, please go and see this band - awesome tunes and comedy all rolled into one. As lead singer Dr Hell states, “the best band you’ll see all weekend. On this stage. At 1pm on the Sunday”, he certainly wasn’t wrong. Hearing them play the ‘Thundercats’ theme tune was cool, and now I just want to watch the show! The finale of ‘Crabulon’ was ace with everyone in the crowd throwing their pincers in the air.
By now, 3 days in a field had started to take their toll on the legs, fortunately it was time for a nice long stay by main stage. Starting with Tremonti (M-6) who sounded really good and is obviously incredibly skilled with the guitar. However, I must hold my hand up and say I haven’t listened to his album. Or subsequent second album that I didn’t even know he had made! So I found myself drifting in and out of what was happening on stage, represented in the lower score.
Up next came Blackberry Smoke (M-7) with some silky Southern rock to carry Download through the afternoon. It was a shame that the forecast had decided to change and gave us a fairly good dousing of rain during this whole set. It really did dampen (sorry) my mood and I just couldn’t get into them, apart from some light head bobbing, I hardly paid attention to the stage. The music that did register with me did sound really good though so I am annoyed at myself as much as the weather that my focus just wasn’t there.
Once the rain cleared and Billy Idol (M-8) took the stage there wasn’t any lack of focus, and a party sing-a-long vibe just broke out across the crowd. All the classics were aired along with a look back to Idol’s Generation X days. Some artists begin to lose their voice and ability in the later years but Billy sounded nigh on perfect as he rolled through his set. He is someone that I always thought I would never get the chance to see. Now I have, I have no regrets.
Time for some rock royalty as Slash (M-9) took the stage with Myles Kennedy and his band. Another artist who I really need to listen to his own stuff but that was still enjoyable with the tones of Kennedy mixed in with the musical masterclass that comes with watching Slash shred a guitar as easily as if he is just reading a paper. And with it being a Slash show the set was interspersed with Guns’n’Roses covers. Which, as good as they were, just weren’t the same without Axl at the mic. Not taking anything away from Myles as he performed them very well, it just didn’t quite have the same feeling.
A quick trip to 2nd to catch a bit of In Flames (Z-7) followed. They sounded really good and looking back at the set they played I kind of wish I’d stayed to see more of them. It was good to see them get a very decent sized crowd, who all obliged when asked to create massive circle pits and for everyone to crowd surf, I wasn’t sure the logistics of everyone being in the air at the same time would work but there you go.
The reason I left that set early was to get a good spot back at main to see a band for the first time and to also bid them farewell as they finally put away their gear for good. Motley Crue (M-9 & 6) 2 scores for this band may look odd, however if you have heard Vince Neil singing lately you’d understand perfectly. For starters let’s remove him from the equation, Crue were awesome! Musically sound, Nikki, Mick & Tommy lead the crowd through their career with smooth playing and harsh backing vocals. The stage show was sublime with more pyro than you see some headliners have these days. Now, add Vince Neil’s vocals back into the mix and my word it all goes to pot. As I said with Billy Idol, sometimes age takes its toll and that has definitely happened to Vince. It took me a while to work out what each song was and when they paid tribute to Britain and covered the Sex Pistols ‘Anarchy In The UK’, I was expecting Johnny Rotten to run on stage and throw a tub of butter at him! So, they get a 9 for performance and stage theatrics & a 6 when Vince was “singing”, which is a shame as it was my first experience of them live.
And so it came to the final band of Download 2015, after the shambles that I had just witnessed I was slightly nervous that the headliners might not be as good as I was really hoping them to be.
Of course I didn’t need to worry, KISS (M-10) absolutely stole the festival for me. An incredible show that puts them as one of the best live bands I have seen. It seemed that Paul Stanley’s voice had to warm up a little bit which was a shame for opener ‘Detroit Rock City’ but he overcame it and the rest of the set was amazing. A superbly chosen setlist complimented with fireworks and pyro a-plenty, I was left wondering how much propane had been used by Crue & KISS combined! Scissor lifts to propel all the band into the air, Paul Stanley flying out across the crowd on a harness, Spaceman’s firework guitar, Gene Simmons’ tongue…enough said! This set really did have everything. Including an almost blinding firework show to finish it off.
It was a fantastic end to what had been an epic festival, quite possibly my favourite Download so far.
I think it will take a lot to get me back next year, however I now have the festival bug again and may be more easily persuaded!
Thanks for reading.
Another band I have wanted to see for a long time is H.E.A.T (Z-9) and now that I have, I want to again! Fantastic set which I would’ve been happier to see last a lot longer than the 25 minutes they had. Packing in all the songs I wanted to see and seeing lead singer Erik Gronwall bouncing around in the crowd enjoying it just as much as the fans was awesome. With the bands I’d be seeing later in the day this old school rock group was a great warm up.
Hung around at second stage to catch a couple of songs from Von Hertzen Brothers (Z-7) whom I really enjoyed when they supported The Wildhearts. Once again they were very good for the 3 songs I saw, which included ‘Flowers & Rust’ which helped as I knew it! However, I wasn’t staying with them long as there was more pressing issues.
Namely going to the tent to see Evil Scarecrow (MV-9) perform some “Blue Peter metal” as they put it. With cardboard robots, mud & straw from the floor replacing expensive flashy pyro and a scuttling mosh. If you get the chance to, please go and see this band - awesome tunes and comedy all rolled into one. As lead singer Dr Hell states, “the best band you’ll see all weekend. On this stage. At 1pm on the Sunday”, he certainly wasn’t wrong. Hearing them play the ‘Thundercats’ theme tune was cool, and now I just want to watch the show! The finale of ‘Crabulon’ was ace with everyone in the crowd throwing their pincers in the air.
By now, 3 days in a field had started to take their toll on the legs, fortunately it was time for a nice long stay by main stage. Starting with Tremonti (M-6) who sounded really good and is obviously incredibly skilled with the guitar. However, I must hold my hand up and say I haven’t listened to his album. Or subsequent second album that I didn’t even know he had made! So I found myself drifting in and out of what was happening on stage, represented in the lower score.
Up next came Blackberry Smoke (M-7) with some silky Southern rock to carry Download through the afternoon. It was a shame that the forecast had decided to change and gave us a fairly good dousing of rain during this whole set. It really did dampen (sorry) my mood and I just couldn’t get into them, apart from some light head bobbing, I hardly paid attention to the stage. The music that did register with me did sound really good though so I am annoyed at myself as much as the weather that my focus just wasn’t there.
Once the rain cleared and Billy Idol (M-8) took the stage there wasn’t any lack of focus, and a party sing-a-long vibe just broke out across the crowd. All the classics were aired along with a look back to Idol’s Generation X days. Some artists begin to lose their voice and ability in the later years but Billy sounded nigh on perfect as he rolled through his set. He is someone that I always thought I would never get the chance to see. Now I have, I have no regrets.
Time for some rock royalty as Slash (M-9) took the stage with Myles Kennedy and his band. Another artist who I really need to listen to his own stuff but that was still enjoyable with the tones of Kennedy mixed in with the musical masterclass that comes with watching Slash shred a guitar as easily as if he is just reading a paper. And with it being a Slash show the set was interspersed with Guns’n’Roses covers. Which, as good as they were, just weren’t the same without Axl at the mic. Not taking anything away from Myles as he performed them very well, it just didn’t quite have the same feeling.
A quick trip to 2nd to catch a bit of In Flames (Z-7) followed. They sounded really good and looking back at the set they played I kind of wish I’d stayed to see more of them. It was good to see them get a very decent sized crowd, who all obliged when asked to create massive circle pits and for everyone to crowd surf, I wasn’t sure the logistics of everyone being in the air at the same time would work but there you go.
The reason I left that set early was to get a good spot back at main to see a band for the first time and to also bid them farewell as they finally put away their gear for good. Motley Crue (M-9 & 6) 2 scores for this band may look odd, however if you have heard Vince Neil singing lately you’d understand perfectly. For starters let’s remove him from the equation, Crue were awesome! Musically sound, Nikki, Mick & Tommy lead the crowd through their career with smooth playing and harsh backing vocals. The stage show was sublime with more pyro than you see some headliners have these days. Now, add Vince Neil’s vocals back into the mix and my word it all goes to pot. As I said with Billy Idol, sometimes age takes its toll and that has definitely happened to Vince. It took me a while to work out what each song was and when they paid tribute to Britain and covered the Sex Pistols ‘Anarchy In The UK’, I was expecting Johnny Rotten to run on stage and throw a tub of butter at him! So, they get a 9 for performance and stage theatrics & a 6 when Vince was “singing”, which is a shame as it was my first experience of them live.
And so it came to the final band of Download 2015, after the shambles that I had just witnessed I was slightly nervous that the headliners might not be as good as I was really hoping them to be.
Of course I didn’t need to worry, KISS (M-10) absolutely stole the festival for me. An incredible show that puts them as one of the best live bands I have seen. It seemed that Paul Stanley’s voice had to warm up a little bit which was a shame for opener ‘Detroit Rock City’ but he overcame it and the rest of the set was amazing. A superbly chosen setlist complimented with fireworks and pyro a-plenty, I was left wondering how much propane had been used by Crue & KISS combined! Scissor lifts to propel all the band into the air, Paul Stanley flying out across the crowd on a harness, Spaceman’s firework guitar, Gene Simmons’ tongue…enough said! This set really did have everything. Including an almost blinding firework show to finish it off.
It was a fantastic end to what had been an epic festival, quite possibly my favourite Download so far.
I think it will take a lot to get me back next year, however I now have the festival bug again and may be more easily persuaded!
Thanks for reading.
