Reading Music Festival 2013 Review

W hichever way you look at it, Reading Festival is an important part of the history of British rock music. From hosting Nirvana’s landmark set in 1992 to propelling countless bands into the big leagues, it’s an essential part of any music fan’s calendar. Returning this year with a noticeably more mainstream lineup than usual, here’s the lowdown of all the bands that mattered.

 Friday

 The first full day of music gets off to a relatively slow start, with Dry The River (**)’s midday set on the NME Stage not exactly thrilling the largely-hungover crowd. Maybe their unassuming folk style would suit a more intimate setting, but there’s no escaping that a large portion of the audience are regretting waking up early for this. Meanwhile, on the Main Stage, While She Sleeps (*) manage not to produce a single original idea throughout their allotted time. Even the lead singer’s uninspired ‘banter’ with the bored audience suggests that he would give his right arm to be in Bring Me The Horizon (***), who play later on in the day and show the pretenders just how metalcore should be done.

 Things begin to pick up later on though, with Deap Vally (****)’s brand of raw blues rock on the NME Stage confirming why they are fast becoming one of the most talked bands in the world right now. Opening with the thunderous ‘Baby I Call Hell’ and only getting better from there, singer and guitarist Lindsey Troy commands the audience with ease for such a new band. Another new band proving their worth today is Peace (****), with their woozy indie coming across surprisingly massive in the tent. Playing to a huge crowd, the Worcester band shake off most of the ‘style over substance’ accusations that have been thrown at them by critics to deliver a great performance. Expect bigger and better things from the two.

 You’d forgive Deftones (****) for putting on a less than triumphant show on the Main Stage, considering the recent death of talismanic bassist Chi Cheng. Thankfully, this is not the case, as they dazzle the crowd with their bone-crushing riffs and Chino Moreno’s fantastic voice. Playing a good mix of material from new album ‘Koi No Yokan’ and older fan favourites, they sound as relevant and fresh as ever. Fellow alt-metal veterans System Of A Down (***) follow them in gloriously weird fashion. Though there’s a noticeable lull in energy whenever they stray from well-known songs, like ‘Chop Suey’, they still prove a very interesting watch.

 The year between Green Day (***)’s secret set at last year’s festival and tonight’s headline set has been a rough one. Between their trilogy of new albums flopping and lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s stint in rehab, they could use a strong headline set here to put them back on top. In that respect, their set can only be viewed as a partial success. When they are good, they are sublime (Jesus Of Suburbia in particular is one of the highlights of the festival), but the decision to play 1994 album ‘Dookie’ in full is a poor one and it significantly thins out the crowd. The extending of each song they play to a ridiculous length doesn’t do them any favors either and means that they come across as merely good rather than great tonight.

 Saturday

 Saturday’s festivities kick off with Drenge (***) on the Festival Republic Stage. Though they have the rawness and energy recently seen on their debut album, the tightness of their playing leaves something to be desired. Elsewhere, Earlwolf (***) do a good job of creating early afternoon chaos on the Main Stage. Despite Tyler The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt’s music occasionally veering off into a mess of amateurish bleeps, their sense of fun is refreshing. The same cannot be said about Twin Atlantic (**)’s set. Not helped by numerous sound issues, they sound and look hopelessly lost on such a massive stage.

 One man used to the big time is Johnny Marr (****), who thrills the crowd at the NME Stage while a selection of solo material, classic Smiths and a stellar cover of The Clash’s ‘I Fought The Law’. Playing on the Main Stage as the sun sets, Foals (****) increasing sound like a band that could headline huge festivals like this in the near future. Standout tracks ‘Inhaler’ and ‘Late Night’ showcase their growing ambitions with spectacular effect and point towards something approaching greatness.

 Not even this prepares you for how outstanding Tame Impala (*****) are. Destroying all expectations, their psychedelic rock is positively mind blowing. Last year’s ‘Lonerism’ was one of the best albums of the last 5 years and tonight’s performance more than does it justice. Kevin Parker’s brittle voice recalls George Harrison in his prime, while Julien Barbagallo’s drumming is wonderfully close to John Bonham at his most bombastic. Ending with a frankly insane version of ‘Apocalypse Dreams’, they leave the audience at NME Stage stunned.

 After that, the night ends rather anti-climatically. Jake Bugg (**) comes across as a cheap imitation of Bob Dylan during his set, while Eminem (**)’s Main Stage headline set feels oddly hollow. Though he easily gets the biggest crowd of the festival, it’s an astounding lazy performance, with the clear presence of a vocal track being particularly off-putting. It’s a poor end to what has been a very strong day of music.

 Sunday

 Clearly glad the torrential rain from this morning has cleared, Hadouken! (***) do a good job of warming up the Main Stage crowd for the last day of music. Having replaced their old new-rave style with a more muscular and dubstep-flavoured sound, it goes down very well indeed. On the NME Stage, an on-form Tribes (****) go down a storm with a setlist, wisely ignoring the majority of poorly received second album ‘Wish To Scream’ in favour of infinitely stronger older tracks. By the time they play the anthemic ‘We Were Children’, the entire tent is singing back at them in uplifting fashion.

 A few years ago, it looked certain that Editors (****) would be filling arenas and headlining festivals like Reading. A poor third album and a long wait till this year’s comeback record, ‘The Weight Of Your Love’, seem to have put those plans on hold for now, but they do a very fine job of playing an afternoon slot on the Main Stage today. Front man Tom Smith stalks the stages like a man possessed, while the crowd livens up for older tracks like ‘Munich’ and ‘An End Has A Start’.

It’s hard to know how to judge Nine Inch Nails (***)’ performance on the Main Stage. On one hand, the first half’s paranoid electro is equally as thrilling as the second half’s evil industrial metal and Trent Reznor’s band sound as tight as any band you’re likely to see. But something feels wrong throughout, with the setlist missing out nearly all of their old hits (the closest thing to a hit that we get is the manic ‘March Of The Pigs’), the production being severely striped down and the band clearly don’t want to be there. Overall, it’s a brave set, but also a massive missed opportunity. 

 Biffy Clyro (*****) make no such mistakes. With what may very well go down in history as their defining moment, their headline set is the most powerful performance of the weekend by far. Heavier songs like ‘That Golden Rule’ and ‘Modern Magic Formula’ send the crowd into a swirling frenzy, while Simon Neill’s acoustic version of ‘Machines’ is touchingly beautiful. Above all else, they seem like the only headliner to genuinely understand how important Reading Festival is to the people who attend it. An absolute joy to watch.

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