Reading 2002 - Sunday

United Kingdom | by Raymond Sayer | 25 August 2002

Let's be honest here - Reading has always appeared to devote one day (at least partially) to the joys of RAWK, possibly in homage to its big-haired Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler-lovin' past; even so, today's line-up is a little on the homogenous side. We're talking a welter of 'angst'-ridden metal (Amen, Raging Speedhorn, Slipknot), 'zany' punk-pop (Reel Big Fish)...and, cast perplexingly in their midst, Cornershop and Death Cab for Cutie.

I'm not too sure of the wisdom of this kind of musical ghettoising - judging by the (suddenly) much younger age-group in evidence, all Korn hoodies and voluminous jeans, there's a sizeable portion of the audience who've come just for Incubus et al. But if part of the fun of festivals is being exposed to bands you wouldn't expect to enjoy, and maybe coming away with widened musical horizons, being served up all your favourite nu-metal bands in one convenient Main Stage TV dinner is a little conservative. It also means those who are less enamoured with the whole 'lowslung jeans 'n' grunting' brigade have to sit through an awful lot of the stuff in search of diversion. Can you tell which side of the divide I'm placing myself here?

Things get off to a vaguely promising start on the Carling Stage with Rotherham's This Girl, who are a little bit punk, a little bit emo, and a little bit (whisper it) nu metal...but who don't forget to throw some harmonies and an appealing sense of melancholy into the mix. It's proficient stuff, if a little short on the things (surprise, humour, a willingness to mess with the audience's expectations) that make for great music. It's likeable, but a tad underwhelming.

On the Main Stage, Raging Speedhorn are grunting. A lot. While a vortex of treacle-thick distortion swirls in the background. Nice if your main consideration is annoying your parents, but a little wearying over time; I'm afflicted by the sudden sense that I'm turning into the kind of old fogey who would've said the Ramones songs all sounded the same in '76, so I stick around and listen for a while, trying to train myself into appreciating the dynamics of the songs, the subtle distinctions between them. But the payoff doesn't seem worth it, and I go for a pint instead.