Download Festival
31 May - 1 June 2003
Donington Park
Following the debacle that was Ozzfest at Donington last year Clear Channel had promised us Download would be a much better organised festival. The omens hadn`t been too good however, with Limp Bizkit withdrawing late in the day as second day headliners and many tickets not arriving until the day before the festival.
Arriving on site and being charged £5 to park our car, which was advertised as included in the ticket price, wasn`t ideal. Though, the layout did seem better and more organised.
The set lists are as per the Download website, which seem to be correct from what I remember.
Saturday 31 May 2003
Not the best of starts what with half the campsite trying to squash through one entrance where tickets were being exchanged for armbands. Why we weren`t given our festival armbands with our camping ones the previous day when they had a steady stream of arrivals I don`t know.
I could hear Shadows Fall in the distance as we waited to get in but only arrived in front of the main stage as they started Thoughts Without Words and my brief memory is of vocalist Brian Fair whipping round his incredibly long dreadlocks. A disappointing start, though not the bands fault, as I had been looking forward to their set having seen them with Children Of Bodom.
Shadows Fall Set List:
Idle Hands / Idiot Box / Destroyer Of Senses / Of One Blood / Thoughts Without Words
A quick dash over to the second-stage this time contained in a massive tent, in time to catch Arch Enemy. Without wishing to be sexist, Angela Gossow really does possess a guttural roar that a woman shouldn`t be able to summon. Whilst Angela provides the obvious focal point to the band the Amott brothers trade solos and unashamed guitar harmonies. Unfortunately however the sound isn`t great at this early hour, though Burning Angel and Heart of Darkness do stand out.
Arch Enemy Set List:
Enemy Within / Heart Of Darkness / Burning Angel / We Will Rise / Dead Bury Their Dead / Ravenous
Whilst sitting down waiting to meet up with friends, Welsh rockers Funeral For A Friend play the main stage. They fail to impress however, being a heavier but seemingly directionless version of Lostprophets.
Funeral For A Friend Set List:
This Years Most Open Heartbreak / Jino / 10:45 Amsterdam Conversation / She Drove Me To Daytime T.V. / The Art Of American Football / Escape Artists Never Die
I had wanted to catch Amen at a festival for some time but kept missing them and today I wish I had. There`s a fine line between an incendiary performance and a crap one and Amen overstepped the mark. Cassey Chaos seemed more interested in rolling around on the stage and dismantling the drum kit than playing the songs and the likes of CK Killer and Price Of Reality were rendered useless.
Amen Set List:
Coma America / CK Killer / Justified / Piss Virus / Mayday / Gun Of A Preacher Man / Whores Of Hollywood / 18 / Drive / Refuse Amen / Cast Time / Under The Robe / Price of Reality
Murderdolls were next peddling their 80s hair metal goes goth. Again anarchy seems to be the in thing rather than playing. After a few songs we gave up and headed off to check out the Exhibition Centre, which housed X-Box, Sky Movies, a café and most importantly real toilets!
Back to the second-stage and The Hellacopters rekindle memories of Donington`s past, being true Monsters Of Rock. Nicke Andersson is now much more confident behind the microphone and, when he steps away, throws rock star shapes with fellow guitarist Robert Dahlqvist. A selection of tunes from latest album By The Grace Of God mix it up with older songs like Move Right Out Of Here featuring Boba Fett banging away furiously on his piano. Toys and Flavours was another memorable highlight, being one of the best songs Kiss never wrote. This mid afternoon set in the welcoming cool shade of the tent is perfectly timed and heads are bobbing along all around us with beers in hands.
Hellacopters Set List:
Grace Of God / Your Nothing / Better Than U / Toys + Flavors / Move Right Out / Carry Me Home / (Action) Noir! / Soulseller / Friends + Neighours / Hello / Goodbye / Holy Shit
Staying in the tent, Soil are up next, but from opener Breaking Me Down onwards, it`s clear the soundman isn`t doing them any favours. Things don`t improve for Understanding Me and the performance wasn`t grabbing me either. Soil eventually wheel out their trump card Halo, but it`s all too late.
Soil Set List:
Breaking Me Down / My Own / Two Skies / Pride / Unreal / The One / Black / Halo
HIM have been working hard on expanding their UK audience and it would seem to be paying dividends judging by the crowd that greets Valo as if the messiah is here. It`s not just style over substance though as Valo is a skilled songwriter as demonstrated by the searing hooks of This Sacrament. Live, as in the media, it`s very apparent that HIM is very much Valo`s vehicle with the rest of the band consigned to sidemen roles. The obligatory cover Wicked Game registers recognition with the curious observers and the uptempo Soul On Fire is also well received. HIM, as many bands did, benefited greatly from being in the tent, which allowed for full stage lights to be used effectively creating greater atmosphere.
HIM Set List:
Buried Alive By Love / Sacrament / Your Sweet 666 / Join Me / Soul On Fire / Wicked Game
I`ve encountered Marilyn Manson on two previous occasions and on both he seemed more intent on shocking rather than performing his songs (see review of Amen). So it comes as a pleasant surprise that today we`re presented with a very tight professional performance. This will no doubt gain criticism for it`s lack of shock tactics, yes, we could see clearly the go-go girls were wearing bras with breasts painted on rather than going topless. Aptly tilted This Is The New Shit opens proceedings with a sound reminiscent to new sidekick Tim Skold`s old band KMFDM. Further new material from the new Golden Age Of Grotesque album is well received, including the burlesque title track. These songs seem to follow the style adopted on the Mechanical Animals album from which we get Rock is Dead and The Dope Show. True, The Beautiful People and Disposable Teens are interchangeable, and both are played, but putting them at either end of the set ensured enjoyment of each without over emphasising the self-plagiarism. And, yes, Mobscene does rip of Faith No More`s Be Aggressive, but it`s a good song non-the less and is augmented by the aforementioned go-go girls. For all these niggles the fact remains that Manson entertains and that`s exactly what he did tonight.
Marilyn Manson Set List:
Disposable Teens / Hate Anthem / Use Your Fists / Great Big White World / Rock is Dead / New Shit / Mobscene / Tainted Love / Dopeshow / Ain`t / Golden Age / Doll Dagga / Beautiful People
The UK had been missed out on the Ed Hunter Greatest Hits reunion tour and, as good as the Brave New World shows were, it was with delight I learned Iron Maiden would be dipping extensively in to their back catalogue tonight. To open with six songs taken from Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind was certainly some statement of intent. Number of the Beast, the actual opener, was accompanied by 666 displayed on the screens and met with a sea of devil-horns from the crowd. By the end of The Trooper, Bruce Dickinson must have covered every inch of the stage already and his boundless energy and enthusiasm continued until the end of the set. I`m not sure what the collective name for a group of guitarist should be (a herd? a gaggle? a murder?), but there should be one in Maiden`s case. Dickinson chose wisely to spend a good portion of the set up on the ramps, leaving Messrs Harris, Smith and Murray to mill around on stage trying to avoid Janick Gers acrobatic posturing. I think they`ve more than proved that three guitars can work for them and it`s interesting that Murray and Smith concede some of their own solos to Gers on the older material. Bruce announced exclusively to Donington that the new album would be called Dance of Death and from that album a new track World`s Wildest Dream was played. Difficult to comment on only one listen, but it appeared to be in a similar vein to The Wicker Man, which itself followed. The Clairvoyant and Heaven Can Wait made welcome returns and of course Eddie made an appearance, this time in Edward the Great regalia. The only low point was the god awful Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter, a song which would have been better left to Dickinson`s solo career. Two Minutes To Midnight and, of course, Run to the Hills closed the set, and for the first time at Donington we were left with a thought of another day to enjoy, but with no band as big as Maiden to follow…??
Iron Maiden Set List:
The Number Of The Beast / The Trooper / Die With Your Boots On / Revelations / Hallowed Be Thy Name / 22 Acacia Avenue / World Wildest Dream / The Wicker Man / Brave New World / The Clansman / The Clairvoyant / Heaven Can Wait / Fear Of The Dark / Iron Maiden / Bring Your Daughter….To The Slaughter / 2 Minutes To Midnight / Run To The Hills
Sunday 1 June 2003
I hadn`t actually planned to go into the arena so early, but having seen the queue for the toilets on the campsite, I thought I may as well wander in and hopefully find a freshly cleaned cubicle. Whilst searching I therefore caught a short part of Instruction`s set. I`d heard an ex-member of Quicksand was in their ranks and on this brief listen they seemed to follow a similar but more commercial sound.
Heading back again later for Chevelle`s set we encountered a brief, though for me not brief enough, portion of One Minute Silence`s ranting though this was nothing compared to the anti-English racist Real McKenzies who were wrapping up on the second stage - if you don`t like England, do us a favour and don`t play here!
Chevelle looked very familiar when they came on stage, though that`s because it was actually Instruction, playing their second set of the day in place of an absent Chevelle. This actually turned out to be fortunate as it meant we got to see The Darkness on the main stage instead who made me seriously wonder why I`d chosen Chevelle over them in the first place. In a similar, but more Spinal Tap, way to The Hellacopters putting the rock into this rock festival yesterday, The Darkness reminded us we were at Donington after all. Unfortunately, mainman Justin Hawkins plans to be fired onto the stage by a cannon had not come to fruition, though there was plenty of explosive material in the form of Stuck In A Rut and Get Your Hands Off My Woman. Tongues firmly planted in cheek, The Darkness` sense of fun was demonstrated by the frontman`s mid-set costume change to leopard print jump-suit. We were advised the new single Growing On Me would be out on Monday, followed by his autobiography on Tuesday. Everyone seems to love The Darkness at the moment and it`s easy to see why, but time will tell whether they`re just flavour of the month and/or just taking the piss.
The Darkness Set List:
Bareback / Growing On Me / Best Of Me / Makin` Out / Get Your Hands Off My Woman / Stuck In A Rut / I Believe In A Thing Called Love / Love On The Rocks (With No Ice)
The USA invaded the main stage for a five band run next and first up was Spineshank. With a new album out shortly they opened with the title track Violent Mood Swings. Unfortunately the PA was struggling to cope with their densely packed sound which was a shame as the band were obviously putting everything into the performance. MTV hit Synthetic sparked recognition from the crowd as did New Disease. Having heard the new album it seems Spineshank are heading in a slightly more commercial direction and this was evidenced with Smothered.
Spineshank Set List:
Violent Mood Swings / Asthmatic / Synthetic / Shinebox / New Disease / Smothered / Cyanide 2600 / The Height Of Callousness
I quite like Mudvayne, but unfortunately they did my head in today. Silenced from the new album is hardly a sing-a-long festival anthem and as those down the front demonstrated, it`s difficult to bounce along to too. Something was brewing on the second stage however and we left after a few numbers.
Mudvayne Set List:
Internal Primates / Silenced / -1 / Not Falling / Death Blooms / World so Cold / Mercy, Severity / Dig
Rumours, rumours, an official denial and yet more rumours. Apocalyptica the Finnish cello quartet who cover metal songs were officially billed, though when amps were unveiled featuring a familiar M logo, it was apparent "it" was going to happen. The familiar strains of The Ecstasy of Gold had the now packed tent at fever pitch, then enter Metallica who launch straight into Blackened. Looking around there are looks of disbelief on many faces and cries of "it`s them!". This is Robert Trujillo`s live UK debut with Metallica and as Lars Ulrich commented, where else but Donington for it. The rest of the band seem eager to display their acceptance of their new member and I can`t help but feel that this together with the surprisingly heavy new material is a bit of a dig at Jason Newsted. The same could be said of the choice of material today, with nothing from Load/Reload aired and old gems such as No Remorse and Harvester of Sorrow resurrected. St Anger and Frantic from the new album are met with a more muted response, remembering that the new album hadn`t yet been released. The biggest treat, however, is Master of Puppets, played in its entirety. James introduces the band in case anybody doesn`t know who they`re watching and Lars spends every moment when he`s not drumming on his feet mainly in front of his kit. Whilst hardly a low-key gig, there was an estimated 6,000 in and around the tent whilst 34,000 were blissfully unaware watching Evanescence, this was intimate by Metallica`s standards. Having said that, with Evanescence sat at no.1 in the UK album and singles charts as I write this, perhaps it will end up being the 34,000 who get to say they saw Evanescence first in the UK that carries more clout.
Metallica Set List:
Blackened / No Remorse / Harvester Of Sorrow / Sanitarium / Frantic / Sad But True / St Anger / Master Of Puppets / Damage Inc. / Creeping Death
We returned to the main stage, with Stone Sour mid way through their set, but following Metallica they seemed very ordinary. Live they come across very much as Corey Taylor`s band, highlighted by his solo spot for hit ballad Bother from the Spiderman soundtrack. There`s nothing gripping to hold the attention though and my attention wanders.
Stone Sour Set List:
Get Inside / Orchids / Monolith / Cold Reader / Inhale / Blotter / Bother / Tumult
There`s something ironic about David Draiman`s mic not working for the whole of opening number Voices. This is a problem that reared it`s head at Sweden Rock the following weekend I simply don`t understand why a mic with a lead is not on hand to be given to the singer when their cordless mic isn`t working. After a shout of "We can`t here you", from the crowd, vocals are eventually restored as Disturbed play Bound from the latest album Believe. At this point I really want them to let rip, but the surprisingly quiet PA, a feature all weekend, somewhat blunts their attack. The repetitive, but infectious Liberate sparks some reaction down the front. Draiman tells the crowd he just saw Metallica and asks who else was there to be met with a lot of confused faces and it`s true to say Metallica`s appearance had already upstaged anyone left to play. A closing volley of Down With The Sickness, Prayer and Stupify is a strong finish however.
Disturbed Set List:
Voices / Bound / Intoxication / Fear / Liberate / Game / Remember / Down With The Sickness / Prayer / Stupify
Having popped back to the tent it was confusing to hear Refuse/Resist being played on the main stage. Enter Sandman followed and we realise Apocalyptica had been granted a main stage appearance. It was very amusing to be overtaken by one young lad running across the campsite shouting "Metallica are on I`m not missing them again!".
Apocalyptica Set List:
Cortege / Refuse/Resist / Enter Sandman / Fight Fire With Fire
Quite frankly it stinks that Flint have such a high billing and it obvious money has exchanged hands for this. Don`t get me wrong, I have nothing against the Prodigy, but no band without a released product should be playing the mainstage, let alone in this spot. Flint possess two drummers but they seem to play exactly the same beats so why? This shot at promotion failed badly though as there`s nothing remotely memorable about any of the songs and Keith Flint, as proved on Firestarter, simply can`t sing. The crowd thins to an embarrassing size and at the end comes as a relief.
Flint Set List:
Asteroids / Piggy / Aim / Laughs / Kamikaze / Prescription / Femme / Razor / NNNN
Pre-festival things didn`t bode well for Zwan, an odd choice, being barely a rock band and with a frontman in Billy Corgan who is less than engaging. Things go from bad to worse when Zwan choose Mary Star of the Sea, all 14 minutes of it, as an opener and half-way through that song the heavens truly open. Lightning cracks the sky and we`re off to the exhibition centre to seek cover, leaving a few die hards getting drenched in the rain.
Zwan Set List:
Mary Star of the Sea / Declaration Of Faith / For Your Love / Honestly / Settle Down / Jesus I / Broken Heart / Lyric / Endless Summer
The South Park showing is suddenly very popular at the Sky Cinema area, but so heavy is the rain outside, that it floods in through the roof and shorts out the cinema equipment.
Thankfully the rain ceases prior to Audioslave`s slightly delayed appearance and it`s obvious that a good portion of the crowd had chosen to leave early. This is a shame as Audioslave surprise many with a very fitting finale to the festival. Every member of the band is an incredibly talented musician. Tom Morello coaxes sounds out of his guitar that shouldn`t be possible and Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk may as well be one person so tight a rhythm section are they. Star of the evening is Chris Cornell however, having recently come back out of rehab it`s surprising to find him in such high spirits and so warm to the crowd. At one point he produces a tape recorder to record the crowd for his daughter. His voice is spine-tingling and you can`t help but feel jealous. With only one album out and a full headline set to fill, the set is padded out with a frankly uninspiring version of The Clash`s White Riot, which is the only low point of the set. Standing in our raincoats on this chilled evening the likes of I Am The Highway and it`s blues vibe is perfect accompaniment to wind down the weekend.
Audioslave Set List:
Gasoline / Light My Way / Set It Off / Like A Stone / Hypnotize / White Riot / Exploder / Peace & Love / I am The Highway / What You Are / Techno Ted / Shadow On The Sun / Show Me How To Live / Cochise
Summary
Overall Download was a major success when compared to Donington. It was encouraging to note that the website was asking for comments and suggestions post the festival of ways to improve things in future years. Loosing a headline act so late in the day could not be blamed on the organisers, though most people will testify that Limp Bizkit weren`t missed anyway. My own complaint would be that there were perhaps not enough older bands to add variety, for instance Anthrax were told they were no longer relevant. Also devoting the second stage to punk all day Sunday meant if you didn`t like punk there was little alternative to the main stage. With this in mind a return visit next year will depend very much on the confirmation of some quality acts.
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