Rusted From The Rain "Download 2024" Save me.

 Please excuse me, while I try to find the words and the energy to write this, I like so many am rather sick from eating something that disagreed with us and spending many hours in the medical tent from very early Monday morning till nearly lunch time. I have never had food poisoning before and I never want it again.

I'd spent 45 years happily avoiding it. It is so rare I vomit that no one I know has ever seen me do it. I can keep down most things. But this oh my word, I am going to stop here I think you get the picture. 
Enough to say when I got home on the Monday I slept till the Tuesday. 

So please accept my apologise for this one being a little later than normal, I still feel rough now and I am fairly sure someone will shout at me for doing it later anyway. 

Lets just get into the Wednesday, we got out on time we got to the car park for 9:30am and we were in and set up by 11:30am. Can't fault this well happy got nearly the same spot as the previous year.
Purple camp for us always just because well we like it there. 

So camping wise some moving around of things like the total removal of the loo's from the Green camp so every one was piling into the purple loos in the morning. While they had the Camping Plus in Green and the Eco in Green if you were not part of these camps (Paid extra) you couldn't use the loos.

The weather we should talk about this as well, and this is a bit of an iffy one as the weather leading up to download was all over the shop and even to the point of changing hourly, I wish I had taken wellies, I didn't as the weather before we left was mild shower, what we got on Saturday was thunder storms and heavy rain. Well we got a lot of rain from Thursday onwards which of course as always turns the arena and the village into a mud bath, which in turn saps your strength and stops you slogging backwards and forwards for bands. This resulted in my only going to see bands I wanted to see and while I Planned to check out newer bands I didn't, not that it mattered as a few of them dropped out due to Barclay Card, or because they were ill. 

Thursday night we did wander into the village to see Halocene

Friday, well who did i check out on the Friday?
Well we planned to go down for Halocenes actual set but due to the que getting in we got this for 45 minutes as we were scanned searched and prodded.

Yep that's the que to get through the gates. As a friend of mine said when they came on the Sunday on a Day Ticket they had to get through the entrance, walk across the track and then go through this again. This year they lumbered the day tickets in with the campers and it caused chaos. Well it did on the Friday. 

First band without photo was Scene Queen, Yeah I barely managed to get through the opening song before walking off, and from those I know watched the whole set they declared that it was very mixed signals and contradictions with everything she did. I didn't  watch it as I have zero interest in listening to someone sing about masturbation. And as such I can't really comment on this more but I won't be looking into this group at all.

Here have some photos of us wandering in on the first day instead.

So what is next? Well as I said only bands I wanted to see this year as well you can see the mud already forming plus I am not that interested in the actual headliners today so off I wander to Black Stone Cherry, as always an amazing set, can not fault them all these years down the line they have been knocking it out of the park. Enjoy watching these guys play from seeing them at Downloads past or supporting Whitesnake and Def leppard. Just a good all round sing along band with some very good albums under their belts. I know they have been around for decades.

So, I want to see Mr Bungle so shall take a wander over to the second stage. (I am never going to call them by the names they were given they will always be first and second) Now as always I am going to rock up and I don't know a lot about Mr Bungle I just know it is a Mike Patton thing and I do like Faith No More so lets go see what this nut job is up to here. Yep still nuts, and as always a blinder of a show can't fault it some fun some piss taking, such a good set, total surreal and if you check out there wiki page you can work out why. Just looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage together. 

I would like to see Wheatus. I say this as as close as I got to the tent all I could hear was bad bass and nothing else. All the busted fans had rushed the stage and so there was no chance in getting in to see either, so with this I went back to camp, as I was wet, and tired and the drinks in camp were far cheaper than the ones in the area. 

 

Evening in camp as it is wet and cold so no wandering no meeting new people this year all very dull group stays together. Shall we get on to Saturday?

Up and at them! Due to the rain and the cold it was a nice little lay in for the Saturday. Though we did decide to change the breakfast haunt this morning and it wasn't worth it. I miss the All day breakfast / Chinese that used to be in the village. We would wander up every morning get a full English sit have a coffee plan the day and wander back before heading out it was one of the things we had done for years until the new lay out came into existence. Did set you up for a decent day of drinking and wandering, now a days well the last 3 years it's an English in a bap and not great, or as this year a slightly under cooked English in a box with out the egg or tomato's. 

Lets hit bands who do I want to see today and who will I get too see?
So I want to see Baby Metal. Have never seen them and as such I thought I should as well the songs are catchy, although I am also interested in what everyone else see's in this J-Metal group. They are after all Idols and as such. So annoyingly we have a thunder storm and they get pulled after a song and a half, with a lot of frustration, now I don't know the name of the song that I am about to put here, but the following song the second song I do know the name of, though this don't really go to plan as Electric Callboy are ill. So yeah,  don't actually get them either but that's just me I guess. 

So that is over after some technical issues we will wander over to second and catch Tom Morello, interesting rendition of killing in the name of also known as we sing it they play it which was fun.

Right I was going to catch Enter: Shikari but I have seen them several times before and watched from a distance while also wandering and I picked up merch while they were playing. As the first band I was really waiting for where about to hit the stage and that was The Offspring. 

I can not fault this at all, was a great set with some amazing old songs but would have been nice to have heard let the bad times roll be played, even though we got keep them separated, your going to go far kid and pretty fly for a white guy. 

Shall we go see Billy Talent? Yes yes we shall this time though we are eventually going to get into the tent and yeah I was happy with that by a long shot so happy i nearly forgot to get the video below. I have been waiting a while to see these guys and I was happy I finally got too, yes I only got in the tent for the last three songs but it was worth it and the sound outside was spot on. 

Right then, shall we move on to Sunday? No of course not we need to talk about Fallout Boy! I really enjoyed this and you can tell because it is just photos. Was like a history of Fallout Boy playing through in albums as they went using different parts of the stage show from different tours over the years and I did really enjoy it, that is the thing with me I do enjoy a good performance and a catchy tune and that is what Fallout Boy are. 

Now we will do Sunday. Firstly delays in order to get the arena a little drier so the first hour is cut. Meaning sets are cut and every band is pushing to be finished on schedule or ahead of it. I keep hearing people saying it was Seven Fold that was forcing this as they wouldn't give up their own set time. But unless someone from live nation comes out and says this is fact then I am taking a grain of salt. I'll be honest Seven Fold don't interest me so didn't watch them. 

While wandering though I did catch some of 311, sounded alright, but as said it was while wandering, I also caught the first few tracks of Royal Republic as I was waiting for Bowling for Soup to start. I also wanted to see Zebra Head but the issue was that now they had changed the time I had to bail on tem before the end for Bowling For Soup. 

I am a big Bowling for soup fan and it was nice to be stood in a crowd of people all singing along word for word on every song. Shame Chris was rushed back to the states for medical reasons and I hope he recovers and is back on the road with the rest of the band soon it was good but would have been better with him there.

Lets jump to Sum 41. As I went to get a drink and forgot about other bands. Once more no video for this one as was just enjoying the set, shame it was the end of their time before I ever got to see them but I am glad I did get too.

It might be time to limp with the Bizkit. Seriously amazing set, I wanted to see Corey and Limp but as they were now on at the same time I picked Limp. I was in a high energy mood and that is what Limp always bring to the table. Was such a good set was like being 20 again and back in the pits of old. To old and to broken for that now a days. Was an amazing set and it is a shame they were rushed through for seven fold as well. Seven fold meh.

I did go to see Machine Head, but after the massive up from Bizkit they were mellowing me out, so I went and got food and wandered back to camp and we all know what happened at 1am so lets not go through that again. 

Right let us look at the issues. So didn't really have a parking issue this year the new route in seemed to work for the camping. Toilet issues not enough though neither in the arena or in the camp site, and the green camp site being segregated as it was this was an issue. The camp site lay out as always was good I do like the new layout for the camp site and the solid standing for the village we just need to wort out the toilet issues in these areas. 

Arena got shrunk a little due to the numbers being lowered, seating would be nice they shrunk this down as well, Rocktail Cocktail got flooded out so that was closed on Saturday I don't know if it reopened on Sunday as it was too damn muddy to get over there. Though the rain thing in general allowed me to actually get the merch I wanted and in my size and even in the mid afternoon I was able to walk straight up and get what I wanted! 

All in all the event wasn't terrible, I didn't get to wander because of the weather I would have liked to have Sunday but I'll be honest I was feeling a little rough when I got into bed. 

Anyone else in Purple camp never want to hear Celine Dion ever again after the Sunday!

Right going to go sit in the bathroom for a while and hope this passes soon. 

See you in 2025 Download Festival. 

 

Music Review Time Once More! Slash: Orgy Of the Damned

 

You want to do this? You know you want to do this right?

It's been a while, I did the Green Day thing and I will do Thee Offspring at some point, but to do a new album live, it has truly been a while but it is playing and I am feeling it, so the latest Slash album Orgy of the Damned. Where you want to start? At the beginning well that's not hard. 

The opening track kicks in at 7.08. An it is a belting blue rifts called the Pusher and while this is a Blues Album musically it is so far phenomenal, so I am presently sat here slow grooving out to 

Track 2. Crossroads. Gary Clark Jr. Punchy kick drum start, Does sound like something you would have heard on the 2nd Slash's Snake Pit album but it really isn't, it quick up beat tempo blues track, and a true blues track, sat here swaying away in the chair as it plays through keyboard in my lap moving with me. 

Track 3. Hoochie Coochie Man. Billy F Gibbons. Muddy Waters I am hoping would be impressed with this cover. Such a low tone gravelled sound coming out of these speakers. An a voice that could be gargling gravel. 

Track 4, Oh Well. Which is with Chris Stapleton and it is just that level of rock and roll you would expect from Slash but also very clearly Blues. So far it has been like this from track 1 to here. Leading into 

Track 5. Key to the Highway, with Dorothy, as with all these tracks still a Blues track, so expect that soulful howl of the vocal with every song, but total tempo change still tapping my toe and just letting this slide over my shoulders and down my spine. My Media Player is labelling this all Metal and Hard Rock. It is NOT Rock and Blues yeah, with a lean lyrically to he Blues side and the guitar to the Rock Side, Only Track 4 comes in at under 5 minutes and that is only just at 4.53.

Track 6. Awful Dream it is with Iggy Pop and it just opens up like a bowling ball slamming from a great hight into a barrel of tar. With Iggy crooning away on the lyrics with a voice that sounds like pebbles falling down a glacier. (That is possibly the oddest description I have done yet) there is a reverb in Iggy's voice that sounds like he is singing through the distortion arm on the guitar. It is I don't know how to describe it. It is possible he is doing it with a wobble and moving the microphone back and forth. I feel he is that old school it wouldn't be post production. It sounds awesome but it really does something odd to my skull!

Track 7. Born Under A Bad Sign with Paul Rodgers. Comes out as a very bluesy track just what you would expect if you didn't know the Blues. Now I will be honest I am an Alternative so my closes links to the Blues are Lisa Sings the Blues from the Simpsons, and several of the tracks from Slash's Snake pit and Velvet Revolver, Because Slash does like to play the Blues. But this track I unfortunately would consider just generic Blues Rock. 

Track 8. papa was a rolling stone. Demi Lovato. Okay. erm. I might have to go find the original to play that through to try and work this out. No it is a pretty faithful cover, slightly faster speed but yeah it is okay. I wish I could say more but it is a classic song and sometimes doing covers though it sounds alright and good it isn't the original. 

Track 9. Killing Floor Brian Johnson. Already dancing and it hasn't even started yet! Shortest song on the album now, funky up beat blues rift, with harmonica backing it up. The further you get into the album the more rifts start to come back round though, great harmonica break in the middle of this track though and Brains voice just superbly fits it so well. 

Track 10. Living for the City. Tash Neal. I know nothing of Tash Neal. I am enjoying the track, though I am not wanting to groove in my seat it is well put together and that is all I have on that to be honest. I wish I could say more but not knowing the contributing artist I can't cross with their normal work so I am just enjoying it. 

Track 11.Stormy Monday. Beth Hart, Let's slow it right down now for this one, the moment of the giggle from the vocalist is just a thing the way the words slip and slide over words along in tune with Slash's guitar, a totally gorgeous ly performed blues track. 

Track 12. Mental Chestnut. This is just Slash and the band and it is a beautiful ending to the album, just enough to calm you down make you relax and walk drive your worries away. 

I don't star rate I do not score I just give it the love it deserves these artist took their time to make this music for us and even this metal head can accept this album is perfectly good for just grooving out too and relaxing, so if you didn't know Slash's Orgy Of The Damned is a Blues Album but it is so worth picking a copy up from where ever you can buy music from now a days! 

History of Green Day in review. My History of Green Day to me more accurate.

Out of boredom, or out of losing my mind I am not too sure,but for one reason or another I decided to review Green Day albums from the beginning to the present day. I will endeavour not to get angry at this awful keyboard I purchased and type my way through the Discography of Green Day. From 39/Smooth in 1990 to Saviors 2024. I will only be covering studio albums, I will be skipping greatest hits and best of albums. I'd love to skip Uno Dos Tres as well but  I won't I will suffer through. 
So why am I doing it, well partially boredom, and partial because I am presently playing through Saviors, which is a little better than Father of All MotherFers, but not quiet American Idiot and nothing ever comes close to Dookie, so this is my was of killing time and listening to some old school Green Day and enjoying using my brain to write something I hope someone will enjoy. So shall we start at the beginning then?
There is a massive Wikki on Green Day. 

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour. "Wiki says 90 Media Player says 91."

I'd like to say this is the definitive Green Day sound but it isn't not by a log shot they had been working as a band for 3 years before this debut album appears and yet they still don't really have their sound yet. Did they ever though? 

The album while still a corker of a debut you can hear that they still want to find themselves. Which as I stated seems odd for a group that's been around 3 years already. While songs adapt and later as we go along giving different speeds and song structure it comes across as a solid room to improve and room to grow album. 
A varying cavalcade of 180 second tracks, nothing much over that in that generic punk style.
I didn't want to write that last line but this is how it feels now in 2024.

This album of course is more of a hybrid of the early years and EPs collected together. 
Though there is very little within the song make up and performances to allow the casual listener to even notice, if you are lucky enough to have the deluxe edition there is another EP attached to this epic.

Shall we move on?

Kerplunk! "1991"

Now we see Green Day starting to become Green Day. 

Adding Tres Cool to drums and we start to hear and feel that Green Day sound. 

Also it is nice to be able to play an album and not hear autotune. 

While Kerplunk! has all manner of amazing tracks it still just as 39/smooth ended up with an EP bolted to the back of it making up the last 4 tracks. Though when you have tracks as catchy as welcome to paradise and Dominate Love Slave which is yeah so many questions about this song. Yet it shows the ability for Green Day to just do something totally off the wall. Yet again though nearly every song on the album trying to stay under three minutes and even the longest track only reaching 3:30. 

As we know though this isn't going to last. 

Kerplunk! Is another solid outing by Green Day, if you are an American Idiot generation and haven't looked at the back catalogue you really should. 

Everyone ready for Dookie? 
This and Insomniac got me through college. 

Dookie "1994"

Those drums start and you know this is a Green Day album. As the album moves long we come to something familiar but a little different and that is a rerecording of Welcome to Paradise, after playing through Kerplunk! Straight into Dookie you can hear the differences in sound quality and recording and while it is the same song it is also different. This shows that sometimes you just have to rework things a little to make a bigger noise. That sounds wrong! Though I actually do not know why they did this but they did and I like both versions. I also feel it might not be the only time Green Day do this. Of course this album also holds Basketcase, Green Day's biggest song until American Idiot and we will get to that. Dookie is also the first time I discovered Hidden Tracks! Which are more common now a days. But for me back then this was a new thing. Though since my house flooded and I had to replace my copy Dookie has gained a track and it ends with All By Myself instead of F.O.D.

Quick we have to capitalize on the success of Dookie

Insomniac "1995"

Well it's Green Day. Drop the Bass a couple of levels and go heavy and hard. The only song going over 3 minutes on here is Brain Stew. Every track is high energy fast playing tunes with bleak and slightly downer lyrics. I do wonder if this was a forced album to try and keep the train rolling after Dookie. Some bands do manage to spin new albums year on year but the quality does sometimes suffer, now personally I love Brain Stew. But there is not a lot else on this album that makes me go this is a banger. Not even that awesome Bass riff on Stuart and the Avenue. 

I often say that since Green Day stopped being angry they lost their way, but replaying through all these albums I don't think Green Day were ever angry. 

Nimrod "1997"

Ah Nimrod, I actually love this album. It is one of those albums where every song is unique and original, the creation of the whole thing just gives a new side to Green Day. According to the Wiki this is one of the worst selling albums, yet it is the album with Nice Guys Finish Last, Hitching a Ride, Redundant, Platypus, Uptight, Walking Alone, and Good Riddance (Time of your life) on it and if they played I bet you'd be singing along with them. 

Get Nimrod. If you don't have it already. 

I'm just going to erm yeah Americana is calling me erm....

Warning "2000" (UK special edition)

Warnin' live without warnin'. The century turned to 21 and we got Warning. Which is in my eyes an excellent album, you can hear Green Day starting to change their sound a little yet they aren't. It is an interesting twist on the dynamic. More structure to songs and a very tiny style change but nothing t make them not still be recognisable as Green Day. Also this is the first album with a song going over the 4 minute mark with Macy Day's Parade. 

Here is a musical interlude. 

American Idiot "2004"

Here comes prog-punk. Amazingly this album only has 3 songs that are under 3 minutes. Gone are the quick fast paced bellters we had been getting for the last decade and we had this progressive punk opera. A mind shattering work of originality and a whole new showing of creativity from Green Day. How they came to this I don't know the Wiki says it was from them falling out and failing to get along what created this piece of musical genius but as I do not know I can't comment on this at all. I do not know any member of Green Day I am just a fan and I shall not comment on it. Though American Idiot stands out as a piece of Punk mastery. While it has its moments of politics and history within it this is an album that does not age like so many that are to the point of the time. This one is timeless. 

And we should quit with the September Ends shit. 

21st Century Breakdown "2009"

Song of the Century is 57 seconds long. Go to spotify, youtube, your MP3 collection. Go on go play it then come back. I'll wait. 

That is the opening song for the album... Yeah I can not find the words to carry myself through the rest of the album. What's worse is I know what is coming and how they went from American Idiot and 21st Century to what was coming I do not know! 

Okay I have composed myself and we can carry on with 21st Century Breakdown, it carries on that new style of sound and performance from American Idiot, though we lose the long prog-punk songs and go back to the more 3 minute give or take track type. Though the speed has not returned for these shorter songs and it becomes more of a rock band than a punk band. While keeping the politics and brutality of fighting the system within it lyrically. 

Okay okay okay I'll do Uno, Dos, Tre. But as One Album. 

Uno, Dos, Tres, "2012"

Nope can't do it they were terrible vanity project in an attempt to keep each band member happy and urgh do I have too. It is just early Green Day cleaned up I say cleaned up what I mean is the sound is cleaner it is snappier and yeah it is very plain. Yes it is Green Day but that is it, there really is nothing for me to go OH WOW about here nothing original nothing at all. I am 7 tracks in to the play through and I am trying not to fall to sleep. I actually avoided buying them back in 2012 I did get round to picking them up around 2018 when I started replacing the damaged albums from the flood. Trouble Maker is presently playing and it just reminds me of Electric Six. Hippy Hippy Shake! I mean F**K Time. BLURGH, I have been blaming Revolution Radio on songs sounding like songs from Green Day and I might have been wrong! I do generally play my entire music collection on shuffle and rarely double check what is actually playing, so this this is interesting to me as I might have gotten my albums mixed up when listening to them on shuffle. But Uno Dos Tres so far has been Torture. I got to move on.

So it was mentioned in the last album so we shall get on it. 

Revolution Radio "2016"
Slow start with somewhere now. I feel this is where I started saying Green Day not being angry is the issue. It is odd how over the years Green Day have slowed down, Bang bang which is trying to sound fast does not sound that fast. Also why does this sound so familiar? Is it a case of Green Day have been going that long the tracks are now starting to just sound like older stuff they have forgotten then have written? It is a question I am asking myself, mainly because i have spent most of the day playing Green Day through in Album order and when you have 14 studio albums that is a lot of music to go through. 

It does feel like a paint by numbers Green Day Album where is the anger where is the rage, I can hear the politics and despair in the lyrics but it just isn't punching anywhere near its weight class. 

Moving into the moderner age.. blurgh..

Father of All MotherFu***** "2020"
Yeah I played this through when it came out and I didn't like it. 

My mood hasn't changed, it does feel like they are trying to fit in to the modern world, the distortion on the mic and the way the song structure is built feels about 10 years too late for what it was. An it felt late when it arrived with everyone else. Every track is a variation of a theme every beat is so damn close to the previous it just sounds like one long song. This is not Green Day, out of all the albums until now even in the experimental it was still Green Day this this could be kaizer chiefs, this could be franz ferdinand. It's generic pop music from one of the largest punk bands of the 90's and 00's and I want to cry because if I don't I am going to be swinging my hips like an ageing dad at a wedding. Urgh next album and the last one please come on 2024.

Saviors "2024"

The American Dream is Killing Me! WOO Green Day Sound like Green Day once more!

Look Ma No Brains. It is actually fast! They can still play a rapid fire 120 second song!

Do we think the rest of the album can hold this slightly angry and rapid pace? Green day are aging as are the rest of us. It's 30 years since Dookie and 20 years since American Idiot. They can't keep clinging to these amazing albums and need to advance and so far Saviors appears to be an album that is moving in hat direction. Once more though still clean sound but that is also an advancement in recording and studios not just the fact they have become so much better with their instruments. 
Though like earlier albums you can still find rifts they have "borrowed" from older songs. Which has become a bit of a Green Day trait since the Uno Dos Tres days. Which isn't that long ago.

So far though Saviors is heading in the right direction after several years of losing their way. 

So Green Day a brief review  here is it, and while I have gone over the albums I have avoided the live and best of albums. An yeah we are all getting older but it is always nice to look back and with my old man head not that teenage anxiety and anger that I held back in the 90's. 

They are Green Day, they are one of the bands that shaped my world and make me who I am. Obviously in that list is also the Offspring, Guns and Roses, Terrorvision, Bush and a whole host of other bands and groups and maybe I will start going back over them all one more.

Before I vanish to work on the next thing, I am going to drop this demo for Basket Case..... 

And I will leave you wondering if this had been released would Green Day have been as big?

 

But then there is a lot to go through. 

twenty twenty twenty oh look three twenties.

So, I haven't done this for years. Mainly because I'd kind of lost my reasons to do it.
Or had I?

I still have some memory issues, though the head injury of 2021 seemed to kind of adjust the way it works and things got interesting. Actually they didn't this is just a word that is used when we need to find a way to make things sound more exciting than they actually are. 

What did happen though? Well 2023 I finally had enough of the crap that was being piled on me and I changed jobs. It was all new and exciting and it didn't go to well. Which I am also now realising that even if I had managed to stay where I was I would have soon been leaving anyway as my body can't keep running at maximum speed all the time any more. I have taken way too much damage and after all this time my body decided just can't keep up the kind of physical activity I used to be able to. So no more running around after kids in play centres no more being on my feet all day. Do I miss it? Of course I do, do I miss the pain and tiredness at the end of the day? Nope not at all. 

So I now hunt the office job, though you know what I probably got no issue with retail. 

But you have your own thing why not work for yourself?
I don't want to. The stress level would be insane and I don't want the stress.

So yeah 2023 has not been a good year. That and I am applying for every single job I think I can do and I get overlooked by them all, all I want to do is work. 
An when you get to the interview I am of course too damn honest which results in well no getting the job  guess. 

So this is my 2023 Download was too hot, work comes and goes, my health is hopefully starting to balance out. I actually thought i was going to write far more than this, you know really go off on some long tangent or rant about something but I am not. I know that come tomorrow it is a new day and a new year but it isn't like everything really changes once the clock strikes midnight. We just change some numbers at the end of the way we explain the day which we do every day anyway. I do know this I need to get myself a nicer keyboard, this one is not good to type on needs way too much force. But then this is what happens when you move from laptops back to towers and don't really have the money I guess. 

Happy new year one and all. Short coherent ramble over.

Burn MF "Download 2023" (5FDP were missing)

So. Yeah. Heat stroke, 30c Temperatures, lack of water points and shade. 
Need I say more?

Well yes so I am going to but generally we will be talking about the above statement this year. 
There will be some music news I did see some bands I also did see old friends and new friends but as I type these things will become apparent. 

These all start on Tuesdays now. Why well as the group is so spread across the UK and I am presently the closest person to Donington Park (90 minute drive) away everyone comes here we have a few drinks catch up on the previous year and head out early Wednesday morning. 

First group turn up we go do beer run, second group appear we chill and order pizza. Where is the 3rd group? Van broke down on the West side of the country..... Midnight the last member of the party gets here. Quick catch up and a pint and bed. I am going to stop there we gave him enough grief over the weekend for his minor mishaps with direction, But we will say this ext year he comes here, his car stays here and he rides with someone else. 

Righ Wednesday, takes 4 hours to do a 90 minute journey. Actually we got to Donington in under 2 hours. We just got stuck in the neverending miles of traffic that was building up. Thankfully though we were rather near the goal so we slipped through and were parked up before 11. All of us had loaded our tickets in to which ever wallet app we were using, we had also opened the web page ticket view before we left so we were ready. We parked, we just grabbed the tents and we went, straight in minimal issue actually no issues at all, unlike last year where tickets started vanishing and phones started having issues as the wifi disappeared for us but that was last year. (In another tale my day ticket friend forgot to load their ticket and had to walk back down the hill to get signal my fault  I forgot to warn them about mobile signal.)

All in and set up by 11:30. Back to the car now have bands to get the beer and packs. All down and done by 13:00. Was amazingly swift. Though we are about to learn that the crew on he buses were in for a shock as they were now running really far behind (They turned up about 9pm) The sat navs were saying 30 minutes away from about 12:00, an yeah the traffic really was that bad, you might have seen it on the news. 

Moving on as at the moment the weather's nice beer is flowing it is a really nice Download we are in the camps up having a few drinks enjoying the time as we wait for Thursday. 

Who Ever Though Putting Bands On On The Thursday Was a Good Idea Needs Help. 

So Thursday, right from the off we are all a little apprehensive about this. 
Thursday is not a normal music day. It is the recovery from the getting to this point day, we sit we chat, no today we have to deal with bands.
(I have not checked this and probably won't but adding the extra day and starting the days later it has been said we got the same amount of bands in 4 days we have in 3)
Let's get walking the weather's nice the temperatures not to high its a bit over cast nice to walk and drink. So we do, all the way into the arena for Punk Rock Factory (though we did leave in plans to see Mammoth) We did hear the ending couple of tracks from Mammoth I say hear we were heading to the 3rd stage (I know it has a name but we have always just used numbers) We also completely forgot we was going to see Jinjer... Yeah my bad I was already a little disoriented by the extra day and not alcohol as we hadn't really had time to drink. Managed to hear PRF from outside the tent you could not get in there. See Photos!
Oh and of course the photo that was taken as we entered the Arena before that shall we!
 
Main Stage

  3rd Stage. (Didn't the 3rd stage use to be blue?)

So as you can see that is a tiny bit crazy for a Download, but we will muddle through. 

Of course now that Five Finger Death Punch (5FDP) have had to pull out of their present touring schedule due to injury. We had now for the 11th time in Download History got Skindred and I do love Skindred, always a good show but before we get there their will be drinking and friends and maybe seeing bits of Halestorm, maybe seeing bits of Alter Bridge. Now I have seen these two bands so many times, I am also losing interest in them a little I know this might rile a few of you up but there's been nothing new from them in forever (I know they have put out new albums but it is their sound it is just their sound again and again if it's not broke don't fix it but still, maybe change something occasionally) Even Vol 4 by Slash and Myles was a little underwhelming. 

Right let's go see Skindred and if this thing will ever up load we should have a video....

Oh no hang on, Just remembered this was out View of Metallica. Yeah this resulted in us just going back to camp. Seen them so many times. . . . Mixed reports from people about their ability to play. Also mixed reports from friends who were not actually at the festival and commenting on their ability to play. All I know is from the campsite they mumbled well. 

Friday... WHAT THE HELL! Why are we Knackered!

So yeah turns out that if you don't use Thursday as a rest day you get to Friday and go bleh no thanks. 

So Friday starts late as always first band is 13:00 not 12:00 like normal. See bands are starting later days are running shorter, we had noticed this. Once more back to the extra day but same amount of performances. It is getting warmer but we are okay at the moment nothing too much we are muddling on, we will find out later what happened to some of the group though! (Not till Sunday) So we are in rocktail cocktail as we are taking it easy (Raspberry & Peach Collins this year) Generally chatting to folks learning stuff this is my duck of a day really, Everything is Second stage and everything can be watched from a bench. With in walking distance of the cocktail bar. So I am chatting to a couple of people in the crowd and I get oh we didn't get tickets we mocked these up over night and just waved our hands at the gate and they let us straight in! The more I thought about this the more I realised they weren't joking I hadn't see that wrist band again all weekend. Which will bring me on to security but we will do that at the end. (This happened some time after Elvana) 

Elvana over ran and got the plug pulled. I enjoyed them the last time I saw them but this time I don't know just wasn't feeling it neither were any of the guys that came with, we all felt we should have gone to As December Falls. But the general thought was that Elvana as a gimmick may not last. As December Falls should and we hope to see them on a higher stage another year. 

I went to see Neck Deep. I do remember them and I am really surprised I actually don't own anything by them I really enjoyed them. I have now lost count of how many times I have seen them I am also confused as why I don't have any photos of them! Might be as I was having battery issues. (This was my only main stage band all day)

Okay let us bang through these shall we.

Asking Alexandria....

I remember watching them.... I don't think they impressed me but they did all those other people. 

Within Temptation

As always they were Within Temptation, what can I say they are amazing but for some reason I still can't name any of their songs and I own many of their albums! Yeah I know I know I need to pay more attention.

Evanescence...........

It's not even a good photo. They used to be amazing and yeah I lost interest very quickly in this set. 
I used to like Fallen, was a great album, but that all my knowledge of them. Also we are starting to cook. All of us are starting to cook and as such we bail back to the tent. 

We had a wander around the camp site in the evening but the heat had started to sap everyone's energy and it was a very quiet night after the sun went down through out Red, Orange and Purple camps. 

Saturday. 

I am meeting a friend on a day ticket today and I haven't seen them in about a decade. So early down to the arena. 
Lets hit the tent and watch Rituals. This is where things will get messed up as we are sat on the edge of the tent and enjoying the shade because it is damn hot already its only just 12:45 an some one standing in front of where I am sat has a joint and are waving it around in my face without even realising I'm sat behind them. This in turn causes me issues as due to the way my brain works things start to go a little wrong and I have to move so I do. I now feel sick and as such really don't recall a lot about the band and for that I am sorry. Here is a photo though taken after I moved. 

Next up 2nd Stage.
Municipal Waste. 
Thrash Band, Good Thrash Band, Really Really Good Thrash band, never seen them before watched the whole set really enjoyed it reminded me what a real thrash band can be when they can play at that speed (Looking at you Tallica hang it up already you're too slow now) 

Carcass.

I saw bits and once more another thrash band I enjoyed what I saw. But was hungry and finding food so didn't get too see as much as I might have liked, didn't know who they were hadn't herd of them before. So this was a nice little find. No photos unfortunately. 

Motionless In White. 
As alway a cracking set would have loved to see it through to the end but we were dying in the heat. Would not regulate body temperature at all so after they played Werewolf we bail back to the camp we will be back once more have cooled and rehydrated. 

So we are back for Disturbed, we have rehydrated with many liters of water, we have reapplied suncream and swapped out for a dry bandana. 
My friend looks like a lobster as they forgot to sun cream before leaving the house or brining any with them for the day. We will get it through to them that skin health is important one day.

Disturbed was as always awesome. 
From Sound of Silence to inside the fire. Just amazing, if you get time to see them on tour go see them, this tour does carry a strong mental health and anti suicide message but these are things Dramen is passionate about after losing so many friends. An nearly himself. So please remember if your are struggling there will always be a shoulder or an ear to listen and try to help out there somewhere. 
Sorry back to yeah Disturbed were awesome. (Really couldn't get close)

Placebo. 
I have waited 30 years to see Placebo.

They played Nancy Boy and there should be a video here, they also did running up that hill no idea if they were going to play Special K or not but there seemed to be technical difficulties at the start and the screens had started to fail due to the heat so we will say they had called it early due to technicals but I got to see them play Nancy Boy and I have been waiting a long time for that, so teenage me is happy as is my day tripping friend as it is the time when we both grew up and Placebo was one of our alternative loves back in the 90's.

Any way they are off to see Metallica and I am going back to camp. As this heat is is killing us. 

Sunday.
Sorry guys not happening, we are exhausted we got back to Camp saturday night and were falling to sleep in the chairs and this was only 22:00. By 23:00 we were all out like lights. The heat had won. 

We are going to sit here until we need to head in for slipknot. So as the temperature drops and we have dropped a few gallons of water over our heads and in to our bellies we begin the slow walk down to the Arena is is 19:45 and we are going to get food. An maybe catch Ghost. 

We got to see Ghost from the food vendor of choice. Which as it is Sunday and though stupidly hot was a Yorkshire Pudding filled with mash and meats. It is Sunday after all. So we watch Ghost from the que and then watch Ghost from the back of the crowd and they were really good even though one of their props failed to work, they did say it should have but there had been issues, once more probably heat related. (Oh side note get the Ghost EP: Phantomime it is rather good) 

Shall we do this? 

SLIPKNOT!
Snuff they played Snuff Slipknot Played SNUFF LIVE! Slipknot Never Play Snuff.
We were all taken by surprise on this one, there is more but Holy Fuck they played SNUFF.
Been waiting too long to hear that live. Loved every moment of this set was just the right highlight of my weekend did the right thing saving energy for it and I am so glad we did and I am thankful as the adrenaline kept me going until 2am and I got to see other friends that had been missing. Still Slipknot played Snuff! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ARGH so cool so so awesome. Oh and Clown was back!

Okay so firstly there should be 3 videos in this I will edit it them in later once I have uploaded them to youtube. 
Secondly Heat.
So once I discovered what had happened to other friends on Sunday evening around 1am they had heat stroke, so Saturday for them was spent in total mess's toilets and tents alike. 

Other friends who had had knee surgery 3 weeks before was struggling with heat and security / welfare were rarely helpful. 

So as for heat, it has been 20 years. Every year we have asked for more water points we have asked for more shelter and every year we get it is coming and it never appears. 

Like many things more and more corners are being cut. If you pay extra you an use this exclusive bar with parasols in the tables. Or you can collapse in the tented stages. Water Points....... Never enough.

The ridiculousness of canned water. Liquid Death I believe is Metallica's own water was all the water you could buy and guess what a bottle is far better than a can. You can't take in a water carrier over 500 ml which is fine but they were taking bottles of water off people. 

Let's talk security, I got searched thoroughly every time I tried to go into the arena. No one ever looked at my wrist band though or even asked to see it if it was covered. 
Which leads back to the people I was on about earlier that were walking around with fake bands on. 

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes which hadn't been drinking at this point. Due to the heat, hell this is the first time we have ever returned with Beer. That's how hot it was there was so much left over we decided to bring it home which becomes more complicated as outside of Download I don't drink. 

So Live Nation, I know you don't read my reviews, I know you just do your own thing and that is fine but we need more shelter in the arena we need more water points I believe they ran dry on Sunday, we need more reliable food / drink vendors and less price gouging. You have a captive audience and when the event has sold out you are going to need to have more supplies. 120,000 people want to eat and drink A LOT.
I say 120,000 as the last time I looked this was roughly Donington Parks Maximum capacity.
I heard rumours it was over sold but this is all speculation and I am unsure about that. 

The camp site wasn't as crammed as you'd think it was more a case of people just not looking, I don't know if they went out into the walkways all over they did in places but yet again you know the limit and you also know that the average tent is a 7' square. I say average as not everyone is crammed into the little 2 man pop ups. I know being 6'2" I can't fit in one with all my kit. An some large groups use the giant 10 man tents so we have to say an average tnt is 7'.

Security were shocking this year with helping with dehydrated people, helping with heat stroke. I heard several time the words "Oh their just pissed" when you could clearly see they were not they we really struggling with the heat. I know this is a freak year and it hit 30c but this is the way it is going to be longer hotter summers colder shorter winters. he sun issue and water issue needs to be addressed. 

I have already ordered my 2024 ticket as I know you will get it right. For some of us older Downloaders is isn't all about the music any more it is about seeing our friends our "Families" the people we have only seen there every year and it is the only place we are together. 

You use our line of is being a Giant Family when promoting the camping and the place in general and we are, everyone of us in there is part of the Alternative Scene everyone of us stands with the other, we would even defend the delinquent cousin that is only there for the odd Dance act you decided to put on. (Even when they try to threaten us)

We are what makes Download Download the customers.
We are the Family that makes this festival the best in the world and the reason that people like Corey Taylor uses our festival as what he believes a festival should be. 

We are your biggest fans and your biggest critics. But we do it with love as you give us the place we can be us. 

As many of your video packages say when talking to the public, we get to be who we are at this event for five days we are free to be who we are inside. An we will be forever grateful for that. 

Even at 44 and for next year 45 I still follow this dream of what is Download. So please just a little more planning (I am not even going to start on the road issues we avoided that by leaving really early)

I know the weather is not your fault. It is just maybe a little forward thinking. Download is a fantastic Festival and we would be lost without it. Every one of us that are able to be us when we are within the grounds of Donington Park the home of Rock, Metal, and Punk in festival form since the 1980s.

Oh videos coming as soon as I get them on youtube. 
Also heard that S.O.P.H.I.E stall totally sold out and closed on Sunday Early. 
Well done to everyone that managed to get them back into the Arena it is nice when they listen. 

Also I forgot this when I did the first run of this but the other Dave will be running his Post Download Radio Show on Wednesday (14/06/23) over on Endeavour FM 9pm. 

This is the long haired half of the Two Daves signing out...

ARE YA READY KIDs!