OFWGKTA - Reading Festival 2012 review

'An enjoyably unhinged set'

Chris Eustace - 25 August 2012

Any security back from last year’s Reading know they’re going to have to earn their money during Odd Future’s set, and as Hodgy Beats and Mike G begin things with a track or two from their Mellowhype project, a fearsome circle pit is already in operation down the front.

Things go ballistic when provocateur-in-chief Tyler,The Creator bounds onto the stage for ‘French’, and it’s not long before various OFWGKTA members are in the crowd. It’s almost comedic watching the security chase after them, though they get a comeuppance of sorts for mock-grinding against female security members, with Tyler complaining “someone grabbed my dick!” after one particular foray.

While things might get puerile at times, ‘Rella’ shows off the collective’s rapid-fire abilities on the mic, while Tyler’s compulsive ‘Yonkers’, unsurprisingly the highlight of the set, remains one of the most arresting singles of the past few years.

‘La Bonita’ once again gives the underrated Mellowhype some deserved attention, and it’s an inspired idea to invite uncompromising US hardcore kingpins Trash Talk onstage to add even more power to ‘Radicals’ with it’s addictive if somewhat blunt chant of “Kill People, Burn Shit, Fuck School!”

When their singer Lee Spielman invites people to storm the stage, security move in more closely to prevent that happening, as those onstage move back down to the floor to shake hands with the thwarted would-be stage invaders as they’re hauled away.

Whether they’ve overstepped the mark or simply run over time, the mics are cut off as the falling-down-the-stairs beats of ‘Sandwitches’ start up. Despite a chorus of boos, the sound is not turned back on. While that would have been a much better way to round things off, it’s a suitably chaotic ending to an enjoyably unhinged set.

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