download festival live

Whilst being lucky enough to be working at Download this year, MusicXtra writer Lynn managed to see enough bands to bring you a brief review of some of the highlights and the acts she managed to catch…
 
 

Friday

Friday saw the main influx of the crowds arriving for the weekend and the tens of thousands happy campers and day ticket holders wandering confusedly around the new lay out in the red hot sunshine, gearing up for a weekend of rock and metal. A much-improved layout meant that you could get between stages much faster. Unfortunately, being stuck out past Stage 2 meant we couldn’t get to many, but those we did see put us nicely in the mood for Download 2009.


Japanese rockers Dir En Grey were the first we saw on Stage 2, Singer Kyo in a black silk tracksuit (with gold piping) and shaggy ginger hair, growling on top of what looked suspiciously like an upturned plastic milk crate. J-Rockers… totally different culture! Sounding horribly constipated in places, and having spasms and fits in other places, Kyo was an enigmatic figure. Diru opened with Obscure, which was very appropriately titled, and launched into their quirky Japanese sounding thrash rock with sometimes tuneful vocals and confused the hell out of anyone that wasn’t accustomed to the J-Rock sound.
 
Over on the main stage a record was being broken. Killswitch Engage and their brand of thrash metal encouraged crowd surfers over the barriers at a phenomenal rate. The pit manager who’s worked Donington from Monsters of Rock through to today for over twenty years had never seen anything like it. An average top headliner will get about 1750 over in their hundred minute set. Killswitch had 3,500+ come over in their forty minute set, keeping the safety pit stewards busy! A storming thrash version of Holy Diver (which showed off singer Howard Jones’ actual vocal abilities brilliantly) added to one of the performances of the festival. A ruthless start to this year’s Download and serious kudos goes to the Killswitch boys and their fans.
 
A couple of songs by Italian favourites Lacuna Coil caught our attention on the way back, rock goddess Cristina Scabbia looking as stunning as ever, this year in a beautiful tight red jacket until she stripped down to a strappy top to show off her back tattoo. Always classy, never flaunting her body in a trashy way, Cristina rocked as ever, head banging and not fussing over her hair like some girls in the industry. There were the usual strong vocals from both her and fellow vocalist Andrea Ferro on tracks such as Our Truth and Spellbound but there was something just lacking a little today compared with their previous performances in 2005 & 2006.

Staying at the 2nd stage we managed to then see Mötley Crüe for the second time in less than a week. And it was exactly the same as at Sauna Open Air the previous week… down to everything the guys said between songs, which made it lose some of it’s gloss somewhat. Suddenly it didn’t seem quite so exciting and energetic, and sadly almost was a little choreographed and predictable. Don’t get me wrong, it was still great to have the Crüe there again, and was a great show, but compared to some of the other performances this weekend it certainly wasn’t a totally memorable barnstormer.
 
Faith No More raised the stakes on themain stage at the end of the evening though and shot any doubters out of the window with an amazing performance as though they’d never been gone. Mike Patton’s voice soared and he dripped charm and class in a stylish red suit and red shirt, hair slicked back and cane in hand. We Care A Lot, Epic, The Real Thing, Easy… you’d almost forgotten their back catalogue. You’d never guess they’d been apart for ten years on this showing; they were tight as hell.  Hit single From Out of Nowhere was glorious. They even managed a brilliantly chosen cover of Lady GaGa’s Poker Face and made it their own. A momentous comeback.
 

Saturday

Saturday dawned and was even hotter. People were dropping like flies through heat stroke and dehydration, the medical tents were busy as hell and the sunburn and blisters on people just made you cringe. But it didn’t stop 80,000+ people coming out in force to be part of a very emotional and memorable event. More of that later…

The moment I’d been waiting for and was not going to miss for anything, even if it meant quitting my job on the spot, was Hardcore Superstar on the second stage at lunchtime. I’d bumped into the merchandise guy earlier and he’d been worried that there may not be a big crowd so early…. No chance of that, the Downloaders were out in their tens of thousands to see the Swedish sleaze rockers finally make it to Donington after missing their slot last year due to their bus breaking down. Singer Jocke Berg ran from side to side on the stage, and ran through a measly six songs, three oldies and three from the stunning new album Beg For It. The big stage suited them and this was one of the best performances I’ve seen, the new tracks sounding stunning live. But waaaaaay too short a set and the crowd desperately wanted more as they bowed out with the anthemic We Don’t Celebrate Sundays.
 
Fightstar were next to wow the teenies on the second stage, with a rather surprising amount of crowd surfers coming over the barrier, many of whom looked like they’d bunked off school. As they finished their successful set a huge black cloud descended on the area. Not bad weather, but a swarm of bees! (Apparently bees can’t hear, so weren’t attracted by the dulcet tones of Charlie from Fightstar, but they may well have been attracted by the vibrations from the stage.) Anguished faces in the first aid tent at the thought of thousands of bee stings were soon diminished when the crowd just calmly and sensibly moved out of the way (to be fair it was way too hot to run anywhere) and the bees happily settled in to watch Static-X for a bit.
 
Next up for us was Pendulum on the main stage. I admit I’m not a huge fan musically, but the atmosphere for them more than made up for that. At every festival there’s a surprise, the one band that make you sit up and go, wow, I really enjoyed them and didn’t expect to! For me, Pendulum was that band this year. They blitzed it. Right place, right time, right feeling…and they pulled the most humungous crowd who went utterly moshingly bananas despite it only being half past five in the afternoon. It was mesmerising to watch form a distance.
 
Thunder, about to embark on their farewell tour also pulled a huge crowd who couldn’t all fit into the Tuborg Tent (Stage 3). It’ll be the last time many people get to see them and they went out with a bang, putting on a great show and earning a very emotional standing ovation and well deserved encore to the resounding chants of “Thunder! Thunder!” There were lumps in many throats at the end of this set.
 
A quick run over to the main stage (after noticing the Download Dog guarding the Tuborg tent had done a disappearing act) and it had all gone horribly wrong for the controversial Marilyn Manson. We’ve seen him good; we’ve seen him bad. This was up there with the bad. He never ceases to frustrate fans with poor live shows. Alas, this was not to be his day, and he certainly didn’t help his cause by throwing diva-like tantrums and trashing things on stage. Sadly disappointing.
 
The god of festivals was smiling down on me and an errand sent me off past Stage 2 as Prodigy had just started their set. Standing at the side of the stage I got goose bumps…they just oozed energy and excitement. The manic look in Keith’s eyes was just infectious. Moving out into the crowd completely blew away any doubts whatsoever about whether Prodigy was right for a rock festival like Download. 50,000 people dancing madly like their life depended on it, hands in the air, and all singing along to every word. As Firestarter kicked in there was just a huge collective squeal the likes of which I’ve never heard before and the place went completely crazy and raved like mad. It was totally breathtaking. The last few years has seen an acceptance by Download regulars of different genres of ‘rock’, and despite some initial clashes and bottling, it is now all usually accepted in good humour and draws such a wonderfully diverse but mainly tolerant audience. The amount of people who wanted to see both Prodigy and Slipknot spoke for itself. A massively good call by the powers that be to book Prodigy.
 
The amazing view point at the top of the natural bowl enabled you to see both the main stage and Stage 2 at the same time and allowed you to take in the sheer enormity of what Download has become. Can it get bigger? Is it verging on becoming a victim of its own success or can it do this again next year? Standing on the bank I could see about 40,000 people still freaking out to Prodigy to my right, as another 40,000+ were just buzzing with excitement in front of the main stage as the intro to Slipknot started, followed by the pyros. No words can possibly convey the sheer power and emotion of being part of such a spectacle but I actually had tears in my eyes as Slipknot played, knowing we were all part of something pretty awesome. As Prodigy finished and the crowd all moved towards the main stage it was just an overwhelming sea of people. Slipknot didn’t let them down. Complete with customary masks, long rubber noses, spiky heads, clown noses or painted faces, they were brutal on stage. People=Shit was just incredible. Spit it Out was spine tingling. Over 80,000 people all down on the ground waiting in anticipation for the build up to all jump as one as singer Corey Taylor gave the instruction to “jump the f*** up!” on his signal we were to unleash hell. And 80,000 people did… as Joey Jordison’s circular drum kit started to slowly spin round with him in it. They gave the performance of a lifetime. Many people never have and never will see a better show. Breathtaking stuff that will go down in the history of Donington.

Sunday
 
Sunday brought the last day and after the awesomeness of the day before it was in the main the relaxed and fun 80s day. Hair metal and spandex were in the house. Dated and past it’s sell by date? Not a chance…
 
The debauched young upstarts Dear Superstar were in the Tuborg Tent and pulled a very decent crowd to fill it, as the Download Dog guarded its entrance… he’d been returned from wherever he’d spent the night, the dirty stop out.  The Superstars rocked hard having earned their place here with a great album in Heartless, and ball breaking tour after tour with big names for the last year. Their catchy rock is an almost indescribable mix of all eras and styles but magically works through catchy hooks and a whole lot of attitude.
 
Swedes Volbeat were on stage 2 at the same time and got first brownie points of the day for their wall of death. Instead of everyone piling into each other, they asked everyone to meet in the middle and… hug! And everyone did. It looked brilliant and was lots of fun.
 
Andy Sneap’s ‘80s metalheads Sabbat made a welcome return next and the older audience rocked out to the band that were doing thrash and black metal before twenty years ago before it was invented, as more and more crowds arrived. The atmosphere was building and building in the tent for what was to be the highlight of the day…. Steel Panther.
 
Arriving in a blaze of spandex, leopard print, big hair and lip-gloss, these LA sleaze rockers soon informed everyone that they’d “f***ed your mum in the 80s!” Suddenly it was chaos. Every band, and their guests, and their dogs wanted to be there. The backstage area was mad, the side stages full. Stage staff couldn’t get the next bands’ kits in to set up. We had to start throwing people off the stage. Out front no one who’d arrived late could get anywhere remotely near the tent. MTV star Bam Margera took to the stage to unleash Steel Panther onto the British public for the first time ever in the UK, dropkicking his pal Novak on stage in spectacular style. Then it was time to feel the steel! With the longest running show on the Sunset Strip these guys manage to turn what should be a novelty comedy 80s act with a very short shelf life into a hilarious top-notch glam rock show. Totally offensive and over the top banter with the crowd about what they’d do to your girlfriend had the crowd in stitches between songs. The lyrics, all x-rated, mainly about shagging fat girls with the lights off, and getting blowjobs, are hysterically funny and utterly un-pc. It’s everything that was outrageous about The Strip in the 80s. Bassist Foxxi Lexxx even has a mirror on stage to touch up his lip-gloss and also manages hair solos. As the cynical and jealous wannabes bitched about how the novelty would wear off, they failed to notice one vital thing… these guys could play and are accomplished musicians. Killer tunes, some of the strongest vocals around, shit hot guitar solos. stage presence, crowd interaction and total showmanship. These guys had it all in abundance and turned out a classic performance, totally entertaining and absolutely band of the weekend for me both on and off stage. Death to all but metal!
 
Finnish Gothrockers The 69 Eyes therefore had an impossible act to follow, made more difficult by the fact that technical difficulties as they went on stage meant they couldn’t even start playing. The God of Leopard Print Spandex was obviously not in the mood for a bunch of black clad Goths after the glorious might of the Panther. Neither were some of the crowd who soon chanted ‘why are we waiting’ and various amounts of abuse as technicians buzzed around trying to sort out the problem. Patience was rewarded though as soon as the Finns eventually kicked off the set and they whizzed through a festival set of crowd-pleasers such as Gothic Girl and Framed in Blood’ and finished with the rousing anthem Lost Boys.
 
Over on the main stage there were more 80’s flashbacks happening and ZZ Top were doing what they do best… sporting very long beards, shades, and playing furry guitars. A decent enough festival band, especially for classic tracks such as Sharp Dressed Man and Gimme All Your Lovin, and good background music, but they’re not ever going to set the world alight again to be honest.
 
Back in the tent and another 80s band are back. No spandex this time, and Therapy?’s frontman Andy Cairns decides to take on the Tuborg as though they’re headlining the main stage and he’s twenty years younger.  Starting the set with new song Struggle they ploughed through old and new songs alike, dedicating Clowns Galore to Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling. As they finish their aggressive and intense set on a high with Potato Junkie, Screamager and Nowhere the crowd go crazy. The old bands were really showing the young uns how it’s done.
 
The strains of Here I Go Again drift over and we nip out to watch the classy and well groomed David Coverdale croon his way through hit after hit as Whitesnake show Download that they’ve still got what it takes. Leather trousers with white boots and half undone shirt, and Coverdale is still making the ladies swoon. It’s a mass 80s sing-a-long to a whole bunch of great songs like Give Me All Your Love, Here I Go Again, and Still of the Night’ and it set us up nicely for the headliners.
 
For those younger metal kids not overly tempted to see some old classic hair metal, Papa Roach had been completely rocking the 2nd stage with their catchy nu-metal, and a bunch of indie pop kids in the tent were bizarrely trying to compete with current metal favourites Trivium on the 2nd stage and the legendary Def Leppard on the main stage. Go:Audio somehow managed to pull off probably the most difficult slot of the festival, still nearly filling the tent and playing a great set of catchy pop rock to a relatively young and enthusiastic audience.  Singer James would look better in spandex though…
 
The kids watching them wouldn’t have been born the last time Def Leppard took to the stage at Donington, twenty three years ago. That night had been a triumph for drummer Rick Allen as his first big gig after the car accident which cost him his arm, and singer Joe Elliot told today’s crowd what it had meant back then and how amazing it was to think it was twenty three years ago and they were back now. I do believe 80,000 people pretended to have something in their eye at this point as it all got a bit tearful and emotional and one big hair metal love in before the applause rang out loud and long. Still down to earth and humble, having never lost their Yorkshire roots, and still blasting out their classic NWOBHM hits like Animal, Pour Some Sugar on Me and Let’s Get Rocked in a non-cheesy way, Def Leppard were an utterly perfect finale to the weekend.
 
Download 09 was absolutely beyond normal superlatives this year. Yes, there needed to be more water points in weather like that, and unfortunately there’s always going to be the scum that come along to steal and pickpocket, but on the whole, the atmosphere for the whole weekend was out of this world, topped off by brilliant weather and amazing performances. The community feel of the place, and sense of fun and belonging, supported by the massively used forums on the Download website, have created a huge family of rockers who get together every year to see the best bands on the planet and try and get their photos with stewards number 1 and 666 whilst laughing at in-jokes. The line up was superb and the acts were just on stunning form. How on earth is Andy Copping going to top it next year unless he books Brother Firetribe, Entwine andHeaven’s Basement?!

by Lynn Wyeth