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Day One @                  Reading Festival 2009

Reviewer: Matt Ingham

Madina Lake are the first band to bring their brand of nu-rock-meets-pop-metal to a still relatively clean field, and today they sound flat and insipid. Most likely a fault out of their hands, as the band were leaping about like their very futures depended on it – and to a certain degree every gig must. You can appreciate Madina Lake for their drive to create fresh rock music – but all that is completely lost on the main stage.

Ghost of a Thousand are the second band of the day to rock the Concrete Jung...oops, the Lock Up Tent, and the pitch black screams and suffocating atmosphere they create is the perfect mood bender to ease you into a weekend of dust, dirt and more dust. This band have been threatening something monumental for almost 2 years now, and it looks like they may soon deliver.

Alexisonfire were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes during their first of 2 sets in 1 day as they rocked the main stage in the early afternoon. A hit-heavy set including “Boiled Frogs,” “Get Fighted,” “This Could Be Anywhere in The World” and “Accidents” was not enough to get more than the most staunch fans excited. A shame because they are undoubtedly one of the most viable and truly awesome hardcore bands around at the moment. Mixed reviews came from their evening Lock Up tent show, where they played a lot of the same songs.

New Found Glory once again pull a substantial crowd for their summer drenched pop punk anthems, and today their fans belt out every word to songs like “All Downhill From Here,” “Kiss Me,” and “My Friends Over You.” Emblazoned across vocalist Jordan Pundik's t-shirt are the words “Pop Punk's not dead” and as the sun beat down on the sweltering audience, the statement couldn't be more true.

Ironic then that the heavens decided to gush open straight after, as Welsh maestros Funeral For A Friend clamoured onto the main stage. Surely just to make them feel more at home, the post-hardcore legends shook their fist at the elements while their fans persevered for the love of songs like “Juneau” and “Street Car.”

Pulling in a swelling crowd due to the afternoon's downpour, Streetlight Manifesto took the chance to become one of the highlights of this year. Their humorous demeanour and straight up ska/punk dance party is the perfect flare, and as if by fate the sun peeked his head out halfway through highlights “Point/Counterpoint” and “Keasbey Nights” before thanking Leeds festival and leaving a reinstated hot, happy crowd.

Fall Out Boy looked tired and a little world weary as they attracted a sizeable crowd for their main stage set, so we rather found solace in the scathing punk rock assaults of Leftover Crack, whose screeching gutter anthems come across as notoriously barefaced, as well as noticeably livelier than their main stage counterparts.

The next band to brink their punk rock musings are Bouncing Souls, whose lack of energy does nothing to distil the faithful - kicking up a fuss in the mosh pit for songs like “Lean on Sheena,”and “Sing Along Forever” during a favourable greatest hits set.

 Arriving late for Anti-Flag we managed to catch the arse end of a great sounding set, containing not only massive sounding songs like “1 Trillion Dollars” and “This Is The End (For You My Friend)” but a great deal of preachy political flatulence. Without all the oratory postulation Anti-Flag would not make a great deal of sense, and their crowd interaction to create a 'punk rock orchestra' (with four drummers) was both entertaining and completely unnecessary.

Kings of Leon erred at Reading this year, and they know it - though they still blamed the audience. While singer Caleb's vocals were on heart wrenchingly top form, and Jared's rumbling bass was as engagingly dirty as its ever been, after personal favourites “Fans” and “Closer” it was time to go see what Billy Talent were up to...which just happened to be tearing their crowd a new a-hole.

The Canadians (who are sounding more like their South Park mockeries at every turn) were on blistering form and with a throng of rabid, drooling fans screaming every song like it was their last - songs like “Rusted From The Rain” and “Devil On My Shoulder” take on a completely new lease on life. A mass chant of “Fuck the Kings of Leon” was the icing on the cake.

Missing their duet with Anti-Flag it was time to finally catch up with long lost and now found old friends Faith No More. By Jove, both Mike Patton and his talented troupe are an enigma wrapped in a riddle. Consummate showmen, its Mike Patton - who looks better than ever has tonight - who leads the procession.

He does it with wit, grace and style, goading the audience by calling us “knobbos” and even throwing in a pitch perfect cover of the EastEnders theme tune wherever possible. Truly brilliant, songs like “Midlife Crisis”, “Epic”, “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” and their captivating cover of “Easy” make the set one of the most eclectic and exciting in the history of the festival. Darting back to the lock up stage to catch Billy Talent's closer “Red Flag” brought a magnanimous end to a heroic day.

Day Two @ Reading Festival Review HERE

Day Three @ Reading Festival Review HERE

Their captivating cover of “Easy” make the set one of the most eclectic and exciting in the history of the festival