Festival: Download, Donington Park

Artists:  AC/DC, Tyketto, Lawnmower Deth, Anathema, Danny Vaughn 

Date:  11 June 2010 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months then you will no doubt be aware that the first day has been reduced due to the addition of the world’s biggest rock band to the bill and there’s no doubt that AC/DC’s presence looms large over the festival in both a positive and negative way, but more on that later... To kick off the weekend, we decide to ease into proceedings by heading over to the new acoustic stage to check out a set from Tyketto frontman Danny Vaughn.  Obviously with only a short amount of time to play with, the set is mostly Tyketto classics that we will no doubt be hearing in their electric form in a couple of hours time but we also get a pleasant surprise when Vaughn decides to throw in an acoustic cover of Dio’s ‘Last In Line’ in tribute to the great man who gets more dedications and tributes this weekend than we can count and quiet rightly so.

This isn’t about trying to improve on the original (even Vaughn himself admits that this wouldn’t be possible), this is about paying homage to such an influential man that will be sorely missed and without whom, so many bands on the bill this weekend would not even exist.

Next, we head around the corner to catch ex-goths Anathema who are now plying their trade in a much more prog fashion (singer Vince Cavanagh even cheekily acknowledges that ‘they used to be a metal band’). They play well and of course ‘Fragile Dreams’ gets quite a few singing along but in general, they fail to really ignite the crowd as their ambient and moody brand of rock is a little bit lost on such a sunny afternoon. We then pay our first visit of the weekend to the relocated 3^rd stage for what becomes a triumphant return for comedy-thrashers Lawnmower Deth. 

Having been a surprise yet ultimately genius addition to the bill last year, Mansfield’s finest export are back and it looks like word has spread as the tent is rammed in anticipation. And the band don’t disappoint, with everyone leaving with a giant grin on their faces after bearing witness to, amongst other things, a man in a giant rabbit suit (‘Sumo Rabbit and his Inescapable Trap of Doom’), a conga because apparently a Mexican wave is ‘too easy’ (‘Ooh Crikey’) and a crowd-surfing race from front to back (‘Perv Happenings in the Snooker Hall’) as well other delightfully-titled songs such as ‘Watch out Grandma, Here Comes a Lawnmower’, ‘F.A.T. (Fascist and Tubby)’, ‘Flying Killer Cobs from the Planet Bob’, ‘Icky Ficky’ and set-closer ‘Satan’s Trampoline’. One of the most enjoyable sets of the festival and if you’re the kind of person who likes a break from taking their metal too seriously, then Lawnmower Deth are the band for you. 

We stay at the 3rd stage for Danny Vaughn’s second appearance of the day, this time in his day job fronting Tyketto.  Both solo and within a band, Vaughn is a great frontman who soon has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand (particularly the ladies, it seems!) and the band play a set so slick, polished and tight it’s like they’ve never been away. ‘Wings’, ‘Strength in Numbers’ and the anthemic set-closer ‘Forever Young’ nearly take the roof off the tent and the band leave with the good news that 2011 will see a new Tyketto album. We can’t wait!

After some food and a bit of a rest, it’s time. The world’s biggest rock band are about to take the stage for the most eagerly-awaited set of the whole weekend and you can cut the anticipation with a knife. The inclusion of AC/DC this year at Download has not come without its fair share of controversy as the festival organisers have had to make many concessions to the band to secure them. Not only do they have an entirely separate stage erected just for them and a reduced amount of bands on the same day (not to mention that none of these bands will be playing at the same time as AC/DC), all the promotion for the festival has advertised the Friday as their show and when you enter the arena and discover that the band are not even on the official festival t-shirts (hell, they’re not even on the 30^th anniversary shirts which have every previous Donington headliner on the back) or the official stage-time laminates, you get the very distinct feeling that the band see today as just that – THEIR show. One look at the forums before the festival and you can see that this has not sat well with many fans, with many people seeing this as an act of not only unabashed arrogance but also of disrespect to a festival that, in its previous form, did so much for AC/DC’s career in the past.

While this point can be debated all day long, one thing cannot be denied is the enormous queue outside the gates under the banner ‘day tickets only’. Once the legends take the stage, any resentment towards them is forgotten and nobody can deny that they do put on an amazing show. Visually, the spectacle of an AC/DC show is second only to Kiss as the band take the stage to fireworks and the sight of a giant train seemingly crashing through the back of the stage as they open with ‘Rock N Roll Train’ and immediately get the crowd going absolutely ballistic, so much so that it’s amazing nobody was seriously hurt during their set. After moving back to safer ground we can now fully appreciate the enormousness of the show – the huge devil horns atop of the stage, the giant AC/DC bell that descends for ‘Hells Bells’, the gargantuan inflatable lady straddling the aforementioned train for ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’, Angus ascending up to the sky on a platform for ‘Let There Be Rock’ and of course the obligatory cannons for set-closer ‘For Those About To Rock’ (and we’re still trying to forget the sight of Angus stripping to ‘The Jack’!). While much of the set is drawn from the classic albums, the strength of the Black Ice material is clear with songs such as the title track, ‘War Machine’, ‘Big Jack’ and of course ‘Rock N Roll Train’ sitting comfortably alongside all the hits, with the crowd singing along to every word. At the end of the set, the general consensus seems to be that it was worth it and everyone walks away with a smile, still singing and dancing along to ‘Highway to Hell’ long into the night.

Setlist – 1.Rock N Roll Train, 2.Hell Ain’t a Bad Place To Be, 3.Back In Black, 4.Big Jack, 5.Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, 6.Shot Down In Flames, 7.Thunderstruck, 8.Black Ice, 9.The Jack, 10.Hells Bells, 11.Shoot To Thrill, 12.War Machine, 13.High Voltage, 14.You Shook Me All Night Long, 15.T.N.T, 16.Whole Lotta Rosie, 17.Let There Be Rock.   Encore – 18.Highway to Hell, 19.For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

Review and Photos by: Adam Grindrod

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