Are you Ready for Reading?

Nowhere embodies the sentiment of The Undertones Classic ‘Teenage Kicks’ quite  as much as the Reading Festival. It is a festival where the energy and  tenacity are almost certainly adolescent, but ultimately a hell of a lot of fun.

As the festival occurs straight after college exam results, the audience  is full of students either in celebration mode, or ‘forget all about it’ mode. What happens is a complete release. The atmosphere is contagious, affecting young and old alike. The overriding philosophy is to lose  yourself in the moment, forget about your troubles, and most  importantly, to have a good time.

There is a palpable buzz around the grounds, an incessant furore, and what a great thing it is! Last year saw incredible sights, such as human pyramids forming and collapsing as Florence and the Machine belted out powerful tune after powerful tune. Graham Coxon was on hand to hype the crowd even more when he shouted ‘Everything up! Louder!’. The Reading crowd were on hand to make sure his wish was granted. Even the uber relaxed, chilled, at times melancholic Bombay Bicycle Club received a rowdy, devilishly rapturous, but well spirited welcome.

Other standout Bands were Alt-J, prior to receiving their Mercury Music Prize gong, The Cure, who played for a mammoth three hours, and Green Day, who, try as hard as they did, still could not keep their exclusive gig a secret, and were overwhelmed with a suitably enthusiastic bunch of Reading Festival goers. Azealia Banks drove everyone wild with visceral  excitement, and Odd Future went as far as demanding a stage invasion, only to have their set prematurely ended.

It seems that nothing could be predicted, except that chaos is an inevitable and welcome part of the Reading Festival.

What makes Reading so special is this atmosphere, the anything goes spirit, and the absolute dedication of the fans to their bands, their idols.

With the 2013 Reading line-up looking equally as impressive, the future is bright for the Reading festival.
 
Get your Reading 2013 tickets from Skiddle.

Words: Michael Warburton

Photo: Mike Malfait

Tickets are no longer available for this event