I bought day tickets for Reading Festival ages ago (when I found out Pearl Jam were headlining on the Sunday). Eggs and I weren't really interested in who else was playing... much to our mate Brad's disgust. So he gave us a very detailed list of who we should attempt to see "aside from Pearl Jam". So we obliged and decided to venture out earlier in the day to see some of these other "acts". After being harrassed by a group of teenage boys on the train out to Reading we arrived physically unscathed. I pulled on my pre-muddied Wellies (remnants from Glastonbury last year... I didn't apply the mud in my backyard to be cool or anything) and felt very out of place as we glanced around and noticed that due to the rain easing off
everyone elses' wellies were just a little dusty. Any hoo after a wristband mix-up we entered the festival site and wandered around trying to distinguish which tent was which. Then, we braved the toilets and decided no, we will definately not be drinking beer today or any liquids for that matter. We sat on the grass outside the Carling Tent while Good Shoes played (we didn't like them much). Then ate vegetarian Quorn burgers (we didn't like them much) while listening to Cold Cut. Then actually ventured inside a tent to see Broken Social Scene. You have to love a band that can somehow manage to incorporate a violin and multiple brass instruments into a rock band. They were really quite good. Thanks for the tip Brad! We left the tent because unfortunately nature called, again and then we couldn't get back inside to see The Kooks. No big deal, I only really know that one song so we headed over to the main stage to see Placebo and grab a good spot for Pearl Jam. Placebo had some "technical difficulties" with an amp so we spent a few good minutes watching the big screen while the cameramen encouraged women to bare their breasts. Anyone who refused was booed by the thousands in the crowd. Highly entertaining... Once Placebo finished we moved closer to the stage and got a pretty good spot. Despite both being quite short we managed to catch regular glimpses of the stage. Old faithful didn't disappoint, they opened with Corduroy (my all time favourite song in the whole world), performed I Am Mine and Alive. I was quite happy. Here's the set list I found on another website:
Set List: Interstellar Overdrive/Corduroy, Do The Evolution, Animal, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Dissident, Even Flow, Sad, I Am Mine, Jeremy, Grievance, Wasted Reprise, Better Man, Save You, Blood, Rearviewmirror
1st encore: Iron Man by Black Sabbath (Ed on ukulele), Soon Forget, Given To Fly, Once, Crown Of Thorns (by Mother Love Bone), Comatose, Alive2nd encore: Why Go, Baba O'Riley (by The Who), YellowledbetterHighlights were Iron Man played on the ukulele, Baba O'Riley, the extended version of Rearviewmirror and Eddie saying "We're American and we just want to clarify... we come in peace". Good job boys... What a perfect way to end the two years here. I'm ready to go home now... kind of...
