Reading Festival then.. not bad, definitely popular, well behaved crowd of mainly ( but not all ) under 22’s, all polite, all swearing less than the artists on stage. As a generalisation I’d say there was a inverse direct ratio of IQ and amount of swear words used. ( If that confused you, it means that the thicker they are, with the smaller amount of words in their available vocabulary, the more they say Fuck instead ). It didn’t used to be that acceptable to swear on stage to kids in the crowd, but now there is no one moderating it and anything goes. NERD and Dua Lupa are prime examples – thick as arseholes ( as my Dad would say ) , so just say Fuck ( you/ ‘ed Up/ off/‘ ing jump/ etc ) to compensate.
Sum 41 were good, and Panic at the Disco had about an hour set which they deserved. I reckon the organisers were a bit short of acts this year, so bands got longer than they might have merited.
We only went for the day, and I’d say Sunday is a better day ( it’s the middle of the bank holiday long weekend ) but it’s raining today so Wendy and I lucked out.
Pissed and off their heads teenagers were not particularly in evidence, so that was unexpected ( given what im told it’s like ).
I don’t think this generation of teens have any idea at all about what is truly bad behaviour, unlike my youth in South Wales, so they’re all pretty vanilla really. If you took 30,000 of my contemporaries and at 17 put them all in the same field and gave them loads of money for drinks, it would have been absolute mayhem and complete anarchy. A handful of overweight stewards in their 20’s would have been totally insignificant and far better off running for their own lives.
So from the ridiculous to the sublime, we are going to see Britney Spears tonight ( August 26th – perhaps my most memorable ever August 26th, we’ll see ). I’d predict that Ms Spears at 37 has got her shit together quite well again, but who knows.. well I shall in about 7 hours time. Shes undoubtedly still sexy, but now mature too, so it does intrigue me a bit!
Reading Saturday 5/10 on thé Russ Gig Rating, btw.
As a contemporary of yours, I can assure you that when my girlfriends and I went to Reading Festival back in the 20th century, when we were 22ish, we did indeed cause mirth and mayhem and try our hardest to drink the bars dry. I will tell no tales, (what happens at Reading stays at Reading,) but it was big fun. I’m sure you can imagine.