Comments on: You wanna rock 'n' roll, or you wanna throw stuff?

You wanna rock 'n' roll, or you wanna throw stuff?

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:18:50 -0800

Last weekend, (22-24 August 2008) saw the fantastic Reading Festival take place (dodgy timeline). Emerging from the National Jazz Festival in 1961, it mutated into the National Jazz, Blues and Rock Festival festival in the 70s, and on into the eclectic festival it is today. My personal faves were 1989 and 1992, but the best moment was seeing Meatloaf bottled off stage in 1988! Due to the combined force of the BBC and the interwebs, most of this year's performances - many complete - are available online for your delictation...

By: RokkitNite

RokkitNite — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:43:34 -0800

Ooh wow. I performed at Leeds and Reading this year (very fun they were too) but I didn't get a chance to see any of the other acts. Thanks for this - now I can see what I missed!

By: the_very_hungry_caterpillar

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:45:53 -0800

v cool indeed RokkitNite, can you reveal your true identity, or will you have to kill me!

By: MrMerlot

MrMerlot — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:47:52 -0800

Great post!

By: Senor Cardgage

Senor Cardgage — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:48:20 -0800

This comment not available in your area.

By: djgh

djgh — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:50:10 -0800

Could someone please let me know how I can save these to my hard drive (Firefox, Mac OSX)? 'ta very much.

By: JustAsItSounds

JustAsItSounds — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:51:19 -0800

Great line-up. It's posts like this that make me sad to have left blighty. Any burning portaloo's this year?

By: djgh

djgh — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:55:14 -0800

Actually, don't bother. As always, Google is my friend.

By: Weebot

Weebot — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:57:46 -0800

I suppose we'll find out who RokkitNite is when one of these performers releases a lush, impeccably produced version of "The Girl From Donkey Kong".

By: sparkletone

sparkletone — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:28:35 -0800

How dare the BBC try to tell me what is and isn't available in my area.

By: RokkitNite

RokkitNite — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:36:58 -0800

Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean that to come across as insouciant and wanky as it did. I did the Alternative Stage. It was my first time at Reading and I was literally shaking on stage, but it was an amazing experience. And it was really inspiring to see and audience with a median age of about 18 in gales of laughter during John Cooper Clarke's set. The festival gets a bit of a bad rep as being brutish, but the audience there seemed lovely and open-minded.

By: Target Practice

Target Practice — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:57:49 -0800

Is it wrong that when I saw "Reading Festival" I thought this was about a group of authors going on tour to do public readings of their works? Ladies and gentleman, give it up for Michael Chabon! Here comes an oldie but goodie: Chapter 12 of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh!

By: mike3k

mike3k — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:27:13 -0800

None of the videos are available here. I really wanted to see the Fratellis & Vampire Weekend.

By: vbfg

vbfg — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:44:57 -0800

1988 at Reading was my first festival. Seeing Meat Loaf get bottled off stage was one of the highlights of my formative years. I've been to at least one festival every year since, though primarily for the music. The following year, or maybe the year after, I went to Donnington. Bottles weren't allowed but you could take in any kind of plastic container at all. The majority seemed to have several gallon sized containers that started the day filled with beer but by mid afternoon were mostly filled with piss. A good third of them were in the air at any one time. The most amazing thing about that weekend was I got hit on the head with a gallon of piss descending from fifty feet in the air just once. In this context, a reformed Genesis not playing Glastonbury is one of the great missed opportunities. But then again, the lack of bottle fights is why Glasto' became my regular haunt - at least until the noise curfew.

By: baggymp

baggymp — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:48:50 -0800

Were Nirvana really 1992? I'm so over the hill.

By: vbfg

vbfg — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:54:10 -0800

Aye, me too. They played 1991 and were pretty much bottom of the bill. They headlined the following year. Talking of '91, I remember getting asked about a thousand times why I was reading newspapers all the time. I think "Because the leader of the Soviet Union is under house arrest you fscking toilet!" was my standard answer.

By: couch

couch — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:06:02 -0800

I think Nirvana were 'guests' of Teenage Fanclub in 1991.

By: daHIFI

daHIFI — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:31:18 -0800

Goshdarnnit now I know how all you foreigners feel when NBC and such do the same thing on their streaming players. Anyone know how to get these in the good ol US of A? I really need to hear me some Pendulum.

By: salmacis

salmacis — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:09:40 -0800

vfbg: Was that the year with ACDC, Metallica, Motley Crue and Queensryche (of the ones I can remember)? If so, I was there that year and I remember the flying plastic containers well! I remember grabbing an empty one and standing there holding it on my head for protection. Good times. Oh yeah, and I also remember trying to put up the tent afterwards while totally pissed afterwards and spending one of the coldest nights of my life trying to sleep in a tent where the bottom of the canvas was at least 6 inches off the ground!

By: vbfg

vbfg — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:35:37 -0800

Very probably. AC/DC headlined, I remember that much.