Reading Festival 2013!

So this last weekend I went to Reading Festival for the first time and it was my first festival of that large scale and also the first one where I camped over on site. I had a brilliant time and I do think it was worth the money that I spent on it. Next time I go to a festival though I will definitely know things that I would do differently like tent location, and what kind of food to bring is very important to me. I would also plan my sleeping schedule better, i.e. not waking up so early and in doing so, staying up later and enjoying more of the camp fires and general fun. I was also really nervous about leaving my tent unattended after hearing all the bad stories on the on line forums about people slashing tents and robbing the contents but after the first night and day I calmed down a bit but still carried the essentials with my in my backpack at all times. Next year I would like to go to a different probably smaller festival just because I want to experience all the different styles and venues before saying which one I like the most. I figured I should tell you what I got up to so here goes.

On the Friday bands that I saw the whole set of were:

Findlay - I was really looking forward to seeing these guys after watching a couple of their videos on YouTube and really digged their female fronted sound.

Kodaline - I heard a lot of hype around this band and everyone seemed to be saying great things but I didn't really know what to expect but I liked what I ended up hearing and really want to hear more of their stuff.

Night Engine - I saw this band whilst waiting for another act, they were all right but nothing too special in my eyes.

Half Moon Run - I liked these guys before going and they put on a good performance. I would see them live again for sure.

Parquet Courts - I have these guys début album and their songs really worked live. They got everybody jumping and having a good time. Again I would like to see these guys at a gig of their own.

Kate Nash - She really brought her energy with her for her set. Her songs are super catchy and really worked the crowd great and even got amongst it. 

The Strypes - The set they did, for me was really one of the best of the day. They all are a bunch of show men and I'm a real fan of that kind of music. Can't wait for their CD to come out.

Frank Turner - He was a perfect act for the afternoon sun. I sang along to practically every song. Great voice and personality despite back problems.

Bring Me The Horizon - I didn't plan on seeing these guys and really wish I didn't. It really wasn't my kind of music, way too much screaming and telling people to kill themselves for me.

Green Day - My other favourite for the day (perhaps obviously) they played loads of great songs and even though I was fairly far back I felt like I was part of the front crowd and felt a real connection with the band.

partial sets from:

Temples - Only heard a few songs from these boys, from what I heard they were all right. Considering giving them another listen soon.

MMX - So-so band, I wasn't terribly impressed by them and I don't think I will listen to them again.

On Saturday I saw the full set of:

Eminem - Initially I wasn't planning on seeing Eminem but after chatting with people around my camp site I figured I probably wont really see him again and he is a bit of a legend compared to the other head liners that were on on Saturday. He turned out to be pretty good and I was glad I saw him in the end.

Johnny Marr - I didn't really know what to expect from this guy but again I was surprised and I really enjoyed listening to his music. He is a real talent.

Darwin Deez - He really was a bit of fun. I liked his synchronised dancing with his band mates at intervals between the songs and he really got the crowd dancing with Radar Detector.

Foals - I was a bit disappointed with Foals tbh. I was expecting a really pumped up show but to me it all sounded a bit boring and just all on one sort of flat level. Maybe it was my location in the crowd or something but I didn't really enjoy these guys anywhere near the amount I thought I would.

Palma Violets - I really loved these guys. Great energy and great songs that kept me singing along throughout the set.

Theme Park - I was expecting a pretty standard indie band but I got a way more dancy discoy kind of music which was a surprise but I did end up loving it.

Lucy Rose - This was the second time I have seen her at a festival and she put on a good show again.

Swim Deep - I did like the music they played but they didn't really do anything standout for me.

Childhood - They were pleasant enough but I was not overly fussed with their music.

Drenge - I heard a lot of good things about this 2 piece but the music turned out to be not for me. It was a bit too heavy and like grungy for my liking.

I caught a bit of Tim Burgess who I liked despite not hearing any of his stuff before the show. He was more poppy than I was expecting him to be.

Finally on the Sunday I saw 

Fall Out Boy - These guys were really my headliners of the main stage. Every song they did killed it and for me they can do no wrong.

Editors - I had sort of forgotten how good the Editors songs were until this set. They really made me get back into them and rekindle my love for them.

We Are The In Crowd - I had seen them once before in Birmingham and their kind of Pop Punk really is my style and I enjoyed their set.

Haim - I was looking forward to seeing these girls, they didn't disappoint and it has made me crave their début CD even more.

Tribes - I had their latest album and loved it. They had a great set and I would want to see them live again after that performance.

Dinosaur Pile Up - These guys were the first act of the day that I saw. Good rock music and I also got a free pin badge so I cant complain.

and a bit of

Azelia Banks - Not really my jam but I did sing along with 212 but that's about the best I could say.

Villagers - From what I saw they were pretty good guitarists and singers but I'm not sure how much I'm going to listen to them again.

The Jim Jones Revue - I wanted to watch the whole set but due to unforeseen circumstances I had to leave for the middle section. From what I heard of them, great classic old rock and roll music. Need to get one or more of their Cd's.

Pure Love - A bit too harsh for my delicate ears but the odd song wasn't too bad :)

I had a great time with the ups and downs and below is a selection of pictures from over the weekend.

YouTube Video Of The Week! 27/08/13

After coming back from Reading Festival yesterday I feel its only right for my choice to be a song from the weekend and I have chosen Frank Turner who performed on the Friday. He was one of my favourite artists of the day and even performing with great energy despite his back problems really made the slightly miserable weather seem not so bad. Thank you Frank for bringing everyone together :) 

YouTube Video Of The Week! 20/08/13

This week my choice for the best video is the latest track from MGMT called Your Life Is A Lie. I heard about it in this weeks NME, thanks! The song is a super catchy track from their upcoming self titled third album. It is quite short and punchy clocking in at just over two minutes long with easily learnt lyrics. It does seem that they have changed into a more poppier sound compared to their second album which isn't a problem for me, I have liked pretty much everything MGMT have released on the whole. As for the video its self its pretty freakin' odd, jumping from one random thing to another with only certain clips fitting in with the music. My favourite part somewhat cruley is the old guy getting hit in the face with a ball in time with what I assume is a cow bell, I dunno why, just seems funny. Anyway I'm loving this track right now, and I know the embedded video doesn't work but it will take you straight to it on YouTube.

Catfish The TV show!

I have powered through most of the first season of Catfish the TV show on MTV since seeing the movie and loving it. It really wasn't what I expected. I was thinking it was gonna be like a drama show along the same kind of style as Dexter just without all the murder, but yea a fictional, gritty and dark show like that would be really good but it turned out to be a reality show with the kind of format that has been used on plenty of different shows in the past. Even though it wasn't what I expected, I do enjoy the show and would recommend it to anybody.. 

And thanks to the playlist MTV play alongside the show, I'm currently liking The Barr Brothers (below) after being played Beggar In The Morning on one of the episodes. More channels should showcase what songs are being played during a show. It could help bands to be discovered easier.

Katy Perry & Catfish

Over the past couple of days I have watched the Katy Perry movie Part Of Me and the movie Catfish.

Part Of Me I found semi-interesting. It really showed how much time she is on tour and performing. She really puts her all into her shows and making sure her fans have a good time, but it really is at a detriment to her health and mental well being, you have to have those breaks. The movie logged her touring schedule over the California Dreams tour and it also includes the relationship and breakup between her and Russell Brand. The amount of information you find out about her life present day isn't really a great deal but I was interested to learn about her rise to stardom and in particular her time as a Christian rock musician, also her time struggling to be herself when everyone wanted her to be someone else. I definitely think its one for the fans and I wouldn't waste that time again personally but if the information next time was more personal I would probably enjoy it more.

Catfish was recommended to me by my step mom. Going into it I didn't really know what the movie was about but I was soon lead to believe it was about a young artists rise to fame but boy did that opinion change. After the main person got more involved with the said young girl and her family across Facebook and by phone he got into a relationship with her older sister called Megan. After some time passed the main guy and a couple of his friends decide to visit Megan and her family in person. I won't spoil it for you or anything but if you like really good, interesting modern documentary type things you should watch it. There is also a television show with the same name that I am gonna start watching, hopefully it is as good as the movie.

Currently I am watching The 1975 perform at Lowlands Live festival via YouTube live streaming service. You gotta love YouTube always pushing into new ground.

YouTube Video Of The Week! 13/08/13

My video of the week this week is Holly Williams - Drinkin'. 

Basically as I returned from my holiday in Cornwall I had a small selection of CDs waiting for me to listen to from a selection of different countryish singers, one being said Holly Williams. I bough only her latest album after browsing around for new artists just to get a taster of what she is like, not really knowing who her father or relatives were or anything like that until later on. I have only listened to the album once or twice but I'm really diggin' her voice and guitar playing and I'm also really really diggin' country music scene at the moment, especially bands fronted with a female vocals, very soulful. 

YouTube Video Of The Week! 06/08/13

This weeks video is a Kings Of Leon track from their forthcoming album called Mechanical Bull. I prefer this song over the previously released track from the album: Supersoaker. I like the more mellow sounding Kings Of Leon songs over the energetic Supersoaker. I'm interested to see if their new album will be along the same kind of lines as Come Around Sundown, which by the sounds of it that does seem to be the case, or if there will be any songs on the album that are going somewhere new and a bit different. So far I'm happy with their releases, fingers crossed for a decent CD.

Back And Forth - Foo Fighters

Just finished watching the movie Back and Forth. Its a movie primarily about the Foo Fighters life up until and including the making of Wasting Light. At the start of the movie there is some history about Nirvana and how Dave Grohl brought Pat Smear from Nirvana to play for the Foo Fighters. I found it interesting how many different versions of the band there has been over the years. There has been a range of different rhythm guitarists and a couple of different drummers, in fact there has only been two people from the original line-up, the lead singer and the bassist. It was pretty cool seeing them recording Wasting Light with Butch Vig producing in Dave Grohl's garage basically. I think this kind of recording shows how much of a normal guy he is and the fact he wanted to record onto tape and have it sound real rather than digitally and have it all manufactured and 'perfect' sounding. There was also moments of real emotion shown from various members of the band, one memorable time being when recounting Taylor's trip to hospital after a particularly hard drug session and it was really up in the air if and how well he would recover. Overall I enjoyed watching the film and after seeing all the live performance footage I would love to see them in concert. I also have a couple more music related films ready to be watched so I hope they are as well made.

Back From Holiday!!

Last night I got back from Cornwall in quite speedy time considering all the fog and crazy drivers. I had a great time relaxing and despite lack of internet and recorded TV shows to watch I managed to keep myself entertained by going to a few nice local towns like Newquay and Falmouth and also over the course of the holiday I managed to completely read Rod Stewart's autobiography from cover to cover and also carry on with reading World War Z. I really liked reading Rod. He has lived quite an exciting life and it was nice to hear about his younger life, his time with The Faces where I found out that some of the members were from The Small Faces which I guess I really should have known, hearing about his love for football and more specifically Scottish football and mostly his love for the women throughout his life. He definitely has been with plenty of ladies and in doing so has built up quite a family. The pictures included in the book are quite nice to see, showing his offspring and also himself through the decades and seeing how his clothing style started and changed through the eras. It really was a brilliant book. 

World War Z is going pretty well, it has taken me quite a while to get into it but I think I am finally there and only have about 20% left of the book. I'm glad I will finish before the film comes out and hopefully it will be as good and as properly laid out as the book is turning out to be. I'm also really looking forward to going back to Cornwall in the next holiday break I get. I will for sure visit Newquay because that place is the best town in my opinion mainly for the shops, but I will also want to visit Falmouth again, Truro and maybe Plymouth maybe? I dunno but we will see when we get down there. :) I figured I will end on a Rod Stewart tune and I have chosen one of his earlier songs. You Wear It Well footage from Top Of The Pops, you can really get a sense of his fashion at the time, Mad!