Reading Day Three // What’s My Age Again?
As a wise old sage, Noize can look back with fondness on our formative years, and the staging posts along the road to becoming a fully fledged arbiter of all things great and good. Buying our first ever tape with some hard earned pocket money (yes, we‘re that old), our wide-eyed wonder at the genius that was the Walkman, and the shiver of anticipation at arriving at our first ever gig (Shed Seven, if memory serves us correct). And of course, not forgetting packing a rucksack with your older brother’s (smelly) sleeping bag and half the contents of the local Millets in anticipation of three days in a field with only rain, cider, and the faint hope of meeting girls (or boys) for company.
Coming as they do at the back end of summer, Reading and Leeds are oft a rite of passage for the many young first time festival goers in attendance, as essential as a dog-eared copy of Catcher In The Rye, or staying out all night, something normally reflected in the line-up and array of crazy fancy dress on show. Obviously pushing the boat out for the last day, we clocked seven Spidermen running in unison to the Batman theme and a fright of ghosts being chased by their very own Pacman. Oh, misspent youth! On the music front, day three appeared to be a mixed bag featuring comebacks, the never been aways, and new beginnings for old friends.
LA boys (and Noize favourites) Local Natives started our adventure with their sparse, alternative indie on the NME/Radio 1 stage, a fact not lost of those clearly nursing a throbbing head. Their set built nicely towards a climax of Camera Talk and Wide Eyes, for which they were joined onstage by Keith Murray and Chris Cain of We Are Scientists. It’s been a tumultuous year so far for Kele Okereke, but he did his best to please everyone, not only with his set which mixed the old (Bloc Party mash-up of The Prayer and One More Chance) with the new (Walk Tall and Tenderoni), but also with his rather natty black and white checked chef-style shirt and shorts combo. Look out for something similar in Topman in about six weeks time (and no, you won’t be able to pull it off).
Feeling nostalgic, we wandered over to the main stage just in time to let Weezer remind us of past glories and a summer spent tramping round the USA. An unlikely highlight for many we’re sure, Rivers Cuomo seemed in a mood to play ball, giving us the likes of Beverly Hills, Hash Pipe and Buddy Holly before delighting everyone with interesting versions of MGMT’s Kids and Teenage Dirtbag. He even went drag, donning a blonde wig for a surreal attempt at Lady Gaga’s Pokerface. What’s good enough for Christopher Walken seemed good enough for them in what is becoming a rather familiar festival joke.
With our energy levels flagging, we cursed ourselves for missing the start of Blink 182 by spending just a little too long in the dance tent pogoing around to dubstep DJ Rusko, but made it back just in time to catch I Miss You, All The Small Things and Travis Barker’s impressive revolving drum kit. Breaking up is hard to do, so they say, something they poignantly captured with Dammit, stirring long lost memories of love lost and dalliances cruelly ended. And as we trudged away towards another week and normal life, how apt that as the youth reflected on one more step towards adulthood, after thrills and pills, heartaches and bellyaches, and all that this bountiful gathering had to offer, “I guess this is growing up” was the final refrain ringing in their ears.
Words by Derek Robertson and Julie Tanner
Photos by Danny Payne
Foxy Shazam bringing back the ‘tash
The Lights bringing back the Keytar
The Joy Formidable bringing back female guitarists 
You And Me At Six bringing back the sing-a-long
