mises of a feature in their upcoming documentary for a job well done. It was an engaging performance, which is what live music is all about
- interacting with the audience and making the
most of the platform.
16:50 - With the exception of Butcher Babies,
THE QEMISTS were the most energetic band
I saw all weekend; their electro-rock had the
crowd bouncing up and down almost incessantly. There was so much energy and movement
on stage, they just did not stop! They certainly
got the best crowd reaction I saw all weekend
on Jake’s stage. They were so tight and so heavy
that I was thrilled that I got to enjoy their whole
set. It was practically impossible to not move
to these guys; the whole crowd was bouncing.
It was refreshing to have something different
amidst the plethora of rock and metal available
and these guys absolutely smashed it.
brutality that followed really blew me away and
created an instant fan. Their energy was immense; they did not stop moving and both Heidi
and Carla got right up to the barrier in the faces
of the audience. Twice I got whipped in the face
by Heidi’s hair. Part way through their second
song, Carla came on stage with a giant inflatable
cock and tossed it into the audience.
They have a heavy, heavy sound if you’ve not
heard them before, check them out. If you can,
go see them live.
18:25 - IN FLAMES did not pull a crowd as large
as I thought they would considering the break
between Slash and Mötley Crüe. They still delivered a great performance although the audience
interaction seemed strained at times, but Fridén
worked with it fairly well. They certainly benefited from the sound of the Zippo Encore stage,
sounding as heavy live as they do recorded.
19:00 - MÖTLEY CRÜE, opened with ‘Saints Of
Los Angeles’. It was an honour to see the selfproclaimed “world’s most notorious rock band”.
They sifted through the classics, and it was no
surprise to see they were joined on stage by
some female dancers. Nikki Sixx rocked a microphone that was suspended in the air.
19:15 - I headed over to Jake’s stage to catch
BUTCHER BABIES. I did not see them coming!
I was taken aback when Heidi and Carla came
on and really didn’t know what to expect. The
21:05 - From the very first moments, I knew
KISS were going to be amazing and was getting
excited just watching them make their way to
the stage. I stayed to enjoy their opening track
‘Detroit Rock City’ before heading over to see
Enter Shikari.
21:15 - Headlining the Zippo Encore stage,
ENTER SHIKARI put on a f*cking monster of a
show and had pulled a hefty crowd away from
‘the greatest band on earth’ - the only reason
some people are not here, as I overheard, is because “Enter Shikari are young and have plenty
of time left to play.” Over the years, their pioneering sound has matured and, I would even
go so far as to say, perfected. The lighting was
fantastic, complementing every riff breakdown
and double kick-drum blast. I catch the fantastic,
melodic, bounce-fest ‘The Last Garrison’, a track
17:20 - SLASH featuring Myles Kennedy and The
Conspirators, drew what appeared to be, most
of the Download crowd and delivered a stunning performance worthy of his reputation. For
‘The Dissident’, Slash donned a double necked
Gibson SG. He then pulled another out for ‘Anastasia’, but this time stepped it up with a standard
electric and electro-acoustic duo. ‘You Could