Download Festival
Download Festival – Saturday – 12 June 2010
Words by Brendan Monteiro / iPhone polaroids by Marcus Maschwitz
My download festival experience started with a long haul drive from London, frustration mounted a little as the journey time increased due to traffic but was fun none the less. Eventually we were winding around the last corners and finding our parking space. The walk from the car park to the arena was slowly filling me with excitement but nothing could possibly prepare me for what I was about to encounter. As I make my way into the first clearing that exposes the arena, with it’s multiple stages littering the scenery, I am taken aback. There are literally tens of thousands of people and the atmosphere is electric. I make my way through the gates to get my ticket scanned and somewhere in the background I hear Liam Cormier’s unmistakable voice informing a fervent crowd that “the next song is an old one” before ripping into Haildestroyer. The amount of people in attendance to their set is phenomenal and up front people are going absolutely mental.
Although it’s a little bit of a late start there is so much to see and so our tour of the arena grounds begin. Food stalls litter every empty space you can imagine while the corners of this legendary festival site are laden with merch and novelty items like skull septres and nacho libre masks. There is also a great amount of music orientated stalls like Vans, Criminal Damage, Grindstore and even Oli Sykes’ Drop Dead label. On our first round of exploration we get a glimpse of what Five Finger Death Punch have to offer, there is already a gargantuan crowd in front of the main stage and up front people really seem into it. I think a lot of the atmosphere is lost towards the further reaches of the crowd but it was still good to get a small piece of their set. Further walking around ensues with random internet checks as to whom is playing next and where. To be honest we were only ever really there to see one band and as such never really stuck around a particular stage or set for that long, rather than loiter around we tried to get as much of the Download experience as possible. There are as many stand out moments on stage as there are in the crowd but one that truly stands out above all is a guy with a loud speaker asking “does anyone have sun cream?”, when someone finally answers his call he proceeds to point to one passed out individual beaming with sunburn and says “can you please apply it to that man because he is f***ed”.
Next up on the main stage is Lamb Of God, people rush in to the crowd like a pack of wolves at a feeding. Their set is a blinding array or big crunching riffs and brutal vocals courtesy of Randy Blythe but there is still too much to see and not enough time is paid here to give them the thorough review they deserve. Another walk to another corner of the venue brings more delight but one thing I can say about Lamb Of God is that they have so much ferocious power that you can hear them from pretty much every corner of this massive setting. Soon enough we find ourselves back at the main stage in time for Megadeath and there is a huge roar as Dave Mustaine enters the stage. I can honestly say that I might not know a single song from Megadeath by name but it’s such a novelty to be able to see a legendary band of their calibre play and they are seriously in a different league to the other bands that I managed to see so far. Old and young join in with air guitar solo’s as the band pace through a solid set.
According to quick look of the event schedule The Blackout are about to get things started, things seem like they have died down since Cancer Bats set at the second stage but everything seems set for an amazing show from the Welsh mob. Their set is pillared with two giant blow up hands ZAPing the crowd and a backdrop a red “fuck” sprawled in front of The Blackout. It seems that The Blackout have put a huge amount of budget into this show and when they walk out they seriously look the part of a headlining band. They pull out all the stops and up to this point put on the most entertaining show of the festival. So good is their set that they totally mess up my strategic plan in of guaranteeing a good place for Deftones start in order to catch their entire set. We’re Going To Hell, So Don’t Forget The Sunblock is played in homage to the late great Dio and the crowd lap up every ounce of energy that the band throws at them and with it. With this display The Blackout have clearly etched a name for themselves and I would not be suprised if they’re on the main stage next year.
After The Blackout’s blistering set we decide to miss out on Deftones start and rather catch 2 or 3 songs of HIM and then catch the final bits of Deftones. During the urine break I can hear Chino Moreno voice echoing Rocket Skates through the tree lines and I can’t help but think how good his vocals sound, even from all the way over at the second stage. Ville Valo makes his way out on stage and opens with Buried Alive By Love, maybe 13 seconds into the song we’re already on our way to Deftones. I don’t know if it was just sound problems but it felt like he had now emotion or any actual interest, furthermore the vocals fade and come back in at random times and it’s a let down after such an authoritative set from The Blackout , it’s almost as if he just struts out there an expects what ever he does to be enjoyed and that is not the case for me.
Over at the main stage Deftones are ripping it up and the closer I get the more the excitement builds. Beauty School sounds so epic and beautiful, you can see Chino putting his everything into it, it’s pure and honest music played magnificently. His sustained screams echo out to the furtherest reaches of Download and push Deftones above the rest, so far at least.
The wait for the headliners is a long and painful one, it’s a moment that I have been waiting years for and every second that goes by feels like an hour. A tribute to Paul Gray is aired on the main stage screens, paying homage to the deceased Slipknot bassist, and then it’s back to waiting. 20 minutes later than scheduled and a siren starts whaling pronouncing the entrance of Rage and the full attention of the crowd turns to the stage. As Zach, Tom, Tom and Brad take to it no amount of Rage DVD’s or reviews could ever prepare me for what was about to happen!
“We are Rage Against The Machine from Los Angeles California”
With that they roll into Testify and the whole of Download explodes into a mass of fists pumping and body’s jumping and Rage fever is upon us all. The surge in the crowd is incredible, you could probably lift your feet off the ground and still be standing moving with everyone. Every milli second is pure and honest elation and every song is soaked up and loved by all in attendance, the impact that RATM has on a crowd is out of this world and untouchable. Bombtrack follows and once again the audience explodes, I’ve never seen so many people in unison jumping and banging their heads back in fourth. Rage Against The Machine are like superheroes, they have so much power and impact. Tom Morello undoubtedly has guitar as his superpower, he knows how to make his instrument speak and squeal and definitely is the best guitarist I have ever seen in my life. He brings the instrument to life and even when he’s plugging his lead into his hand, the outcome is something even more weird and jaw dropping.
Zack is on the attack constantly, he rages through classics like Know Your Enemy, Township Rebellion, People Of The Sun, Bullet In The Head and so many more. In actual fact every song on the set, minus The Clash cover, is classic Rage material. The thing that really stands out for me about Zack is that he honestly cares about people and his fans. Just before one song something happens in the front of the crowd and without another thought he asks everyone to take a step back to ensure the safety of those hurt in the front. The show carries on after this and I don’t think I can really explain how amazing this show really was, no words can describe the feeling of not only being in amongst a crowd of people that all love the band and are all screaming together, but being apart of something bigger. The victory celebration for the Christmas number one may have been in Finsbury park but the after party was definitely at Download.
“yes I know my enemy, they’re the teachers who taught me to fight me”
“fight the war fuck the norm”
“they say jump and you say how high, your brain dead you got a fucking bullet in your head”
These are just some of the lines that pierced the air as everyone punched the sky. They’re words that I grew up barking back at my walkman and words that moved me. Being able to see a band that had so much influence on my young mind and are such an important part of my life just made this show all the more magical. Unfortunately before I knew it the last screams of
“Fuck you I won’t do what you told me”
were resonating around and there is a sudden deep sadness in the pit of my stomach that it’s all over. Yes I have all the albums and I can neatly reconstruct the set on my iPod but nothing will ever come close to seeing them live. It’s a unique gift for a band to sound as good live as they do on album, it’s even more rare for a band to sound better live than their recorded work. As for Rage their albums have that live edge to them already and when those songs are played they sounded so bloody good you can’t help but be moved into the Rage revolution. Tim and Brad add so much groove into the songs and you feel that ten times more in a live setting. Tom is just untouchable and you have to see his wizardry really believe that all that sound just comes from one man. As for Zack, his politically insightful lyrics are ever more meaningful when you can actually see the passion on his face. He sings with purpose and the result of all four musicians is something that cannot and will not be touched.
In the aftermath of Rage I thought back on one of our reviewers who recently wrote one of the most in depth reviews of the free victory celebration gig at Finsbury Park. After reading it I felt like you could get every feeling and emotion of being at a Rage Against The Machine show from it. The truth is you can’t! No words can ever explain actually being in attendance and actually being a part of such a spectacle. My advice if you haven’t been able to see Rage yet, remove the Egyptian pyramids or the great wall of China or whatever, rather add Rage Against The Machine to your bucket list.
June 27th, 2010
“nothing will ever come close to seeing them live. It’s a unique gift for a band to sound as good live as they do on album, it’s even more rare for a band to sound better live than their recorded work”
Gutted I missed RATM @ Download, looks like you had a great time. Nice one man!