music – reading 2005

these things fired tiny bits of paper high in the air. good plan.

this family have brought buckets to sit on which is a good idea. perhaps they are using them as toilets to avoid the festival facilities ?

i wandered by the signing tent and noticed the queue was short so i joined it. only to meet elbow a few moments later.
how bizarre. their set was very good too. it included a big confetti explosion (as can be seen if you look carefully at the people sitting on the buckets photo)

these people had an inflatable sofa. good plan.
i took pictures of lots of the bands i saw today but they’re all a bit small so i’m not going to bother posting any of them.
bands i saw today included Goldie Looking Chain (offensive, but very funny), The Wedding Present, Graham Coxon, Elbow, The Coral, Audio Bulleys (briefly), Queens of the Stone Age (an accident), Cooper Temple Clause, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (their new stuff isn’t much cop), Charlotte Hathersley (very excellent) and the Pixies (awesome!).
i think there were others as well.

between bands people sit around and chat, and drink, and set fire to things. but these people decided to do some acrobatics instead.
the chap on top is actually leap frogging 4 people who are standing up. it was quite impressive, and also very stupid.
i wouldn’t recommend funkypancake readers try this between pictures.

here is one of those things you can put your head through and pretend you are on the cover of the NME. good fun you think ? well think again.
what about those poor Foo Fighter band members who’ve had their heads cut out so music fans can pose with mr grohl here ?
i think mr grohl was playing drums for the queens of the stone age today (i can’t be 100% sure as i don’t recognise all his tattoos and the video screens kept cutting to other people). but anyway, he does play with them quite regularly which must be a pain for the emergency spare drummer.
and we don’t hear much about kurt cobain any more do we ?
i’m beginning to detect a pattern with mr grohl.

brandon flowers of the killers looking out from the signing tent

the day before the music starts this is all very quiet

as i mentioned before, i won weekend tickets for the Reading festival thanks to having one of my photos featured in the programme. i went down this evening to get my wrist band.
it was quite muddy:

and i liked how people were queuing up at a little window for chunks of wood to burn:

and there were tents as far as the eye could see (and i rejoiced in not having to stay in any of them):

even action man was beaten by the elements: