Download Festival 2019: Part 1 (13-14th June)
WORDS: Joanne Gray
Starting off the weekend on the Wednesday with a continuous 12 hour rainstorm meant that moods were extremely low and the campsite and village areas became muddy swamps. It was only day one and people were unable to sleep in their tents as they had flooded completely. Folks were already going home and it seemed like things couldn't get any worse over the next few days. Aside from having to sleep in the car on the Wednesday night and get a hotel for the next few days, thankfully the worst was over after that horrendous first day.
That's not to say that things got any less treacherous over the next few days though, as the mud was running like a river at points. There was barely an area of the campsite left which was still green by the Thursday afternoon. Please invest in more hay/gravel/walkways next year Download...
At least there were some bands that could distract from all of this, and things were starting to look up by the time it got to Thursday afternoon.
Thank God.
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WORDS: Joanne Gray
Over on the Doghouse tent in the Village (which resembled a quagmire with a huge mud puddle in the middle), the Boardie Takeover showcased some up and coming bands for the 11th year in a row. And there were some cool bands on show.
The first band we caught a bit of was the Cardiff three-piece Haxan, as the bands were running a bit late and we were planning on catching the band after them. I'm quite glad I saw them though, as the all-female group brought a bit of punky energy to their brand of melodic hard rock. Having listened to them beforehand, I hadn't thought much of them, but they sounded killer in the live environment. Particular shout out to their song 'Back To My Place', which has a chorus that stayed in my head throughout the rest of the day. I'd definitely check out this band again if they're on a support slot in the future, and I'm hoping they'll be able to catch some of their live energy in any of their future recordings.
Continuing the hard rock vibes were the London five-piece Dead Man's Whiskey. With a sound that combined the musicianship of southern fried rock bands like Black Stone Cherry and Monster Truck with powerful melodic vocal lines which resembled bands like Clutch and Those Damn Crows, this band were a lot of fun to watch. The charisma and ability of the band to hold so large an audience was also really impressive for such a small band, and they certainly show a lot of promise for the future. This is definitely a band who will benefit from being on some larger bills, and I'd recommend them to any fans of good old hard rock as they have personality in spades.
Finally, the last band we would see in the tent that day was Cornwall's O'Deus. Having listened to them beforehand, I was totally into their 90s influenced heavier grungy stoner sound that was a bit like the Smashing Pumpkins mixed with a bit of the musicianship of Skunk Anansie and The Cranberries. In the live environment, this sound translated really well, and the personality and energy of their frontwoman (who was very bravely wearing only a leopard print leotard in the still horrible weather), meant that the crowd were fully engaged and were really enthused about their performance. Another band that I'd like to check out in the future.
And that ended the Thursday, as we had to go and check into a hotel which was a fair drive away. At least we got out of the rain and the mud for a bit, I suppose...
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As we arrived a little late from the hotel and were meeting up with the people we were camping with, the first band we managed to catch was Kvelertak over on the Zippo stage. I've seen the Norwegian black n' rollers a few times over the last few years during festivals and support slots, but this was the first time I'd see them with their new frontman Ivar Nikolaisen, who joined the band towards the end of last year.
Immediately there was a sense that this addition had given a much needed injection of energy to the band, as Nikolaisen ran, jumped and (at least one time) rolled around the stage in a punky manner. Quite a different feel from their last vocalist who tended to largely headbang in a static position. This change made Kvelertak more visually exciting than I remember seeing them before, and the material they selected only helped to solidify this sense of energy.
Choosing to focus largely on the first album Kvelertak, the vocalist was clearly having a great time due to the rock n' roll vitality of these songs, and the whole band got behind him to give an energetic performance on the whole. I was quite glad that they didn't play many songs from 2016's Nattesferd, as this saw the band move into a more turgid musical direction which didn't feel as vital as their earlier material. It definitely wouldn't have suited the new style of the band either.
Although I don't listen to Kvelertak very much, and I've never really been completely enthralled with their performances to date, I would probably say that this was the best I have seen them. I'm now really looking forward to hearing what they come up with this current lineup. Good start to the day then.
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Moving things into heavier territories, it was then over to the Dogtooth stage to check out Warwickshire's metal sub-genre benders, Conjurer. I really loved last year's album Mire (you can read my short review of that here), and hadn't yet gotten a chance to check them out, so I was really excited to finally get to see them here. I'd also heard how insane they were live, and they did not disappoint.
As one of the only metal bands playing the entire festival that day, the crowd for their set was pretty full, so we ended up standing towards the outer circle of the tent (more on the Dogtooth tent's weird structure later), but thankfully we could still see most of the band absolutely destroy the place during their set.
Bringing some bone-shakingly heavy riffing to the table, the crowd was immediately whipped into pits as soon as the band started, and this didn't let up until the end of Conjurer's set. The sheer intensity of the band as they yelled, roared and jumped into the audience contributed to a vibe that was as chaotic as it was mind meltingly heavy. The double team of Dan Nightingale and Brady Deeprose led to some simply sublime moments where the walls of the tent seemed to shake with the intensity of their vocals. Mad props to one particular song where Dan screamed the lyrics into the crowd without a microphone, and the pin-drop silence of the rest of the band and the crowd meant that you could hear every single syllable.
Musically, Conjurer are something else as well. Mostly playing material from last year's Mire, Conjurer seemlessly flipped between technical Rivers of Nihil/Gojira esque death metal riffing to sludgy low end breaks and grooves that wouldn't be out of place on a doom metal album. Even the more atmospheric moments contained a sense of tension that meant that the audience's attention never wavered for a single second throughout their set.
By the time they ended their set only a few songs later, I and what seemed to be most of the crowd was won over by their insane live performance. The sheer sound was one which felt like it would be one of the heaviest things throughout the entire weekend. What a way to wake things up on this chilled out Friday.
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WORDS: Ray Mondo
Making their sixth appearance at Download (and playing to their biggest crowd yet, as vocalist Neil Fallon pointed out), Maryland rockers Clutch took to the stage to uproarious cheers from the crowd. Many of whom were wearing Clutch T-shirts for the day, showing the strong following that the band have admirably maintained with ease over the years. With a set primarily made up of songs from their latest (and perhaps greatest) album Book of Bad Decisions, it is safe to say that there are no signs of this kind of dedication to the band changing any time soon.
Starting off with heavy hitter 'H.B Is In Control', the band set the pace for their Donington outing with no questions asked, shaking things up with their best known crowd-pleasers such as 'How to Shake Hands', 'In Walks Barbarella' and 'Gimme the Keys'. However, this wouldn't be a Clutch set without of course hearing Fallon's trademark bellowing vocals on the undeniably catchy classic 'Electric Worry', which without a doubt got everyone in the crowd clapping along and then some. Guitarist Tim Sult gave it everything on the old six-string, bassist Dan Maine filled out the sound with his as-always fluid and addictive bass lines, and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster strutted his stuff on the kit without so much as missing a beat. Getting to watch Clutch in a festival environment was definitely a memorable experience, and being a fan myself, it is a great feeling seeing these guys still doing incredibly well and hitting out of the park every time without so much as breaking a sweat.
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WORDS: Ross Donald
I’m not gonna lie, I was one of those idiots that only went to watch Whitesnake because I thought I would get a laugh from the aging rockers trying to act they were still in their prime. I’m so happy to say that I should have shut my mouth though, because these guys pretty much stole the show on the Friday with a surprisingly great performance that would even give headliners Def Leppard a run for their money.
Even at the ripe old age of 67, vocalist David Coverdale still has command of the stage and is an absolute presence (with rocking hair by the way), even going down to sing with the crowd and showing that he can still hit the high notes when needed. I’ve not yet had a listen to their latest release Flesh and Blood yet but the few songs played from that album show that they flow seamlessly with the classics on the setlist. I could have sworn that 'Trouble Is Your Middle Name' was released in the 80s.
On a day filled with so much classic rock, this was the perfect time and place to be in as I was transported back to my parent’s era. This was the first act of the weekend that really made me feel like I was back home again. Special mention to drummer Tommy Aldridge with his drum solo following the song 'Get Up' as he really was looking his age of 68 and yet managed the best solo I’ve had the pleasure of hearing live. He even managed to keep going using only his bare hands! I was exhausted just watching the madman. Huge respect for this legend.
Of course 'Here I Go Again' was the penultimate track that had practically the whole arena singing along and I’ll admit that I was singing (badly) along to every word. Even when it seemed as though the set was over, Whitesnake showed they still had one more left in them and finished off with the classic 'Still of the Night' to really leave their mark on the weekend.
Biggest surprise of the festival by far and one of my favourite acts of the weekend. Check them out if you ever get a chance, as these 80s guys are far from done and are willing to prove that they can still hang with the best of them.
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WORDS: Joanne Gray
Halfway during Whitesnake's set, I went over to the Avalanche stage to watch a bit of LA's hottest contemporary ska-punk band, The Interrupters after being really impressed with them at Slam Dunk a few weeks ago (the review for that is here if you want to read that). This would also be the band's first appearance at the festival, so I was curious to see how good their reception would be.
Entering the tent 5 or so minutes before they were due to come on, there was plenty of space to move around so I managed to get pretty close to the front for the band coming on. At that point, I was a bit concerned that they would get a small crowd, but as the rain seemed to start again, the crowd filled up considerably. Good job to Download for curating a 90s/00s ska-punk day at this tent, as it meant that there were plenty of people who showed up who were well in on the band.
And that they were. During the choruses in particular, the crowd sang alongside with almost as much enthusiasm as I had seen at the band's more conventional turf of Slam Dunk, and there was a healthy (if not overly raucous) punk mosh pit occurring throughout. The band were totally thrilled with the response from the crowd and the ever present cheerfulness from all of the members was even more clear to see from their huge grins. At several points, frontwoman Aimee Interrupter and guitarist Kevin Bivona would point out just how stunned they were by the reaction of the audience for this being their first appearance. The self-awareness of the band's place within the lineup didn't stop there though.
In between humorously referring themselves as 'the heaviest band on the Download bill' and encouraging the crowd to make the 'biggest wall of death Download will see all weekend', The Interrupters teased the audience with snippets of material from other bands. Blasting out the main riff of 'Enter Sandman', the band let the crowd bounce about a bit before cutting it off entirely which lead to some good natured boos. They proceeded to do the same with Green Day's 'When I Come Around', an Operation Ivy song and Rancid 'Time Bomb' before finally settling back to one of their own songs. This was a frustrating but appropriately cheeky few minutes from the wind-up merchants, but it was a cool little addition to their set that I would tell my friends about later.
Having to leave just before the band finished, I missed them doing a different version of 'A Friend Like Me' and ending their set with 'Family' but as I walked away from the tent, I was really satisfied with what I'd just seen. After seeing them twice now give a completely uplifting and life affirming performance, I'm so looking forward to the prospect of a headline set in the future (Glasgow please!).
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WORDS: Joanne Gray
Heading back over to the main stage where I would stay for the rest of the day, I saw the sub-headline set of Slash (featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators). Having seen the band play the SEC in Glasgow a few months before (my review for that is here), I was keen to see them play a shorter, more hit filled set than what I saw that first time. I was also curious to see how this larger crowd would respond to the legendary guitarist after Guns N' Roses were only there a year ago.
Sadly, this set failed to do well in either of these regards.
Firstly, the setlist that the band picked was not well suited to a festival full of casual fans in the slightest. Almost half of the set consisted of material from last year's album Living The Dream (of which I was not keen on at all, as shown in the review here). This only contributed to a sense of unfamiliarity and at times even frank disinterest from the crowd, who only really perked up a bit during songs from Slash's first three albums. Even then, the energy from the crowd was really quite flat, and this was emphasised during the band's rendition of the GnR classic 'Nightrain'. For me, it felt like the crowd was really dead when compared to the reaction to the same song being played last year (if you want to check out my review of that festival, it's over here).
Unfortunately it wasn't only the crowd who felt lackluster during this set, and this is the part which hurts the most. Slash and co. quite frankly all looked like they didn't really want to be there. Myles Kennedy in particular looked tired and didn't exude anywhere near as much energy as he really ought to when fronting a band of this size. He largely stood still throughout the full set and barely said a word to the audience. I'm not sure whether the combined efforts of recording new Alter Bridge material and touring his own solo material alongside Slash's project has worn him out or it's something else, but it seemed like something was seriously wrong during this performance. Add to that the fact that his vocals were really quiet in the mix, even from near the front of the stage, and the full set felt long and arduous.
By the time the band ended with 'World On Fire', extended guitar and drum solo and all, I was actually really glad for it to be over as I was getting more and more bored with the performance as it went on. One of the most disappointing things I would see at the festival all weekend, as I love Slash to pieces, but this was a really unimpressive set from them. Add to this just how much better the bands who they were sandwiched between were, and it totally felt like Slash was billed far too high for this festival. That should never be the case for a man of such status.
Please take a break for the next wee bit guys and only come back when you feel up to it. It wouldn't hurt to liven up your stage set up a bit as well. Just saying...
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WORDS: Joanne Gray
Having seen the band play a somewhat less than impressive show back in the Hydro in 2015, I was very much hoping that the energy levels from both the band and the crowd would be higher this time around. The fact that I didn't get to see them the last time they were in town meant that I was more than happy to see them at Download this year. They were also going to be playing their stone cold classic Hysteria album in full, which made me even more excited.
Making our way quite close to the front, it appeared like the band had a pretty decent turnout for the state of the weather during the day. For a band over 40 years into their career who haven't produced much material of high quality in many years, the fact there was still this much interest was the first sign that this would be a good show. The next sign would be that of the stage set up. Before Def Leppard came on, the backing screen had already put Slash's effort to shame, with its countdown to the band coming onstage. Cue some Leppard logo imagery and cool lighting, and the band came onstage to thunderous applause.
Then Hysteria started with that stellar five song run of 'Women', 'Rocket', 'Animal', 'Love Bites' and 'Pour Some Sugar On Me'. Usually placed within the context of a greatest hits set, it was pretty cool to see the band throwing these songs out so early in their performance as it really started to get the crowd pumped up. Sonically, the instrumentals during these songs in particular sounded huge. Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell's stadium filling power chords felt wonderful to hear while the two Ricks filled in the rhythm section in that simple yet effective way that this 80s material suits so well. Although I felt that Joe Elliot couldn't quite hit the higher register notes in some of the songs here and lacked a bit of punch, the rest of the band as well as the crowd made up for it by assisting with those soaring melodies. The sheer joy from the band and the energy they still had with interacting with the crowd and prowling across the stage really made it seem like this was pretty easy work for this band in their fifties and sixties.
Once the setlist got to 'Armeggedon It', I did begin to fear that the second half of Hysteria would lose a few people as it's a very front loaded singles album, but thankfully this wasn't the case. The fact that most of these songs have huge, simplistic choruses meant that those who didn't know the songs could pick them up really easily. Couple that with the interesting background screens which showed images of the band in their younger days, war footage for 'Gods of War' and riots from back in the 70s and 80s for 'Run Riot', and there was always something to keep even the most casual of Leppard fans entertained.
Add in the fact that 'Hysteria' is there to bring another huge song to the table ten songs in and that the rest of the songs are just fun as hell to listen to, and this was a really cool thing to watch. I'm guessing this will be the only time that I, and much of the rest of the crowd will get to see them play Hysteria in full, and I was more than happy with the effort they put into it. Even with the rain intermittently starting and stopping throughout their set, I felt that the crowd around me were finding it just as enjoyable as myself.
After ending their Hysteria set with album closer 'Love and Affection', the band went offstage for a few minutes before coming back on to play a five song encore of some of their other biggest songs. During this section, the band made it clear to the audience just how much it meant that this many people were still coming to see them this far into their career and just how special Donington was to them as a band. The moment where drummer Rick Allen's recovery story and subsequent Monsters of Rock 1986 performance was retold to the audience felt particularly moving. This is a band who were clearly ecstatic to be playing Donington for a fourth time, and headlining for the third.
To make things feel even more special, the band ended with the absolutely storming encore of 'Let It Go', 'When Love and Hate Collide', 'Let's Get Rocked', 'Rock of Ages' and finally, the fist pumping 'Photograph'. Just goes to show that even when the band pull out the album that contains so many of their hits at the start of their set, they still have plenty others to offer. What a band, and what a fun time to be had. Even those who are not quite as keen on Def Leppard couldn't really say they didn't deliver on stage that night, and were one of the funnest bands to watch in the entire weekend.
Legends.
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Thanks to Ross and Ray for helping out, and thanks to you for reading the first part of the Download Festival 2019 review.
The next part of this review is over here if you want to check that out as well! If you like what you've seen here, please give RWEI a like/follow on the socials or get in touch if you would like to make a contribution or submission. Cheers!
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