DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL - Full Live Review
One month on, we’re reminiscing about this year’s Download Festival. The good, the bad, the carnage. Press member Keiran gives you the rundown of the weekend.
Photo credit: Jake Moore
Starting off in a way I never thought I would, my first band of the weekend was Vengaboys. They played a late night 30 minute set to a packed out tent within District X. A party was had, a worthy booking for the village. The Vengabus did in fact come.
For the first day of the actual arena, I first went down to Myles Kennedy, but was drastically tired from the night before so I used his soothing voice to have a nap in the beaming sun. I'm far from a fan of these genres usually, but I was with friends who wanted to see Jimmy Eat World and Weezer, so I obliged. Jimmy Eat World were fun and played well to the crowd. I recognised some songs towards the end and enjoyed it. Weezer were a big surprise to me as I really enjoyed them which was not expected. They're definitely a summer feel band and I hope to see them at future festivals.
Lastly we move on to Green Day. A band that played a part in my music tastes when growing up with “American Idiot” released as I was venturing into the world of alternative music. They were absolutely one of the best bands of the weekend, opening with a 4-song slam of “American Idiot”, “Holiday|”, “Know Your Enemy”, and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”. What a way to start a show.
An eerie moment took place on this very sunny weekend, as when “Wake Me Up When September Ends” played, the clouds opened up to let out just enough rain to fill this song. Closing with “Good Riddance” was a lovely end to a fantastic set.
Saturday opens up with heavy rumours of a Trivium secret set to open the 2nd stage, even with a post from vocalist Matt Heafy seemingly hinting towards it. Alas, a huge crowd stood there for half an hour until one of the crew announced the first band will be as advertised, no secret set. Makes sense with the exclusivity clause likely in place with the Bloodstock headline set later this year. Alas, we move on to the first band I saw of the day with Currents. A band I've been wanting to see for some time. Sadly, perhaps where I was stood, the sound was dreadful, I couldn't tell which song was what and opted to leave to catch the beginning of Poppy. This certainly wasn't a Currents issue, but more that of the audio of the stage at that time. Poppy was fantastic playing songs from across her career. Stage presence was there and the band sounded great. Times have passed where she was seen as someone that didn’t belong with our genre, the band owned that stage and I'd love to see more of them in the future.
Next up, I went to check out Awolnation. I only knew one song which was “Sail” and that was fantastic live, nothing else they played really sold me. I didn't intend to see Shinedown but my mates were at main stage during them so I ended up there. To their credit, they sounded pretty fucking great so I wasn't that annoyed I was there. Sleep Token headline the Saturday night and they were fantastic. With a stage show bigger than anyone expected, featuring a working waterfall, the band have clearly shown that their record label has given them money this time round, after reaching number 1 in multiple countries including the UK and the USA. Whilst I wanted songs like “Even In Arcadia” from the new album, their setlist was solid. A returning “Thread The Needle” was insane to see live this far into their career. “Caramel” sounded impeccable live, “Take Me Back to Eden” closing the show was perfect, it was just a wonderful show. Having said that, that being my 7th time seeing them live, it was my lowest of the 7. Not because of the band or show, I just love those old intimate shows.
Photo credit: Jake Moore
Sunday morning brought us many bands, but I didn't go up to the arena until much later. A hangover was being nursed. I was getting some food straight after arriving at the arena and was in the vicinity of Jerry Cantrell towards the end of his set and oh man, do I wish I was there for the whole of that, he and his band just sounded great, hearing Alice in Chains’ songs live for the first time in many years. Next up, Spiritbox! One of the bands I was most looking forward to but sadly was one of the biggest let-downs. I love the band, loved them live before but the new album isn't that great in my opinion and they heavily relied on that album for their set. It just didn't resonate with me at all and I was looking forward to it ending.
Bullet For My Valentine played “The Poison” in full so of course I loved it. To be fair, they sounded great, just sad that Matt Tuck genuinely annoys me every time he talks. Didn't intend to see Steel Panther but it happened and I'm kind of glad it did. They were incredibly funny and kept the crowd going, even through a 5-minute audio shut down when the organisers told the crowd they need to move back due to fans getting crushed.
Korn closed the festival and whilst I've never seen a bad Korn show, this was on another level of legendary. The set was fantastic, the sound was pitch perfect and the crowd was ready to party. Opening with “Blind” (obviously), playing “Twisted Transistor” which has somehow not been on the setlist the other 4-times I've seen them live since 2009, “Shoots and Ladders” going hard as it always does, “Falling Away From Me” and closing with “Freak On A Leash”, Korn showed they deserved to headline Download Festival way before now and they were by far, the best band of the weekend.
Reviewed by Keiran Heaffey