Sunday 26/08/07 Day Three @ Reading Festival, Richfield Avenue, Berkshire

The toilets are rapidly becoming inhospitable and that distinctive smell of vinegar mixed with sweat is now rampant throughout the Reading site which means it must be the last day of the festival.  The blinding sun and lack of clouds might have been welcome if there was anywhere to shelter but after yesterday’s scorcher the revellers are now emerging from their tents with a tinge of lobster to them.

Sunday is traditionally metal day at Reading so it is slightly odd to see a rap act like Gym Class Heroes opening the main stage.  Their links to Fall Out Boy are of course well known however and they beef up their tracks with rockier elements.  ‘Cupid’s Chokehold’ sees a clutch of young girls storming towards the stage but there is a bit more to them than just that.  Their stage presence is excellent and they look like they’re really enjoying their moment in the spotlight. 

Hadouken! represent something very different over on the Radio 1 stage. Their rap-dance-indie-pop mix relies on the high tempo and energy they create.  Their sound is fresh and exciting although it does occasionally feel like you’re listening to a Super Nintendo game sound track rather than a band.  Amusingly the highlight is when they ask for the crowd to split down the middle and instead of jumping into one another they ask for a dance off between the two sides.  Unfortunately there was no sign of the caterpillar dance in the middle they had kindly asked for.

The main stage meanwhile is about to finally get some metal as Billy Talent take the stage.  Very few bands all weekend manage to replicate Billy Talent’s intensity or, for that matter, hyperactivity.  ‘This Is How It Goes’ remains a fantastic opener while ‘Try Honesty’ and ‘Fallen Leaves’ draw huge reactions from a rabid audience.  The giant circle pit which builds as ‘Red Flag’ closes the set shows the dedication they demand.

The Used have never been able to polish their live act in the same way Billy Talent have.  Bert McCracken falters in his display and the sloppy sound ruins key parts of ‘Take it Away’.  Their new tracks like ‘Liar Liar (Burn in Hell)’ seem like weak imitations of their early work and they fail to impress or progress from where they were when they played back in 2002.

The evolution of Funeral for a Friend means that their set today could divide fans greatly.  Their older, harder and rougher material looks like a different band in the face of polished new emo album ‘Tales Don’t Tell Themselves’.  They have retained the fans though it seems with a big crowd forming as they open with ‘Oblivion’.  Naturally the set leans towards their new opus rather than their older material but ‘She Drove me to Daytime TV’ is a real highlight.  Technical problems don’t help them but FFAF hold their heads high in a set which showed a more mature side to the band.

Fall Out Boy aren’t exactly famed for their live shows and the muffled beginning of ‘Thriller’ hardly helps.  They are by no means polished live performers and Patrick Stump never sounds quite like he does on record.  Thus they use the unexpected to make them a more exciting live band.  Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory’s vocals are utilised to add depth on ‘I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy...’ while they also play a deluge of covers.  R Kelly and Michael Jackson are all replicated in Fall Out Boy’s own style while ‘Saturday’ remains a riotous set closer with Travis McCoy from Gym Class heroes lending a hand.  If not polished, it was a must see set nonetheless.