Download 2012 – bands, beer and sunshine... honestly!

Three days, 140 bands and copious amounts of beer consumed… yes, Download festival is over for another year. And despite losing my favourite pair of sunglasses down a portaloo (a vision that will haunt me for life) it was a hell of a weekend.

There is always one moment at any festival where you really know you have got your money’s worth and if I had to pick that one highlight that will stay with me forever it would be Refused playing New Noise – every bit as amazing as I had hoped and definitely worth the ten year wait.

Refused (minus that classic emo bowl cut)

There are also a few moments that disappoint you and for me that was probably Soundgarden. It’s not that they weren’t good, it’s just that it wasn't as special as I had wanted. Maybe this was simply due to the fact that we were miles away (having just trekked over from the second stage) but for some reason it just wasn't a highlight.

Still, there are plenty of other moments worthy of a mention, including Metallica playing the black album (although sadly in reverse order!), the superb sound of Slash and Myles Kennedy (seriously, Axl who?), the energy of Rise Against and Biffy Clyro, who effortlessly proved that extensive Radio 1 airplay hasn’t ruined them one bit.

As for the weather, I got one thing right; my Hunters definitely became my new best friends. Although by the end of three very muddy days they also became my worst enemies when they began to rub and somehow I managed to get mud inside one of them! (Don’t ask, I really don’t know how.)

Funnily enough, despite the ground being a sea of mud by the time we arrived on Friday, it was probably the driest Download Festival I’ve been to – by Sunday I was in shorts and cursing the fact I had a hoody and jacket with me!

Here are a few of my personal highlights in no particular order…

Four Year Strong

Biffy Clyro

Ugly Kid Joe

Billy Talent

Slash and Myles Kennedy

Other standout performances included:

•    Rise Against

•    Metallica

•    Tenacious D

•    Turbonegro

•    Never Means Maybe

•    Kyuss Lives!

•    Rival Sons

For reviews and more visit www.downloadfestival.co.uk

    

The taste of freedom

Hurrah! I’m self-employed once again! And what better way to celebrate my new-found freedom than with a trip to Download Festival.

Ok, so it’s not exactly freedom. I’ve done this before and I do recall the pitfalls of freelancing; the uncertainty, the tax returns, the undignified begging to be paid... But after a few restrictive, desk-bound years I’m ready to do it all again, hence why I refer to it as freedom.

So back to Download - a rarity in that it’s a festival that it is actually about the music. After all, who wants to go to a festival where the vast majority are more concerned with simply being at a festival and their sartorial choices than the bands that are playing. (Reading anyone?! Sorry, but even The Gaslight Anthem couldn’t drag me to a festival which also boasts a dance stage…)

But not Download, where the masses still gather to worship the masters of metal at the sacred grounds of Donington and where the average age hovers somewhere around 35 and not 13. After the epic headliners of 2010 (AC/DC, Rage and Aerosmith) it’s proving a little difficult to come up with a line-up that generates quite as much excitement but there is plenty to look forward to, including Metallica playing the black album, the return of Ugly Kid Joe and the glorious news that Refused aren’t fucking dead after all.

Now I do have one little confession to make­, I absolutely refuse to camp. I can survive on a diet of beer and rock music for three days straight, I’ll party with the best of them and I’m far from high maintenance, but when the sun goes down and the final act exits the main stage, I will be hopping into a taxi and heading straight back to my hotel.

Why? Because I’m 27 years old dammit and I’m buggered if I’m going to sleep on the floor in close proximity of hordes of drunken strangers and wash in a bucket. (Hmm… not sure if people actually do that, I really do have a limited knowledge of camping.) Trust me, after a good night’s sleep, a hot shower and a cooked breakfast, the next day is always more appealing.

So there you have it, my plans for the weekend! Now let’s just pray for the sunshine to hold out. I might have a beautiful pair of Hunters in the boot of my car but I feel the same way about mud as I do about camping. Best avoided unless absolutely necessary.