Tag Archives: Reading Festival

Not a Reading Festival

Blasdale Home Posted on by

It was Reading Festival time, the weather was glorious on Thursday, and remained sunny and warm all weekend.

I set off in a good mood, soon arriving and entering the campervan area. Was shown a place to park, and introduced myself to my neighbours. Off I walked to get my wristband, and this is where it all went pear-shaped. Apparently I did not have a ticket, I had all the other bits, including the ticket which said it was not a ticket. I then spent hours on the phone to Ticketmaster, had help from the camping site manager in trying to negotiate entry. Even my neighbours got involved and cooked me lunch. It all came to no resolution so I eventually left in the evening after all avenues had come to dead ends.

I would not be given a wristband until Ticketmaster said yes. Ticketmaster would not give permission until the Event Manager said yes. The Event Manager needed to know Ticketmaster had made a mistake. Ticketmaster said the ticket had been sent (how could they prove that, I wondered?) and so said it was not their fault.

Moral of the story, check your tickets beforehand thoroughly. I had checked. I saw the campervan parking hanger, and the printed strip of tickets, but what I did not see (apparently) was the actual ticket. The strip of what I now know not to be the tickets, was the receipt, notification of the campervan parking, but no actual ticket. R wanted to know whether in future this meant we should video opening any envelope from Ticketmaster, so as to prove whether or not they sent any actual tickets.

I lodged an appeal. Got nowhere.

Reading Festival 2017

Blasdale Home Posted on by

First time I have participated in a music festival in a campervan.  Rosemary had given me permission to take Van the Van to Reading festival.  I am under no illusions though, permission was granted only because Selina was coming along with me (as the responsible adult)..  

Friday

I picked Selina up after 9.30 and allowed Google Maps to navigate a route to the White Gate.  Google took us down some very narrow and meandering roads.  We arrived at the festival with hardly any traffic and checked into the campervan area.  We were searched for glass and pineapples and then let through into the van area, where we parked next to a few other VWs.  Once parked we walked for 20 plus minutes to the arena in time for the first band on the main stage. 

I couldn’t find the real ale bar. Reading always has one, but all the usual locations were without craft beer. Late afternoon I spotted some people walking around with what looked like real ale. Accosted them and eventually found the bar. It was much larger than before and seemed well organised, but not at all busy.  As the days passed more people found it and on the Saturday it was heaving with a queue. 

Judas – Main Stage

A band recommended by a work colleague of Selina’s. Rock band in the old style. Gave a credible performance.

Mallory Knox – Main Stage

Josie Long – Reading Alternative

Rob Delaney – Reading Alternative

Circa Waves – Main Stage

Jimmy Eat World – Main Stage

Two Door Cinema Club – Main Stage

Bastille – Main Stage

Bastille played a stunning set, I will be seeing them again at the Pilton Party.  The sun had set before Kasabian came on.

Kasabian – Main Stage

Kasabian are always good. The stadium filled with fans wearing the blue Leicester City footie shirts.  

After the band had finished we made the mistake of leaving immediately and then getting lost and ending up where the silent disco was.  Had to backtrack to find our way back to the campsite.

Saturday

A nice morning, and an examination of the other campers and motor homes around us.  There was a huge double decker coach nearby with an electric cooker outside making breakfast. Some other campers thought the coach was a breakfast venue!  We also had several people want to look at our van, they were part way through their conversions and were wondering if a popup roof would be useful. Here is Van the Van aka Morrison with his neighbours.

Wolf Alice – Festival Republic

Blaenavon – NME

The Pretty Reckless – Main Stage

Cabbage – NME

Migos – Main Stage

Bill Bailey – Reading Alternative

Korn – Main Stage

Turbowold – Pit

Group Love – Festival Republic

Major Lazer – Main Stage

Glass Animals – NME

Yes pineapples were in evidence despite the festival pineapple ban.

Eminem – Main Stage

Watched Eminem, not really my thing, as were Migos and Major Lazer.  

When we left, we alas left with the crowd, went the correct way and ended up walking at a snail’s pace.

Sunday

Pins – Main Stage

Vant – Main Stage

Slotface – The Lock UP

Pond – NME

Flo and Joan – Reading Alternative

Katherine Ryan – Reading Alternative

Giggs – Main Stage

Blossoms – Main Stage

Liam Gallagher – Main Stage

Liam is rather a miserable person. The songs were good, and when the old Oasis songs were sung, the crowd responded. 

Waiting for Liam Gallagher

Waiting for Liam Gallagher

Muse – Main Stage

A great show by Muse with fireworks coordinated with the music.

 

 

The third day we had learnt. We stayed on in the arena, had a late supper and then left when the crowds had gone.  Back at the campsite we saw the double decker coach leave.

Sunday

Tea in beds (yes, we have two – one in the main body & one in the roof, where I was) at around 8.00am and then a quick pack up and away with very little traffic. The large double decker coach had left the night before.  The camper campsite was beginning to look empty, but very tidy. 

Reading Festival

Blasdale Home Posted on by

I arrived home from Reading Festival on Monday,  spent the rest of the day cleaning up and catching up with some sleep.  Reading started on Friday, and that was the day I set out.  Arrived in Reading, and tried to find the entrance to the car park.  Parking was on site the last time I went to Reading.  Not now, somewhere else and I had no idea where.  I think I should have read up about this on the website.  Seems that the parking was on the other side of the Thames.  Ended up paying a BMW garage £40 to park in their compound a few hundred yards from the entrance.

Yes it had rained and rained in England for the previous few days, there was mud everywhere.  Not quite as bad as some years at Glastonbury, but enough to get it caked on my walking boots.  Tent erected a short distance from the entrance, walked to the stadium and saw the end of a show.  Then checked my wrist band, it said Friday.  Shit, why had I not been given a weekend wrist band?  This was going to be a short weekend unless the faux pas was sorted out.  Walked back to where I had exchanged my ticket for the wrist band and spoke with the manager.  They took the number from my wrist band, and located my ticket, and re-issued me with the weekend ticket.  There is a God after all looking after me, or more likely the organisers had some good systems in place to correct mistakes.

My camping neighbours were a group of Bedford kids who had just got their GSCE results.  They were a good polite bunch, but alas fell foul of some jobsworth on the gate who decided to id them when they brought their beer in.  It was all confiscated, and alas I was unable to get it returned.

Array of photographers in front of the stage

Array of photographers in front of the stage

On the main stage I watched NOFX, a Jewish American Punk band that was quite refreshing,  followed by LOSTPROPHETS, and then QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE.  Finally GUNS and ROSES.  This was a disappointment, they were one hour late starting.  Bands are never late playing at Festivals these days.  The change over between bands is clock work precision.  It takes 20 minutes and the next band starts on time.  There was no excuse for G&R to be late other than their own inflated egos.  At midnight the band was forced to stop.  So instead of 150 minutes of G&R, we had 90 minutes and then some pathetic sit-in on the stage to get the power back on.  While they played their short gig, there was some excellent pyrotechnics, though.

Saturday was another dry day, and the mud was starting to disappear in the heat and wind.  Spent most of the day wondering around the different stages getting to hear bits and pieces from different bands.   On the main stage I saw THE CRIBS, THE MACCABEES and MODEST MOUSE. I was very close to the front during the CRIBS, four rows from the front.  It was quite an experience, being squashed, and then pushed left and then right.  After that show, I moved out to miss DIZZEE RASCAL, I felt it might get worse, and so I headed to another stage and saw CANCER BATS.  Actually is took over 10 minutes to force a passage through the crowd.  The NME stage had CRYSTAL CASTLES, sing very wildly in a techno frenzy.  Despite the ban on crowd surfing, the singer herself, Crystal, went crowd surfing while singing.  Never stopping for breath, an excellent performance.  The late evening I spent at the Lock-up Stage and watched the CANCER BATS, real head banging stuff where you have to slash your hair up and down [Ed – must have been tricky for Steve] to the rhythm.  Then it was NOFX doing a second show, followed by BAD RELIGION celebrating 30 YEARS OF F*****G PUNK.  Yes I have the T shirt, but have been banned from wearing it any where in the village or with Rosemary.

Mosh Pit

A Mosh Pit, where people mill around doing pretend fighting.

Sunday, bright and sunny.  Discovered that the Alternative Stage hosted comedy.  Started off OK, but the second act was not to my taste, a couple of Cardinals shouting at each other, probably trying to get the crowd to join in.  Walked out of that.  The main bands I Saw where LIMP BIZKIT where I was nearish the front, but in the Mosh Pit, or Circle.  You can be quite happily singing and dancing to a tune, when suddenly a 10 yard diameter circle appears in the crowd and everyone left inside the circle goes crazy moshing.  Not an ideal place for your expensive glasses, or blackberry.  At least the phone (not mine) that disappeared into the mud was retrieved and passed back to its rightful owner.  I saw LAFARO, a Belfast band, on the BBC Introducing Stage.  Head banging stuff, mainly their friends and relatives watching.  The competition from the main stage keeping many away from them.  It was quite listenable, so may be we will hear more from them.  Back at the Main Stage I watched PARAMORE, the red headed singer Hayley was wonderful to watch and very easy on the eye.

Blink 182

Blink 182

Finally it was BLINK-182, great set.  The special effect on this was Travis Barker, playing his drum set, being turned upside down during his solo without missing a drum beat.

Back at the tent, I now found a crate of beer slipped into my tent.  Yes it is my luck, I don’t get things stolen at festivals, I get given things, like 20 cans of lager. I think it was the French couple who had packed up their tent for an early get away.  They also left the tent to be removed by anyone who wanted it, or for charity.  Not wanting all this beer, it was donated by me to a worth cause who where extremely grateful.

Monday morning back home.  Comparison between Reading and Glastonbury.  Glastonbury food is far better, cheaper, and more choice of drinks.  Reading has heavier rock music.  There are more older people at Glastonbury, I definitely started feeling old at Reading festival, but nobody seems to care.   Things to do differently next time.  I must not take a gas cooker, apparently I could have been chucked out of the festival.  I must also work out the parking and phone home more often.