The Tobester & Gs Download 2011 Preview Part 2

Day 2 – Saturday – Download Festival Preview 2011

All I can say is it will start with Skin* on the acoustic stage, and end with the incredible return of the mighty System of a Down on the main stage.

*Now the times have been published, it looks like we can squeeze in The Rods (NWOBHM) and a bit of Houston (new AOR!) on the 3^rd Stage, plus Intraverse on 5^th (Acoustic) stage before Skin start.  Bonus!

Everything in between is still up for grabs – which is great if we make some good decisions along the way, but could lead to some soul searching.

Skin (The band!) Celebrate England Being Knocked out of the World Cup – Jagermeister Acoustic Stage Download 2010

This is where I recall a posting on the Download website forum (http://forums.downloadfestival.co.uk/) giving some great advice – go with your heart.  Go and see who means the most to you above all else. 

Usually, this means I’ll see older bands who I’ve always wanted to see (AC/DC, Faith No More), or haven’t seen for ages (ZZ Top, Whitesnake) rather than those who might be great but still up and coming (Shinedown, Million $ Reload).

The rationale behind this being that it may be the last time you’ll ever see the ‘older’ band, whereas the new band most likely will be around for a while and you’ll get to see some other time.  The perfect example would be Shinedown – sacrificed in 2009 in favour of ZZ Top – Shinedown then toured the UK and we got to see them (and the awesome Soil!) at the Wolves Wulfrun a few months later.

The only time I DIDN’T follow this rule, it all went a bit pear shaped…

Both of us like 30 Seconds to Mars, but Gina particularly.  30STM headlined the second stage last year, which meant they started 15 minutes before Rage Against the Machine were due to headline main…and I fell for RATM I think in the early 90’s on a muffly old cassette played in a rusty 1983 Ford Fiesta on the way to the Milton Keynes Bowl with my brother to see Metallica / Megadeth et al (only ruined slightly by Alice in Chains not showing up due to Layne Staley’s ‘ill health’ – but that’s another story for another day).

So I thought I’d do the honourable thing and stay with Gina even after RATM had started.  The biggest problem was that where we were stood, in between songs you could catch the unmistakeable sound of Rage.  It was pure agony.  I like 30STM – but Rage as I said are indelibly etched into my ‘rock heritage’…

The Exact Moment I’d Had Three Times as much as I Could Take of Jared Leto.

After a couple of songs I just couldn’t take it anymore.

Gina was fine though with me leaving her to go and watch Rage – she’s a big girl now - so with a parting kiss and a ‘meet over there when they finish’ she went to get closer to Jared and co, and I sloped off the join the masses and ‘not do as they tell me’.  At least that was the plan.

I could tell when 30STM had finished when the sizable 2^nd stage crowd started to mingle at the back of the main stage fans.  So, as I planned, I dutifully went to our meeting spot.  No sign of G.  Another song later, still no sign.  By the time the 2^nd Stage field was empty, I was going into over reaction ‘man panic’ mode – she’s been squashed – arrested – kidnapped – abducted by aliens - perhaps all four.

And so, because I didn’t follow the cardinal rule (follow your heart…), because I’d been ambiguous with ‘meet you when they finish’, and because goddamn mobile phones at huge festivals seem to throw your texts and calls into the night sky never to be seen again (thanks O2), I spent the next 30 minutes trotting to and from the campsite looking for G – missing the huge bombastic killer songs such as ‘Freedom’  and the ultimate crowd fave ‘Killing in the Name’.   And all of this time G had been sensibly watching RATM expecting to meet me after ‘they’ had finished, at our meeting place.

Which she did, with a ‘Did you enjoy Rage?  Why are you out of breath?’.  No fudging comment.

Rage Against The Machine 2010 Headliners. A Distant Memory. And View.

So that’s why you have to avoid breaking the golden rule.  It spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

So after the not-yet-quite-retired Skin (who were awesome last year, both on the acoustic and 3^rd stage) we can catch the end of wacky country rockers Boss Hoss before the real fun starts with the incredible Rock Sugar on 2^nd.

If you’ve never checked these guys out, get it done - Rock Sugar mash pop tunes with rock classics so magically that you almost don’t notice…so be careful not to sing along to Madonna or Britney – and try to stick to Metallica or Guns’n’Roses.  I know on paper it doesn’t work – but believe me, both live and recorded it works a treat.

Trivia for parents and the young at heart: frontman Jess Harnell, sporting both a big hat and big voice, is ‘famous’ for being the voice of Wakko on Animaniacs, while guitarist and vocalist Chuck Duran amazingly lends his singing voice to lead singer Derek Jupiter in ‘I’m in the Band’.  Pedigree indeed ;-)

From Cartoon Heroes to Rock Gods.  Rock Sugar Download 2010.

The next four bands, all on 2^nd stage, are a strange mix of old and older.  The mellow pop-rocker Dan Reed (See Dan Reed Network’s ‘Rainbow Child’) is followed by the mighty stoner / hard rock / blues veterans Clutch.  The riff-tastic ‘Electric Worry’ from 2007s From Beale Street to Oblivion is still a favourite on rock radio, and having already sacrificed Clutch in 2009 I’m looking forward bigtime to this one.

Up next is Dio Disciples.  Consisting of former members of Ronnie James Dio’s band, Dio, this promises to be a celebration of Dio’s work and if done well (I’ve no doubt it will be!) could provoke a sea of Ronnie’s trademark ‘devil horns’ to classics from albums such as ‘Holy Diver’ and ‘The Last in Line’.

To finish our stay on 2^nd Stage is Mr Big, recently re-formed and featuring the fretwork of Paul Gilbert, can pull from a long back catalogue including breakthrough album ‘Lean Into It’ from 1991 to this years very strong ‘What If’.

And this is where we will probably make our way over to the main stage, and join the big crowd for the remainder of Skunk Anansie. Striking female singer Skin saw the light in 2009 and got back to rock band ways after a few years going solo.  Having seen Skunk Anansie back in 2000, we’ll be keen to see if they still have that edge, with the newer material being more mellow than for example 1996’s ‘Stoosh’.

Making a major return to Donington are Avenged Sevenfold.  Celebrating the 10^th anniversary of their 2001 debut ‘Sounding the Seventh Trumpet’, A7X are back at Download for the first time since the untimely death of their original drummer Jim ‘The Rev’ Sullivan.  Replaced first by ex-Dream Theater tub-thumper Mike Portnoy, drumming duties are now taken by Arin Ilejay.

Hats Off to Download 2010 Friday Headliners AC/DC

Last and by remotely no means least are Saturday’s headliners System of a Down.

The darlings of alt-metal in the early noughties, both singer Serj Tankian and guitarist Daron Malakian went solo, with a modicum of success, before finally succumbing to demand and reforming the now legendary SOAD with this Download being their first appearance outside the US since reforming a few months ago.

SOAD supported Black Sabbath at their Reunion Tour in 1999, and I was lucky enough to see them in December at the Birmingham NEC.  Having no prior knowledge, I was blown away by their stage presence and the power of the songs – and I’m so chuffed to be able to see them again a whole 12 years later!

Part 3 appearing at a computer screen near you soon...

Words : Tobester 2011-06-06

All Pics : Gina Tudor 2009/2010