Artists:
Faith No More, Motley Crue, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Killswitch Engage, Staind,
Hollywood Undead
Venue:
Donnington Park, Donnington
Date:
12 June 2009
Sunburn?
Overpriced food? Legs feel like they’re going to drop off?
Airplanes flying over your head? If the answer to all four of
these is yes then it’s got to be Download time. This is the
biggest party of the year for our beloved rock music and this
year’s festival is shaping up to be the biggest ever as, in a
glorious middle finger salute to the ‘recession’ and the
‘credit crunch’ and that whole rubbish that we’re all sick
to death of hearing about, the festival is a complete sell-out
for the first time ever. And if Sunday is the ‘classic rock’
day then Friday is definitely the ‘nu-metal’ day and first
up on the main stage is the new rap-rock hybrid of Hollywood
Undead.
Although
they may have come along about 10 years too late for the sort of
music they’re playing, there’s no denying that Hollywood
Undead are a fun live band and they definitely get the crowd
going. Yes, their jock, teen-angst rapping borders on tedious
after about ten minutes and their masks make them seem more
cartoon character than ‘gangsta’, but today none of that
matters and they are a great excuse to throw your hands in the
air, wave ‘em like you just don’t care and party like it’s
1999. After a bit of a rest and the first overpriced rat burger
of the day, it’s time to head back down to the main stage for
the ever so cheerful Staind.
Captain
chuckles himself Aaron Lewis is his usual chirpy self and we all
skank and circle pit our way through their half-hour set. Nah,
not really. The sun is shining bright and it’s a beautiful day
and it’s not really the right setting for Staind’s brand of
gloomy and depressing rock and they fail to connect with the
majority of the crowd, until of course they play ‘Outside’
which will provoke a mass sing-along whenever and wherever they
play. They don’t play a bad set by any means, it’s just hard
to empathise with a rich and successful musician whinging on
about how depressing life is when many of the crowd will have
had to make many financial sacrifices just to be here today.
Here’s hoping
he
perks up a bit when he gets back to his massive house after
traveling the world playing to thousands of fans. There’s a
fine line between being deep and just being a self-obsessed
tool, Aaron.
After hearing Billy
Talent frontman Ben Kowalewicz’s inaudible, squeaking and high-pitched
sorry excuse for singing, we decide to head off to the merchandise stand
then head back down for Killswitch Engage.
KSE
are on form today. The crowd lap the whole thing up from start
to finish, from the older fan-favourite songs to the two new
songs aired which showcase frontman Howard Jones’ singing
abilities far more than their previous efforts. Guitarist Adam D
is his usual quirky self, coming on stage in a wrestling mask
and cape and promising to “show his genitals to every female
in the crowd”. Thankfully, he restrains himself and instead
concentrates on cranking out the riffs with huge mosh pits
breaking out to nearly every song, particularly their rousing
cover of ‘Holy Diver’ at the end of their set which, at the
hallowed grounds of Castle Donington, seems to take on a whole
new meaning with the crowd. If today is anything to go by then
their
new album will certainly be worth checking out.
As Killswitch Engage
leave the stage, the crowd begins to swell even more and shortly after
it seems like the whole of Download is descending on the main arena to
witness the return of Limp Bizkit. This is Limp Bizkit’s first
UK gig in five years and what a difference five years seems to make. To
say that there is anticipation and curiosity in the air is an
understatement. When they disappeared from the scene five years ago,
they were wildly reviled and seen as a joke that had run way past its
sell-by date and now, they are seen as a nostalgia trip back to many
people’s teenage years and are greeted with a hero’s welcome.
The band waste no
time bringing the memories back for everyone and open with ‘Break
Stuff’ and ‘My Generation’ and as if by magic, we’re all fifteen
again and for the hour they’re on stage, you’d be mistaken for
thinking you’d suddenly been transported back to the year 2000.
Everyone in the crowd – from Cannibal Corpse fans to My Chemical
Romance fans – is immediately in party mood and I defy anyone not to
get caught up in the sight of that red-cap and not throw their hands up
when they play ‘Rollin’. It’s a great set, drawn almost entirely
from Significant Other and Chocolate Starfish... and the only criticism
may be that it seems to take Fred Durst a little while to get into it
but given how long it’s been since he’s been on a stage, you can
forgive him and after about twenty minutes he gets comfortable and picks
right up where he left off five years ago.
If
you weren’t there then you may not fully understand but for
those who were then it will no doubt go down in Download history
as one of the all-time great performances for many people. The
jock-posturing, teen-angst and nu-metal nostalgia continues as
next up on the main stage are Korn. Always a great live
band whenever I’ve seen them, once again they do not
disappoint.
Despite
the patchiness of some of Korn’s more recent albums, they’re
still able to cull the best of those songs and along with
all-time great anthems such as ‘Falling Away From Me’,
‘Freak On A Leash’ and ‘Blind’, we are treated to a
greatest hits set that is delivered with as much intensity and
passion as ever. Korn are one of the all-time great festival
bands and even though they have suffered the loss of two band
members in recent years this has only served to rejuvenate them
in the live arena and the addition of extra touring musicians
gives their songs an additional depth that was previously
lacking. The end of Korn’s set will have to go by the wayside
however as, before they’ve finished, it’s time to head off
to the 2nd stage for the kings of the sunset strip, Motley
Crue.
With new album Saints of Los
Angeles receiving rave reviews worldwide, we are treated to live
renditions of new Motley Crue songs for the first time in almost a
decade and although we only get two – the title track and new single
‘MF of the Year’ – they sound great but it’s the classics like
‘Kickstart My Heart’, ‘Dr. Feelgood’ and ‘Girls, Girls,
Girls’ that the crowd are primarily here for. And although this is
perhaps not the best the Crue have played (they were undoubtedly better
at this festival two years ago) the crowd faithfully lap it up and cheer
their heroes on despite Vince Neil clearly struggling at times with his
voice and Mick Mars being visibly in that much physical discomfort that
he barely moves the entire time. Despite all this however, they’re
still Motley Crue, they still kick ass and they still put many bands
half their age to shame.
There’s no time to waste once the Crue finish up ‘Home Sweet Home’
and before they’ve even taken their final bows, we’re speeding back
towards the main arena to catch the last hour of Faith No More.
Along with Slipknot, FNM are the primary reason behind the festival
selling out for the first time ever and if there was a high level of
anticipation and curiosity surrounding Limp Bizkit’s appearance then
the level surrounding the first major Faith No More show on these shores
in over a decade has reached fever pitch, especially given frontman Mike
Patton’s reputation for inconsistent and erratic performances that at
times, have taken on Axl Rose-size proportions.
Thankfully, Patton is in a good mood tonight and like the rest of the
band, is on top form. This is something that many here never got the
chance to see before and may never see again and the band certainly rise
to the occasion giving us a set that comprises all the best songs from
the band’s back catalogue (though where was ‘Falling To Pieces’?)
along with some humorous moments, notably an opening cover of Peaches
and Herbs’ ‘Reunited’, an odd but brilliant snippet of ‘Poker
Face’ and re-appearing for their encore to ‘Chariots of Fire’.
There’s no doubting Faith No More’s leftfield brilliance but their
sense of humour and their ability to use this to connect to a crowd in a
way that not many bands can, should not be overlooked. Their intensity
doesn’t fade one bit throughout the set and by the time we enter the
main arena, we are treated to belting versions of ‘Be Aggressive’
and ‘Epic’ among others that thoroughly blow us away though Patton
still doesn’t fully commit to set closer ‘We Care A Lot’ simply
because it’s not his song which is a bit disappointing given the
amount of time that’s passed. However, this is a minor gripe in what
was otherwise a great set and here’s hoping they decided to stay
reunited for a long time to come.
Review and Photos: Adam G
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content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless
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