I have only been to one Carling Weekend before, which was reading 2000, so this is a comparison to just one festival. This year we got to the festival on early thursday morning and set up our 10 or so tents in a BIG circle so we had loads of space(we were the EWOK village for those of you who camped around us - btw, ewok was just a word that made us laugh wen wasted, hence the name). For line ups, this was much better than last year in my opinion (last year i went to see 2 bands, this yea i saw 16). The punk stage was a work of genius and i practically lived in it on the saturday (however, lagwagon pulling out was a major blow). The thing that we were a bit pissed off about was the lack of anarchy on sunday night, mainly because the amount of police around was huge compared to last year. Also they seemed to have tackled the toilets problem by surrounding them by the wooden wall, and setting a security tower up by the one near us. The main dissapointment was the lack of decent headlining bands. I would have been happy if Travis were the last band on sunday, but instead it was Eminem and his minions who i stayed to watch them for one song and eventually felt so f**king p*ssed off that i left, safe in the knowledge that i had witnessed how poor eminem was. Overall i think this festival was incredible, i originally didnt think it was possible to beat last years, but we did, and the ewok village has vowed to return as a town next year! We will be the ones who turn up so early thursday morning taht there is no1 about and we will have stolen all the tent space. come by on a hot day and youll get sprayed with water, which most people appreciated. apart from the police that is. who threatened to nick my friend. anyway, amazing festival, my band list was (* = best performances) fri-the donnas, the living end, pj harvey, eels, greenday(*). sat-rancid, ignite, mad caddies, reel big fish, rocket from the crypt. sun-alien ant farm(*), papa roach, marilyn manson, eminem, d12. see you in 360 days.

Eminem was fantastic. He got the crowd going, played some of his well known songs as well as his lesser known. I'm a big fan of Eminem so this was bound to be the highlight of my weekend, however many people who don't like his music were astounded at how good he was . The fact that he played with D12 made it even better as it was like getting two shows in one. I thought it would have been hard for Eminem to do a live show as a lot of his songs are made up of sounds from synthesisers etc. but the mc was on top form and everything sounded perfect. The cartoon showed was also thoroughly enjoyable and made the gig more variable and entertaining. Thankyou Eminem.

READING When papa roach finally came on they were the best gig of the entire day. Within moments of the first chord being struck up I was hooked and the music and the crowd were really pumped. The music was great the atmosphere was second to none. They performed all of the best from their album infest and coby dick really was performing out on stage! Eminem was the last act of the day and he and D12 really finished off in style. The crowd was mellowed out by this point and everyone there was happy to see eminem in the flesh. He did a great show and the general view was that it was the perfect end to a great day! The organisers should be thanked for lining up such a good show and hosting it well. For anyone who didn't go- you really missed out but i'm sure i'll see you next year.

My first festival. Im not sure if it was so good because Id never been before or it was in actual fact brilliant. The Strokes were perfection, Greenday fantastic, Feeder were the usual Feeder genius, Manics were astounding, Papa Roach were awesome too. Got bored with Marilyn Manson, but that may just be because Im not into that anyway. Camping spirit was just brilliant. B****cks was replaced with 'TIMMY' (South Park) for a few of us. Noodle fights, nice. And of course the loos. What can I say, disgusting. Only to be used in emergencies. (The arena ones were a gift from god.) Going next year? You bet your ass!! TIMMY!!!

and thats about it who i saw. riots on the last nite were fantastic as was looting, finding parties, stealing pegs and i cant wait for next year....or my photees developing,,,,,yeah they'll be here soon

This year was like no other in the history of reading, and the newly born Leeds, because for once their was a band for everyone everyday! okay there was a disappointingly large amount of rap bands attracting the steriotypical 'townie', which littered the camp sites, but metal, peaking in social acknowledgement was in full flow, and punk rock was a new glimmering experience for the festival! Standing out for the rest was the exuberrant metallers System of a down, who's energy and vibrance on stage were enough to win the hearts of even the most cynical Xzibit fans! If you haven't heard of SOAD, their culture and belief is propelled into their moshy music with a cutting edge sharp enough to cut through fear factory's guitarist (which, if you are unaware, he is fat, very fat). It was suprising, crammed in the pit, to see how many people knew the lyrics to classics like sugar, war?, and suite pee, due to lack of radio play and publication. Now with a new album, im certain the Armenian/american gods will be kicked into the limelight, and believe me, they will not disappoint, outsatnding! Other good acts were the forever ageing greenday, who's stage performance was mind-blowing, if you dont like their, rock style punk, then you have to admire their energy and effort to please the thousands watching! Fear Factory, Marilyn Manson & Lost Prophets were grand as they impressed many, also the Punk stage provided much entertainment, as the like's of Good Riddance, Snuff, and Capdown, burst their lungs with musical wizardry, as they won the hearts of many, who incedently were packed into the tent like sardines. Of course with the good, comes the inevitably sh*te! Papa Roach, King Adora, Amen, Travis, Donnas, Eminem, Xzibit, Run DMC, the list goes on, but hey thts just my opinion! But at least they provided humour, as for example Coby Dick, in an attempt to be erratic, lightly tapped his microphone against his head, to show all the naiive Nu metal fans how 'hardcore' he is, ha ha! As for the accomodation, the usual, beans, beer, and burnt porter loos! I was suprised at the humour of some, well most people as "timmy" was flung across camp sites, echoing, and believe me, im very immature, but I copied South Park lines when i was 15! I was even more bemused when Tim Wheeler of ash tried to join in the crap joke, and in the lost pprophets act, naiively thrown into the crowd was the microphone and inevitably the ONLY line that was said was........you guessed it "timmy" anyway, super weekend, extreme 2001 was also rad Keep it up system! Ben Hague

Promising first day, what with Papa Roach, Manson and Eminem back to back, not much else i could hope for, nothing really interested me earlier in the day, although Alien Ant Farm did play a good set in my opinion, making us wait for Smooth Criminal which lived up to expectations. Papa Roach were the ice breakers, they started the ball rolling, what with a mix of those all time favorites Last Resort and Broken Home, plus a few new tunes that leave us waiting for the release of a new album, all in all a good set list. There are not many bands that would be able to support Marilyn Manson easily, but Cobey and his boys managed to achieve this and were widely approved of. Manson, now, this is where im gonna struggle for words, i mean, how can anyone summarise his performance, giving him the justice that he deserves. Yeah, to some narrow minded individuals, he was a freak in a dress, basque, corset etc, but to people who actually open their eyes and watch one of the best performances they may ever see, they were amazing. what with numerous 'costume' changes, endless changes in the stage setting and an altogether brilliant effort made my the main man, how can anyone doubt that this really was the highlight of the weekend. Playing the all time favorites such as Sweet Dreams, Dope Show and Rock is Dead, manson aimed to please, and this he managed with great success, one day this man will get the respect he deserves. After all that Eminem didnt have a chance, yeah, he was good, but half an hour of D12 was uncalled for and a 10 minute cartoon?? was it necessary? suprising set list really, didnt get much of his individual work in, which was a disappointment, cut short Stan, which is probably one of the only times that he had the crowds undivided attention and didnt really seem to be that comfortable throughout the performance, but yeah, he pulled off a half decent show, didnt live up to expectations, but who could folllow Manson n win over the crowd?????? The second day for me was mainly in the Evening session stage, Main stage was looking pretty dull, so, change of scenery. Opening with Easyworld, top band, not too big yet, but hopefully will be soon, selected fans turned up, what with supporting King Adora on their last two tours, they have built a name for themselves. Only played a short set, but was well worth waiting for, Hundredweight and Junkies and Whores, probably the highlights, great band to look out for. Seen Crackout before, wasnt impressed, so didnt stick around to catch them. Next up, King Adora, once again, an amazing band, they manage to pull off a great performance, as always, given 40 minutes, but even before the show we knew they werent gonna last that long, not their style. Same old Maxi, same old Rob, top band. Smoulder, Suffocate, Skinny is sexy, amazing! Nowt else i can say. Amen follows, another top band, Casey Chaos really does know how to put on a good show. Didnt c all the set, kinda got the feeling that id been there, seen that, n nothings really changed, but still, a gud show. Green Day, me not being a big fan, was amazed by both the set list and the performance. Even tho Billy Joel seemed to hav gained a pound or two, this didnt hinder the gig, practically all songs were recognised, (by a non fan) favorites Minority, Waiting, etc etc u can guess the rest, Basketcase i guess was among them, so yeah, amazin band, good side show, its not everyday u see someone set fire to their entire drum kit on stage after beating the living daylights out of it, only to have another one brought out for you, fun. Plus i could tell you three kids that went home with smiles on their faces, what wud u give to play on stage with Green Day? well they got to do it, even tho i think the drummer got a bit carried away. So then we have the choice, Ash or Travis, probably one of the hardest decisions had to make all weekend, but Ash won, yeah ive seen em b4, but id prefer to see an ok band and leave happy, with a good vibe, than c a very good band but leave morbidly. So yeah Ash were cool, playing all the classics that every1 wants to hear, Girl from Mars, Kung Fu, Sometimes, very good set list, shame about the continuos breaks throughout the songs, due to the crowd crushes, God knows why they were playin the tent tho. So yeah neway, very good set, enjoyable to watch, easy listening in a way, good way to end the night. Third day, punk tent, cool some good bands, Reel big Fish played a super set, once again another band that made us wait, Take on Me, came well late into set, but all in all, nice change, good band, good crowd pleasers, fun. My Vitriol, another top band, on their way up, shud be there soon,got some good songs under their belts, Always, Tongue Tied, Grounded, top tunes, plus Som and his antics are always fun to watch. Feeder, well, the Welsh lads did it again, such a fun band to watch, slight change in image for frontman whos lost the blonde, but still old standard, amazin, opening with old favorites and keeping the tempo high throughout, reluctant to play Buck Rogers it seemed, but wildly accepted by the crowd. At times the pit collapsed which didnt go unnoticed by the band, so all in all an amzin perfomance, 'My Perfect Day' an all time favorite of mine, seems to get better as time goes on. Fun Lovin Criminals, not my cup of tea, but yet, pleasing to watch, dint stick around for long, as easily bored, but the fans seemed to enjoy it and i heard nothing but praise from the devoted crowd, played the favorites, but a lot of material played that i didnt recognise, anyway, good band, crowd pleasers. The Manic Street Preachers, hmmm what do u get when u put Nicki Wire with a guitar, fucking good tunes. Enjoyable, once again, not a fan, but even so, im not gonna put em down, they played well, keeping the crowd entertained, started off with more unrecognisable work, but half way thro the set things started gettin better and better, 'Little Baby Nothing', 'If you tolerate this' plus many more to follow, all widely known, equalled a really good set, great end to the whole weekend, couldnt have thought of a better way to close. so yeah, all in all an amazing festival, not sure if it beat last year yet, but it was close, i think Marilyn Manson may just win it for 2001

OH MY GOD! How good was this years reading fesival. It was so good. It was metal, rock and punk at it's best. Travis were great healiners on the first day. Greenday, RUN DMC, Living End and PJ Harvey all rocked the house. Saturday had its great bands. Rancid, OPM, Reel Big Fish and everyone else were all out of this world and a real pleasure to watch. Of-course Sunday was the day that everybody wanted to see and it was as good as everybody thought it would be. It was a real rock day and there were only a few bands that were good enough that people left the main stage for. Those bands were Alien Ant Farm and Godhead. The main stage was the best place to be all day. Boy Hit Car were a brilliant opening band. Everyone went crazy for them and the bands to follow. What was so cool was when Staind did 'Outside' and even though that fat bitch Fred Durst wasn't there, he wan't missed as the crowd's voice was better than fred for the chorus. Then there were some good heavy bands, system of a down, fear factory and (hed)planet earth. The rest of the bands on the bill were brilliant then it was the top 4. Queens Of The Stone Age were great, it was funny with the bass player wearing...erm well nothing. Then Papa Roach came out and put another good performace and i think that left everyone wanting more and oh my...they were getting more. MARILYN MANSON! He came on the stage and everyone went crazy and when i say crazy everyone went fucking insane. He was treated like a god up there and he and the rest of the band sounded great. The songs they did were great and everyone went crazy for them. Then everybody there all gathered around for the guy that was going to close the show. That man is EMINEM! He came out with D12 and if i thought Marilyn was treated like a god then i don't know what eminem was treated like.Something much higher! He and D12 sounded ok but it was better when it was the solo stuff. He did the songs but i wanted him to do some of the stuff that made him slim shady(i.e. my name is and real slim shady) but it was good. The overall weekend was brilliant and i want to go back next year. CHEERS READING!

 LEEDS FRIDAY 24th TNE FIRST DAY WE ARRIVED I WAS FEELING BAD FEELINGS COS IT WAS RAINING, AND AFTER LAST YEARS RAIN I FELT THE WORST, BUT THE RAIN EASED OFF AS THE DAY WENT ON. WE FINALLY GOT IN AFTER CUEING FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AN A HALF FOR OUR WRISTBANDS JUST AS SYSTEM OF A DOWN WERE BEGINNIG THEIR SET, THEY WERE OK, I REALLY JUST WANTED TO HEAR THE SONG SUGAR. I DIDN'T WATCH THE CULT AND I ONLY SAW THE BEGINNING OF XZIBIT SO I COULD LAUGH AT THEM. AFTER THAT WE WENT BACK TO OUR TENT AND GOT A BIT WRECKED BEFORE QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE WHO WERE PRETTY DAMM GOOD. BUT THEN PAPA ROACH CAME ON SO WE RAN AWAY BECAUSE THEY SUCK. WE CAME BACK HALF WAY THROUGH MARILYN MANSON TO MAKE SURE WE WOULDN'T MISS ANY OF EMINIEM AND D12. IN TOTAL I THINK I ENJOYED TWO OF MARILYN MANSONS SONG AND THE REST WERE SHITE, BUT HE PUT ON A PRETTY GOOD SHOW. BY THE TIME EMINIEM AND D12 CAME ON WE WERE WRECKED AND BOOOOMING AWAY, THEY WERE REALLY GOOD, ESPECIALLY IN THE STATE WE WERE IN. AFTER THEY FINISHED WE WENT BACK TO OUR TENT WERE WE FOUND OUR OTHER FRIENDS IN BED WHICH DISGUSTED US. SO WE GOT THEM UP AND CONTINUED TO GET WRECKED UNTIL ABOUT 4 IN THE MORNING. EMINEM WERE PRBABLY THE HIGH LIGHT OF THE DAY AND THE RAIN THE LOWPOINT. ON THE WHOLE NOT A BAD DAY. SATURDAY 25th WE AWOKE FEELING PRETTY DAMN FUCKED UP AT ABOUT 9 IN THE MORNING AND GOT TO THE ARENA IN TIME FOR THE LIVING END WHO I HAD NEVER HEARD OF BUT WERE ACTUALLY VERY GOOD. WE THEN SAW THE STROKES WHO I HAD ALSO NEVER HEARD OF AND WERE ALSO VERY GOOD. AFTER THAT WE WENT TO DO A SPOT OF SHOPPING VISTING ALL THE BONG SHOPS AND PICKING UP VARIOUS ITEMS TO REMEMBER THE WEEKEND BY. WE THEN SAT DOWN AND WATCHED IGGY POP WHO WAS PROBABLEY THE LAMEST PERSON I EVER HAVE AND WILL SEE LIVE. SO WHILE THAT FILTHY LITTLE SMACKHEAD WAS PRANCING AROUND MAKING A KNOB OF HIMSELF WE SAT OFF AND ONC AGAIN BEGAN TO GET WRECKED. PJ HARVEY WAS ALSO PRETTY LAME. THEN WHEN GREEN DAY CAME ON I WAS STRAIGHT DOWN TO THE CROWD AND BOOMING AWAY TO WHAT WAS ONE THE BEST BANDS I HAVE SEEN LIVE. BILLY JOE PUT ON A REALLY GOOD SHOW FOR THE CROWD. AND WHEN HE ASKED FOR A DRUMMER TO COME AND PLAY ON STAGE I WAS STRAIGHT AWAY CROWD SURFING TOWARDS THE FRONT BECAUSE BEING A DRUMMER A WOULD HAVE LIKED NOTHING MORE THAN TO DO IT, BUT AS I GOT RIGHT TO THE FRONT OF THE CROWD HE PICKED SOMEONE LITERALLY 5 METERES AWAY ME. WHICH PISSED ME OFF. SO I JUST MADE DO WITH ENJOYING THE REST OF THE SHOW. AFTER THAT I RETURNED TO THE HILL SURROUNDING THE STAGE TO WHERE MY FRIEND ANDY WAS WAITING. WE SAT ALL THE WAY THROUGH TRAVIS PRACTICALLY IN SILENCE JUST APPRECIATING THE GOOD MUSIC AND THE DRUGS IN OUR BODIES. THEY WERE DEAD GOOD. WHEN THEY FINISHED WE RETURNED TO OUR TENT AND ONCE AGAIN CONTINUED TO GET FUCKED UNTIL THE EARLY MORNING. THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY WERE GREEN DAY AND TRAVIS AND THE LOW POINTS, THE GENERAL FUCKED UP FEELING FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY AND THE ACHE IN MY ASS, BUT ONCE AGAIN A PRETTY GOOD DAY. SUNDAY 26th WE AWOKE WITH ROCKS DIGGING IN OUR BACKS AND THE SOUND OF HUNG OVER PEOPLE MOPING AROUND OUR TENT. ONCE AGAIN I WAS FEELING RATHER FUCKED UP BACAUSE I WAS SUFFERING WITH HAYFEVER, BUT LUCKILY THAT DISSAPEARED AFTER TIME WENT ON. WE DIDN'T GO TO THE ARENA UNTIL RANCID CAPDOWN PLAYED WHO WERE AMAZING. THEN WE WENT TO SEE RANCID WHO WERE EQUALLY AMAZING. AFTER THAT WERE FEEDER AND WHO WERE OK BUT PESONALLY I FOUND THEM A BIT BORING, THEN AFTER THAT WAS SUPERGRASS WHO WERE QUITE GOOD BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER THEM THAT WELL. WE THEN STRUCK A PROBLEM, WE WERE PRETTY MUCH OUT OF DRUGS. SO WE MADE DO WITH JUST LISTENING TO THE MUSIC FUN LOVING CRIMINALS WERE THE NEXT BAND UP WHO WRERN'T THAT INSPIREING SO I LEFT HALF WAY THROUGH TO GO AND SEE REAL BIG FISH IN THE CONCRETE JUNGLE STAGE. THEY WERE AMAZING. I RETURNED ONCE AGAIN TO MY FRIEND ANDY ON THE HILL JUST AS MANIC STREET PREACHERS WERE STARTING. JUDGING BY THEIR FIRST SONG I THOUGHT THEY MIGHT BE QUITE GOOD, BUT THEY TURNED OUT TO BE ABSOULUTE CRAP. JUST BEFORE THE END OF THEM WE DECIDED TO GET OFF BECAUSE WE WERE NOT STAYING ANOTHER NIGHT. SO WE THEN HAD ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF WALK TO MEET MY APRENTS WHO WERE TAKING US HOME. THE HIG POINTS OF THE DAY WERE CAPDOWN, RANCID AND REAL BIG FISH AND THE LOW POINTS WERE RUNNING OUT OF DRUGS TOO EARLY AND THE MONSTER LONG WALK WITH ALL OUR GEAR AT THE END. ON THE WHOLE NOT A BAD DAY BUT THE FIRST TWO WERE BETTER. OVERALL I HAD AN AMAZING WEEKEND AND A GREAT EXPERIANCE I THINK I CAN SPEAK FOR MY FRIEND ANDY ON THAT ONE AS WELL. THE HIGH LIGHTS OF THE WEEKEND WERE EMINIEM AND D12, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, GREEN DAY, TRAVIS, CAPDOWN, REAL BIG FISH, RANCID AND THE DRUGS. THE LOW POINTS WERE THE MORNINGS THE RAIN ON THE 1ST DAY, THE TOILETTES, IGGY POP, PAPA ROACH, AND THE WALKING. APART FROM THAT IT WAS A GREAT WEEKEND AND A GREAT END TO THE SUMMER. ANDY THOMPSON.

Oh my god, Leeds is so much better than Reading! why, leeds has more trees, and the bands tell us we are better, the soft north are no match to us, Right, to the review, on thursday, i just got stoned and pissed, and made up 2.6, on the metal road wiv my mates. the first day, well opened by BOYHITSCAR, the singer was lovin it, then the festival got harder when the mad (hed)P.E. came on to form a class mosh pit. i went to another stage then, and came back for S.O.A.D and fear factory who played in the rain, then later on that night the two most talked about acts, maralyn manson + eminem, i watched on the hill 4 a while (leeds had a hill, reading doesnt!) then i went to my tent to do illigal things with an illigal substance, and consume som vodka, we went and formed a circle on the metal road! any one remember us?? 2.6????, the second daay wsa class, green day. AAF, and the rest, more pissed-ness and stuff, on sunday, good music, but hell, were those riots good, we beat the police, and bombarded a burgervan and stole cheese, and did bad stuff which bad people do, then we got more pissed, my mate cut his habnd, so we went to the hospital tent, then we got more pissed, slept, woke up, and went home and slept. does anyone remember 2.6, form garstang, we were the ones who were jumping all the bins, and poles, and people, and we were on that metal road ll the time, e-mail me if u remember me pleeeeez!! c ya next year leeds!

READING Just One thing to start off with...PROUD MARY RULE!!! Me mates and my self went to Reading this year, and the 1st 2 days ruled! but the last day was pretty poor! EMINEM headlining!! Do me a favor! its a ROCK festival! Travis were realy good on the first night, much better than i expected. The crowd were entertaind all the way trough. Manics! well, what can i say! The band of the weekend! my mate went to Cuba and saw the manics there! how lucky is he?? and how lucky am i, i got to the front for both bands! Feeder were totaly amazing! moshed all the way trough! and it was an experiance! Proud Mary were in the carling stage, my mates and i went to see what they were like! and they were awesome!! we all got to the front and it was chilln' retro indie!! Fun Lovin' Crimminals were cool! we sat down and chilled to them round a camp fire made from them cups! The only good thing about the last day was Marilyn Manson! Anouther Band of the weekend was GREENDAY! they were amazing! the show was brilliant! getting the lads up on stage and play was brill! but as im a drummer i dint realy agree with burning the drum kit! but what the hell it was an expeiance i will never forget! The Eels were chillin' and i enjoyed them alot! My mate Jimi wanted to go and see Terris, but as it was the 1st gig on i couldny realy mosh on a hangover that i had! but im glad i didnt mosh! They were terrible! i didnt like them atall! HA and as for the Strokes, they were majorly Hyped up too much, they were good, but the hype was too much! The Donnas came out with some stupit jokes that just wernt funny and not alot of people liked them! DONT bring them back!!! We didnt go and see Ash even though i would have liked to. but i thought im more likely to see an Ash gig, then a Travis gig, so i thought this might be the only chance i will see Travis! Anouther band that impressed me was HELL IS FOR HEROES. Again i got to the front and they were billiant, the mosh pit, awesome also! My mates and I cant wait till 2002, and we are going to Glasto as well. but i just hope there is going to be some wicked bands at Reading and more Indie, and i wish that all 3 days will rock like 2000!!

What a surprise this was! Thousands of goths and metalheads decended on Reading for Sunday's lineup. Many, myself included,who were going to see Fear Factory and Marilyn Manson were pleasantly surprised of how well the day started. Boyhitscar do admittidly have a good rep for their live shows, but at Reading I think they exceeded everybodies expectations. They truely did get the pit warmed up nicely and totally overshadowed the suposedly more talented next band Staind. It wasn't just "Toploaders" (vocals) wild antics, they are purely a great band with good songs, something QOTSA could learn from. Manson was undoubtably the best act there, but Boyhitscar were definitely more than just a support act.

TICKETS

CLICK HERE 

CLICK HERE TO FIND LOVE