Download Festival 2008
›Download ‘08 Reviwed!
Has it really been a year since we did the conga to Monty Python after Iron Maiden? Twelve months since Marilyn Manson made a spectacle of himself forgetting the words to his own songs? Since my then boyfriend came over all unnecessary with dehydration and had to be bullied into taking electrolytes? Can’t say it feels like it, but we are indeed twelve months on, and I have another Download to write about. A Download that like the two before it, wasn’t memorable for entirely good reasons, but mysterious allergies and early morning trips to the First Aid tent are stories for another time, as is the strange case of the Disappearing Tentpegs. All I’m saying on the subject is that for starters, 10-man tents at a festival are a bad idea; secondly, being loud and obnoxious almost constantly is not the best way to make friends and influence people and thirdly, that the partial collapse of a neighbouring 10-man tent was nothing to do with me or the people I was camped with. Honest guv.
Campsite misdemeanours aside, this was an interesting weekend for me musically, as there were no bands on the bill that I wanted to see due to already liking them (with the mildly embarrassing exception of HIM – more about them later), so I spent the weekend investigating new bands and in some cases, being pleasantly surprised. First of these was Motörhead, who arrived on the main stage after a Friday that I seem fated to never remember – I must have been doing something, but quite what I got up to remains a mystery. I suspect it involved alcohol, but then doesn’t everything at Download? Despite this, I do remember Motörhead, if only for their inclusion of old b-sides that, according to my companion (a big fan in both senses of ‘big’), were almost wilfully obscure. An enthusiastic crowd didn’t really care what they played, as long as Lemmy was propped up at stage left and Ace of Spades made an appearance at some point, although it was more than a little inaccessible for the uninitiated. A notable moment was ex-guitarist Wurzel making an appearance and managing to make Lemmy look remarkably well-preserved, if not downright youthful: 7.5
Judas Priest were far more energetic, with Rob Halford resembling a giant disco ball at one point – a knowing self-reference or does he just like dressing up? I know which I’m going with. Romping through a set filled with tracks from their (then forth-coming) album Nostradamus as well as all the old favourites, Judas Priest were good old Brummy fun with added flamboyance: 8.5
Then came KISS, and I have to confess I spent a great deal of their set in hysterics. The makeup and outlandish stage costumes combined with synchronised dance routines (yes, really), a lot of pratting about and a ridiculous amount of pyrotechnics to create a truly hilarious spectacle. They may be an institution and have their own army, but this reviewer saw little more than an over-dressed, over-rated band relying far too much on visuals to compensate for unmemorable music: 5
Saturday dawned and, having spent longer than I would’ve like getting acquainted with the lovely event medical staff (what is it about Download and illness? Answers on a postcard.), I swiftly discovered that Ace Frehley may be a former KISS member, but he’s a totally different kettle of fish to his former band. A low-key stage set, KISS songs played far better than KISS managed, and just the right amount of theatrics made for quite the set: 8.5
Ace Frehley were followed by Pendulum, which seemed a rather jarring combination, but an excitable crowd didn’t seem to agree. Like Prodigy before them, they justified their place on the line-up masterfully, and in a notably safer setting than Prodigy had to deal with. I observed from a distance admittedly, but they and their fans all looked to be having a lot of fun: 8 Lots of fun is something I can’t honestly say I had watching my next band of the day, Saxon, who were my companion’s first nostalgia trip of the weekend. Not my cup of tea, and given that they packed out the Gibson Stage (and then some) that was probably a good thing, as I couldn’t see a damned thing anyway, being 5’1”. My 6’4” companion assures me they put on a cracking show and earned themselves at least an 8.5
I should probably note at this point that Saxon were part of a trade-off – I stood and chain-smoked my way through them so that companion could be talked into missing Testament and accompanying me to the Tuborg Stage for my own nostalgia-fest, namely HIM, who were also cracking. Fronted by a post-rehab, admirably sober Ville Valo, they ploughed through a set that, while a little thin on old favourites, was HIM back at their best. Ville was charming and distinctly on form, even if he didn’t hit every note perfectly, and they earned themselves an 8.5, while Mr Valo’s new-found sobriety gets a 10
Looking back over the weekend I suddenly realise that, in Download terms at least, I was up stupidly early on Sunday, which had a lot to do with Municipal Waste on the Tuborg Stage. Having heard a lot about them from various quarters, I was determined to see what all the fuss was about, and here it is. The fuss is about a band who so obviously love being onstage that it’s hard not to get caught up in their enthusiasm, not to mention a band with some terrific songs. One of the best performances of the weekend, rounded off with a rousing chorus of “Municipal Waste are gonna F*CK YOU UP”. Wonderful stuff: 9
You’d think having the likes of Municipal Waste on the second stage so early on would mean that the standard on that stage was fairly high for the rest of the day. No such luck. From one of the best sets of the festival to the true low-point of the weekend, next up was Lethal Bizzle. And first off, let’s get one thing straight: anything you’ve heard about Lethal Bizzle ‘winning over the Download crowds’ and walking off that stage a hero, forget it. Forget it right now. It may have happened on a small scale at the front, but any claims that he won over even half of the crowd that gathered to see the carnage are grossly exaggerated. He walked onto the most co-ordinated wall of bottles I have ever seen at a festival, and while he finished the set, it was hardly a roaring success. Rattling off a two-minute encore in front of a crowd who have run out of bottles is not the same as doing an encore for a crowd who been won over. Sorry, but it really isn’t. The music was phenomenally poor – I actually like hiphop and was amazed by how appalling it was – his ‘crew’ were visibly unnerved by the hostility and the total lack of audience response left painfully obvious gaps in nearly every track. Not LiveNation’s finest hour: 1 According to my notes, I recovered from Lethal Bizzle in the Gibson Tent with Exit Ten, but I’m afraid I can’t actually remember a great deal about them, so no mark for them unfortunately.
Apocalyptica on the other hand, have proved difficult to forget. Four Finns, four cellos and the odd Metallica cover make for a memorable occasion. I’m not convinced daylight really suits them, but they made the best of it with a storming set that included ‘Seek and Destroy’ played by them and sung by the crowd, in a festival highlight that almost rivalled Iron Maiden and the East Midlands Choir last year. Always fairly vocal, there was plenty of banter going on, something which a surprising number of bands this year lacked. All this wound up in one of the strangest but best finales Download has ever seen: “We’re going to play some classical, so shut the f*ck up and listen to the culture”, swiftly followed by a fast, spellbinding rendition of Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”, which is otherwise known as the Alton Towers Theme. I shall fight the urge to spout cheap clichés about rollercoasters and just say that the link was fitting: 9.5
Next was a brief but enjoyably dramatic interlude by the name of Voodoo Six, who put on rather good show with much facepaint, flouncing and good music: 8. This was followed by my companion’s second nostalgia trip of the festival, The Wildhearts, who suddenly had me pining for Saxon. A couple of decent songs such as ‘Caffeine Bomb’ didn’t make up for the sheer amount of inane small talk – I’m told it’s a trademark of Ginger’s, but it bored me to tears. Inciting the crowd to throw things on stage smacked of desperation, as did the incessant bullsh*t about how ‘cute’ the crowd was. I know a lot of people who are into them, and maybe I just don’t ‘get’ The Wildhearts, but I utterly fail to see why: 6
After that, it was Children Of Bodom to the rescue, with a solid set that, while it generally wasn’t mind-blowing, was highly enjoyable and well overdue – why has it taken LiveNation so long to get them on the line-up? Alexi Laiho’s guitarwork was a predictable highlight as, after Ginger, was his reluctance to babble for too long. The rest of the band were a comfortable 8, but Laiho pushed them up to 8.5.
And then there were the headliners. Not being the slightest bit fussed about any of them, I wandered about and saw a bit of all three. Having not seen the sets in their entirety, there are no marks for the Sunday headliners, but Jonathan Davis was doing well on the Gibson Stage, Cavalera Conspiracy were putting on a spectacular show on the Tuborg Stage, while LostProphets appeared to be struggling somewhat on the Main Stage. Maybe the wind was carrying away the crowd noise at LostProphets…but it didn’t look that way to me. The lack of a strong, standout Sunday headliner made for a seriously anticlimactic end to the festival, something that LiveNation would do well to sort out next year.
Overall, a rather weak Download – certainly the weakest I’ve been to. The well-known layout and dust problems combined with a generally poor line-up (with a few shining stars, it must be said) added up to a festival that, if I’m honest, struggled to justify the ever-increasing ticket price. As D:Ream famously sang, “things can only get better”…and we live in hope.
Ellie
This year’s Download has been controversial for two main reasons. The first controversy is the new layout. Last year there were complaints from the Moto GP bikers that the track was too mucky after Download for races to be safe. Also a new Motocross track had been built in the middle of the track slap bang where the festival was held. This caused the organizers a dilemma. Either move the site or have no festival. Thankfully the former happened and we still have the festival but not on the, as some sentimental people would say, traditional ‘hallowed ground’ where the original Monsters Of Rock festival was held. The second controversy was the choice of some of the dubious acts that where booked such as the Grime rapper Lethal Bizzel. That’s something we will get onto later.
As soon as I entered the new mainstage arena I was impressed. It was an oval shape and the main stage was far bigger than the old one. It also appears that they have finally sourced a new PA. The sound is a definite improvement. Another noticeable improvement is the size of the video screens. The second stage (Tuborg stage) is another first for this year’s Download in that it is open air. The stage is a lot bigger and the sound is fantastic! The only criticisms are that for some bizarre reason there are no video screens. The whole idea of making the second stage open air was to make the arena bigger than the old tent. Quite why there where no video screens is beyond me. Another minor gripe is that far too much dry ice is used. I’d rather no stage lights where used because when it’s like that it seams pointless.
Fri 13th June The first band of the weekend was The Stone Gods 7/10. They’re stunning. Songs like ‘Burn The Witch’ really got the crowd going. In fact it’s unbelievable that this band used to be The Darkness. I definitely expect good things from them in the future. Now it was a trip to the third (Gibson) tent to watch Firewind 8/10. It should be noted that an Indiana Jones style exhibition kit is needed to get across to this stage as it is literally up hill and down dale. Firewind were fantastic and they played to a large and enthusiastic crowd. I just wish they had longer.
Then off for the treck to catch the first controversial act of the day Kid Rock. I’ve been quite looking forward to seeing him as his new single is fantastic. Sadly it wasn’t to be as it was announced on the PA that he was too ill to play. This news was received to a mix of boos and cheers. One good thing to come out of it was that Disturbed, Motorhead and Judas Priest got ten minutes longer each. This was definitely good news! I must admit I’m not a Disturbed 5/10 fan at all. They seamed ok but were nothing special. They got a couple of mosh pits going down at the front. The set felt as though it was padded as they included a cringe worthy cover of a Genesis song. Now this is where the bill starts to feel like the old Monsters Of Rock as Motorhead 8/10 took to the stage. The set was pretty much the same as the one they played when they toured with Alice Cooper last year. The classics, ‘Overkill’ and ‘The Chase Is Better Than the Catch’ were played. It was a wonderful surprise when Lemmy brought out former guitarist Wurzal to play ‘Ace Of Spades’.
This where people are thankful that Kid Rock pulled out as Judas Priest 10/10 made the most of their extra ten minutes. They were simply astonishing as they had full stage because of their special guests billing. They may not be headlining but it’s the next best thing. Two new songs from ‘Notradumus’ are debuted. It’s hard to decide what to make of these as the album isn’t out yet. They came across as dramatic and over the top. One can only imagine what the full ‘Notradamus’ shows are going to be like. The set list was wonderful. We got ‘Breaking The Law’; surprisingly ‘The Sinner’ was dusted down. It was great to hear album songs such as ‘Between The Hammer And The Anvil’ and ‘Painkiller’. Rob’s voice struggled at the end of ‘Painkiller’ but it doesn’t matter as it’s great to hear it live. Priest really should have headlined a day!
Normally I wouldn’t count myself as a member of the Kiss army 7/10. I like and know their hits but I wouldn’t go to one of their headline shows. I decided to take them as I found them and by god I found them! The stage show was astonishing. As the first half of the set was concentrated on the ‘Alive 1’ because it was the album’s 35th anniversary. I didn’t know a lot of the songs but their legions of fans were wound up to a frenzy. The sound was the best I’ve ever heard it at Download. It was crystal clear. It wasn’t until later that things really heated up with ‘Shout It Out Loud’ etc. In the middle of the arena was a mini stage. To get to it Paul Stanley flew across the crowd on an arial runway. I’ve never seen anything like it before! Other stunts included bits of the stage lifting up, lots and lots of pyro and Gene Simmon’s famous blood spitting. I was definitely won over by the end of the night and as a previous sceptic I’m definitely going to investigate Kiss’s back catalogue more.
June 14th Saturday Previously I mentioned that a few dubious acts were booked and Saturday is when most of them played. Quite why The Offspring headlined the main stage and Judas Priest weren’t God only knows. Thankfully later in the evening we had Saxon and Testament as alternatives on the third stage.
This was going to be my only trip to the main stage today to watch Skindred 8/10. They were already playing and rocking the sparse crowd when I got there. Most of download were probably still asleep in their tents. The crowd were moshing, not letting the cold morning bother them. Front man Benji was demanding audience participation on most of the songs.
Just as Skindred finished the heavens opened. If synchronised poncho-putting-on was an Olympic sport then Download would have won a medal!
For the rest of the day it was time to camp out at the second stage. First up were Throwdown 8/10. I’ve seen them a couple of times at previous Downloads and in support slots and they impressed me so I decided to check them out. They’re a good band, slightly one dimensional Pantera style but they know how to work up an audience! It was good to hear a ‘metalled-up’ cover of Alice In Chain’s ‘Them Bones’. By the end of the set they had a circle pit running from the front of the stage around the sound desk and the ice cream van! It sure was a sight to see and I’d be surprised if there were no injuries on the concrete floor.
Bleeding Through 6/10 had a lot to live up to if they were going to beat that. Quite frankly they couldn’t. They were repetitive and annoying and just didn’t have the charm to work the crowd like Throwdown did. Amon Amarth 8/10 don’t disappoint. It’s down and chugging away. The only disappointment is that the sound is awful and they only have time to play four songs. Hopefully they’ll be higher up next year!
Now it’s time for our second dose of Kiss as original guitarist Ace Freheley 8/10 took to the stage. The set is mainly Kiss classics such as ‘Shout It Out Loud’, songs that he co wrote with the band. He also threw in some songs from his recent solo album. A very enjoyable set that was perfect for a Sat afternoon! As I said this year has a few controversial and dubious acts (depending on your point few) booked. Pendulum 9/10 definitely fall into the category of controversial. They are a drum and bass band that have caused a storm by smashing boundaries and gaining rave reviews wherever they go. Saturday’s set was live and includes a full band of guitar, live bass, live keyboards and a vocalist/MC. The set was really rocked up. I don’t know if it was for Download’s benefit but it went down a storm! The singer stepped onstage asking the huge crowd if they where ‘ready for something different’ to a mass of cheers. He was obviously expecting to be bottled, you could smell the tension. By the time they played ‘Slam’ people in Metallica and Slayer shirts were rave dancing. It was one hell of a sight! Pendulum where awesome! If you do decide to check them out I’d advise you leave you prejudice and preconceptions at the door because the reward is worth it!
As I was looking forward to this year’s festival I wondered what it would be like watching a Drum and Bass band and then going to watch Saxon. To be honest it felt great because sometimes I find festivals can get one dimensional and listening to one genre of music soon becomes tiresome. By the time I managed to get to the third stage it wa already filling up, you could feel the anticipation in the air! Tonight Saxon 10/10 was awesome. There were the same amount of people outside the tent trying to get a glimpse of the band as there were inside. Saxon were definitely touched by the crowd as they played mainly a greatest hits set with new songs from their excellent current album ‘The Inner Sanctum’. Obviously including ‘And The Bands Played On’ written about the Monsters Of Rock festival. It was great to see Saxon at this festival but this, in my opinion, was yet another billing error as they could quite easily have headlined one of the nights on the second stage. Sadly the crowd isn’t as huge for Testament 8/10 but the atmosphere is still electric with most of the crowd from Saxon remaining and still buzzing by what just happened. Testament burst on stage mixing old school classics such as ‘Into The Pit’ with songs from their excellent new album ‘The Formation Of Damnation’. The crowd went insane with circle pits and crowd surfing. Testament were also surprised by the reaction, this was one hell of a way to end the Saturday night. The true headliners of Saturday!
Sunday 14th June The first band I wanted to see was Municipal Waste. By the time I got to the second stage a band called Animal Alpha were still on. I don’t know what it was but thankfully I didn’t have to sit through it for too long. Municipal Waste 9/10, blast on stage to a huge crowd. They certainly know how to work a crowd inciting huge circle pits and even a ‘wall of death’. It’s great to see that the spirit of old-school-thrash lives on in a young band.
Now it’s back to the controversy as Grime, Rap act Lethal Bizzle took to the stage. Quite why a Rap act had been booked to play Download God (or the organisers) only know. I don’t have a problem with the likes of The Prodigy or Pendulum playing because they’re alternative and it’s an alternative festival. I knew that Black Stone Cherry where about to hit the main stage but I decided to stick around for a bit, mainly because I didn’t want to read about the event afterwards. As soon as Lethal Bizzle 5/10 took the stage it was to a sea of bottles and abuse. ‘I ain’t scared of you’ the Bizzle shouted at the crowd. This led to more bottling. Admirably he carried on playing and joking with the audience. ‘I wanna see a mosh pit’ he quipped to lots of laughter. Eventually the abuse died down and he was able to play a full set. By this time my ears had taken what they could as I can’t stand rap. I take my hat off to him because I doubt many metal bands could play to a rap crowd. But please no more rappers next year.
Thankfully Black Stone Cherry 7/10 hadn’t been playing for too long. Their brand of Lynerd Synerd influenced southern rock fitted the festival well. They even finished the set with a storming cover of Jimmy Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Chile’. Apocalyptica 7/10 must be the strangest band ever to have graced the main stage at Download. They played a mix of covers including Sepultura’s ‘Refuse/Resist’ and Metallica and their own songs. The crowd where quite muted until Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil was brought out for their single ‘SOS’. The set was good and fun to watch but it was a shame about the audience. Within Temptation 8/10 were the first band on the main stage on Sunday to get the crowd going. There weren’t so many mosh pits as they’re not that sort of band but they got everyone waving their arms around and singing along. Sharon Den Adel’s was awesome hitting all of the high notes. They where obviously pleased when she exclaimed ‘finally we’re on the main stage!’ I just wish they had longer.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen In Flames 7/10 but they put on a good set. The set was a mix of the old and the new. It even included a couple from the Clayman album. Again the audience reaction was quite muted and front man Anders was reduced to making annoying quips to fill the gaps. They were enjoyable enough. Over to the second stage to watch The Wildhearts. It was a while before they where due to come on so I had to sit through end of Eliot Minor’s set. I must admit I was flagging at this point and sitting through this feeling the way I felt I can’t give too much of an objective review. The music was basically emo tinged pop punk with harmonies. Basically it was like watching a boy band with guitars. They had a few hundred fans down at the front so they obviously have an appeal to some Downloaders. I’d rather sit through them than a rapper. The Wildhearts 8/10 and a baked potato later I was starting to get a second wind of energy. The Wildhearts definitely lifted everyone up. They had the second biggest crowd at this stage since Pendulum. It’s surprising to think that they’re still together after fifteen years and still have the pull that they’ve got. It seemed that ginger was having some problems with his guitar so there was ten minutes of banter. For some bizarre reason he asked the crowd to throw bottles at him ‘because it doesn’t feel like a festival without having bottles chucked’. As funny as the banter was it did start to get out of hand and I did start to feel sorry for the next band Children Of Bodom, or as Ginger said ‘Children With Bottoms’. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this was a comedy set but thankfully they did manage to play some songs. Classics such as ‘Sucker punch’ and ‘Greetings From Sh**sville’. In fact the set was mainly pulled from their first and best album ‘Earth Vs…’ After egging the crowd on to ‘throw everything that’s not nailed down at Download onstage’ the plug is pulled just as they start ‘29X The Pain’. There are various reports as to why it was pulled, some say they over ran, some say it was because of the bottles. Either way we will never know the true reason. One thing we do know is that this set will be talked about for many years to come!
Children Of Bodom 6/10 have a lot to live up to after that set. They have a great crowd. Basically it’s heads down and play. There’s not really much that can be said other than it was a good set. Strangely they played a blast of a Journey song in the middle. Not bad but not the greatest set of the weekend. Cavalera Conspiracy 10/10 where one of the most anticipated bands of the weekend. Maybe that’s why COB suffered because I knew what was coming next. Opening with ‘Infikted’ the pit went off and it was a joy to see the two brothers playing together again. Guitarist Marc Rizzo is a genius! Thankfully as most expected, hoped and knew would happen the brothers dig very deeply into the Sepultura back catalogue and even turned up a few surprise gems such as ‘Beneath The Remains’ ‘Desperate Cry’ and a whole bunch from ‘Chaos Ad’ including ‘Propaganda’! This song also had the singer from Throwdown guesting! Not only did we get the Sepultura classics but we also got Nailbomb’s ‘Wasting Away’! Next up was a big surprise. Iggor brought his eight year old son onstage to play none other than ‘Troops Of Doom’! And he nailed it. It was unbelievable to think that an eight year old was playing. Watching the Cavalera Conspiracy was awesome. It was almost like having Sepultura close the festival headlineing on the mainstage As the final notes of ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ were ringing in our ears it felt as if that’s exactly what’s happened. It was one hell of a way to end the festival!
Simon