Normally when reviewing something I would open with some form
of witty remark. However, I have too many bands to talk about, so, let the
efficient review of Download 2009 commence!
And it kicks off with a bang. The Blackout blow me away. It
seems people in Wales have nothing better to do than write good music. I'm
actually worried that I've seen the band of the weekend already. Luckily I'm
wrong.
Partly through laziness and partly for old-times sake, I
stick around on the main stage to watch Staind. They're still as depressed and
mundane as ever but the crowd reaction's good and it's tricky not to sing along
to the singles. Following them are a band that do the whole ‘it's me
against the world' thing so much better. I've seen Billy Talent a fair few
times and they
always put on a good show. Today isn't their best, but they
still go down well.
Enter Shikari are the worst kept secret of Download. Their set mostly comprises of new material, which is a delight to the ten fans who have heard it and an annoyance to everyone else. But it's a strong set and it's a mad half an hour.
And so, back to the main stage for another blast from the
past. Limp Bizkit are obviously a little rusty but really are quite enjoyable. And
Fred Durst manages not to be an idiot until the penultimate song when he
decides to drag a bridge out for two minutes whilst he takes in the crowd. Then
to make matters worse they announce their last song as one from their new
album. Luckily they're lying and they finish with ‘Take a Look Around'.
Following them and keeping it in the family (see what I did there? Probably
not...) is Korn, who actually turn out to be quite boring which is a bit of a
disappointment.
Day two brings sore limbs after an evening dancing at the
Red Bull tents. It also brings a line-up that might actually be better than day
one.
Devildriver to begin with. I can see why they went down so
well but why are they screaming at me so much?! I've not done anything wrong! Fleeing the main stage I head for the second stage where even Charlie
Simpson seems to have turned up the growl factor in his voice. But Fightstar are as enjoyable as ever and have a pretty impressive turn-out. They're
sandwiched by In Case if Fire who are solid and Static-X who hurt my head
with their repetitive brand of industrial dance metal that was only made more
interesting by a swarm of flies descending upon second stage.
Thinking I know what to expect next seeing as I've seen Pendulum enough times before, I actually consider skipping them to see You Me at Six. Luckily I don't, because Pendulum put on what must be one of the shows of their lives. They have the biggest crowd of the entire festival, a huge pit down the front and endless pockets of people dancing their little hearts out. It's one of the best things I've seen.
Following the best band of the festival, just to keep things
nice and symmetrical, the worst... Marylin Manson owes me for two reasons.
Firstly he's a huge disappointment; pausing after every song to get his make-up
touched up, changing outfits mid-performance, forgetting his words (he actually
finishes a song with ‘etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...'), falling around the
stage, failing to sing and eventually being led off stage at the end. It's a worrying
omen of what Michael Jackson's summer performances could be. My second
reason why he owes me is because my faith in him cost me a decent spot for the
Prodigy who are obviously immense for those that could hear them. The speakers
of the second stage just aren't powerful enough to cope with the huge crowd
that turns out and you know there's an issue when the hundreds of people around
you start chanting mid-song ‘Turn it up! Turn it up!'
So it's down to Slipknot to save the last day for me after
two disappointments. And save it they do. Slipknot's performances really are
what you expect from them. Huge, loud, extravagant and with lots of explosions.
Occasionally Corey Taylor can talk a little too much and so ruin the flow of
the set, but it's normally him saying how glad they are to be here and how
grateful they are to their fans so maybe we can let him off...
Sunday is a little tricky to get excited about after the
past two days antics. Fei Comodo is the first band of interest, but they don't
play the Emo Rangers theme (unsurprisingly) which is a shame. The day
picks up quickly however when we grab the last half hour of Journey who
are just fantastic fun and get a great crowd response. Hexes on the other
hand have the smallest crowd of the festival and anyone who wants to can wander
straight up to the barrier which is a little worrying, yet they aren't as bad
as the size of the crowd suggests.
The rest of Sunday is a bit of a wet blanket. Papa Roach go
down well, but, well, it's Papa Roach and Go:Audio are the best headliner
that the day can produce (I'll apologise now for not seeing Def
Leppard).
Despite
a bit of a non-Sunday, the first two days of this year's Download festival more
than compensated with some of the best performances I've seen. It was all very
impressive. As Tenacious D once said: ‘You can't kill the metal!' Except on a
Sunday maybe...
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