Boards
Best/Worst/Surprises etc from Carling
Come on then people, let's hear your stories, highs/lows, best/worst, surprises/disappointments from the Carling festival.
I'll stat with mine (I was at Leeds) -
Disappointments -
* Alkaline Trio got the weekend off to a slightly limping start. The sound was poor and their concentration seemed off with both singers constantly missing their marks. Not terrible by any means but a definite disappointment.
* I missed My Chemical Romance.
* Wading through thousands of idiots maiking their way to watch Kasabian whilst one of the most important bands in rock history, the Pixies had one of the worst main act crowds i've ever seen at a festival. Shame on you all, really, shame.
* Pretty much same goes for the Wedding Present - shit turnout, great set.
* Futureheads - your songs are already only 2 mins long, why do you have to play them too fast. Drummer, do your job son! Good though :)
* Missed Yourcodenameis:milo
* Million Dead - vocals way too quiet.
* 65daysofstatic on the 'unsigned' stage. It would seem they'd been told to keep it down cos it was stupidly quiet. This band needs to be LOUD.
* Death from Above 1979 - got really boring really quickly. They have some good songs on cd but it all sounds exactly the same live.
* The Kills. My god, pass me a pillow! Two songs played off their vastly superior debut and an annoying soporific backing track - not great.
Surprises -
* Really enjoyed Maximo Park having not done so the first time i saw them a while back.
* Charlotte Hatherly was fantastic. Great cheery pop that put a smile on everyone's face. It helps that she's extremely easy on the eye.
* Youth Group - nice stuff, not gonna set the world alight but good festival fodder.
* Clor - took a while to get into the album but they're miles better live, really enjoyed this one.
Best -
* Funeral For A Friend - for once they didn't play too loud. A good sing along for the main stage.
* GLC - whatever you feel about these guys, in half an hour bursts playing on a sunny day, they get credit for making people laugh.
* Elbow - Newborn - it doesn't get much better than that.
* Pixies, Wedding Present and QOTSA - great sets.
* Biffy Clyro - one of the acts of the weekend. I wasn't sure if they'd take to the main stage but they were awesome.
* On the NME stage LCD Soundsystem, British Sea Power, Maximo Park, Subways, Editors all put on great shows, especially Editors.
* Act of the weekend though - ARCADE FIRE. Was there ever any doubt? A M A Z I N G. Really good to see them get a huge crowd too, one of the weekend's biggest in the NME tent.
Worst -
Hardly anything bad to say at all. I saw no bands I didn't like. Although when trying to check out Arctic Monkeys who I'd heard a lot about, the Carling stage was rammed, so I had a quick listen from outside - cack. Utter cack.
My knees are pretty much screwed now too. I'm too old for this shit
I'll stat with mine (I was at Leeds) -
Disappointments -
* Alkaline Trio got the weekend off to a slightly limping start. The sound was poor and their concentration seemed off with both singers constantly missing their marks. Not terrible by any means but a definite disappointment.
* I missed My Chemical Romance.
* Wading through thousands of idiots maiking their way to watch Kasabian whilst one of the most important bands in rock history, the Pixies had one of the worst main act crowds i've ever seen at a festival. Shame on you all, really, shame.
* Pretty much same goes for the Wedding Present - shit turnout, great set.
* Futureheads - your songs are already only 2 mins long, why do you have to play them too fast. Drummer, do your job son! Good though :)
* Missed Yourcodenameis:milo
* Million Dead - vocals way too quiet.
* 65daysofstatic on the 'unsigned' stage. It would seem they'd been told to keep it down cos it was stupidly quiet. This band needs to be LOUD.
* Death from Above 1979 - got really boring really quickly. They have some good songs on cd but it all sounds exactly the same live.
* The Kills. My god, pass me a pillow! Two songs played off their vastly superior debut and an annoying soporific backing track - not great.
Surprises -
* Really enjoyed Maximo Park having not done so the first time i saw them a while back.
* Charlotte Hatherly was fantastic. Great cheery pop that put a smile on everyone's face. It helps that she's extremely easy on the eye.
* Youth Group - nice stuff, not gonna set the world alight but good festival fodder.
* Clor - took a while to get into the album but they're miles better live, really enjoyed this one.
Best -
* Funeral For A Friend - for once they didn't play too loud. A good sing along for the main stage.
* GLC - whatever you feel about these guys, in half an hour bursts playing on a sunny day, they get credit for making people laugh.
* Elbow - Newborn - it doesn't get much better than that.
* Pixies, Wedding Present and QOTSA - great sets.
* Biffy Clyro - one of the acts of the weekend. I wasn't sure if they'd take to the main stage but they were awesome.
* On the NME stage LCD Soundsystem, British Sea Power, Maximo Park, Subways, Editors all put on great shows, especially Editors.
* Act of the weekend though - ARCADE FIRE. Was there ever any doubt? A M A Z I N G. Really good to see them get a huge crowd too, one of the weekend's biggest in the NME tent.
Worst -
Hardly anything bad to say at all. I saw no bands I didn't like. Although when trying to check out Arctic Monkeys who I'd heard a lot about, the Carling stage was rammed, so I had a quick listen from outside - cack. Utter cack.
My knees are pretty much screwed now too. I'm too old for this shit