FESTIVAL: Reading Below. The Joy Formidible worked the crowd; Festival Republic’s MD Melvin Benn; the security staff and crowds brave the British weather; FOH at Reading and Fly By Nite’s trucks solved logistic issues.


deployed a Kinesys system which consisted of 12 1Ton Kinesys enabled Lifkets (duplicated to assist overnight rigging in Reading), controlled by a Kinesys control system, plus 14 more Atomic 3000 Strobes and a host of moving lights including eight High End Showbeam 2.5’s and eight Showgun 2.5’s, 16 Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash FX, 11 Martin MAC III Spots, 33 Martin MAC 301 LEDs, and eight Thomas Pixel Line 1044 LED Battens. Pulp requested six more Vari-Lite VL3500


Wash FX, 10 4-Lite Molefays, and 11 Atomic 3000 strobes. The Strokes required eight High End Showgun 2.5’s, six Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash FX, 28 ColorBlaze 72’s, six 8-Lite Molefays and six Atomic 3000 Strobes and Colour Scrollers. One thing notable about Reading 2011 was


the average age of the punters, which seemed younger than in recent years. Hillyard confirms that while this may be the case, it’s generally been the same at all UK festivals throughout the summer season. “The crowds are very different these days.


Six years ago, there was a definite Reading crowd, in the same way that there was a definite Download crowd and a V Festival


70 • TPi OCTOBER 2011


crowd,” he explained. “Some of the smaller festivals are still very genre-specific, but the mainstreams have become very similar in that sense. What also stood out for me at this year’s Reading was how the much younger crowd went absolutely ballistic when Madness took to the stage. It was fantastic to see that interaction between two completely different generations.”


HISTORICALLY RESPECTED Hillyard also believes that because the quality of the line-up is always so good, and the event is so well respected historically, when a band plays Reading or Leeds, they have this instant feeling that they’ve really made it. Melvin Benn agrees, and suggests that picking the right line-up can sometimes define an event entirely. “The core for Reading is to make it socially


relevant for the audience, and that’s something we do a lot of at Festival Republic,” said Benn. “Neil Pengelly is the person who brings in the acts and books the stages, and we are just constantly trying to maintain the best line-up throughout the course of the year.” A lot was said about Reading tickets taking a lot longer to sell out this year than in previous


years, which, arguably, could be down to the influx of festivals popping up all over the UK. It could, of course, just be down to the current financial climate. In a different light, however, many music


fans across the UK have ditched their routine seven days or so in Marbella this year, preferring to invest their holiday funds in a long weekend traipsing about in mud listening to live music in the pouring rain. Surely that’s a big thumbs-up for the UK’s live music sector, and its festival scene? Benn agrees, it seemed: “There is always room for the smaller festivals, I’m absolutely certain of it,” he concluded. “And if you think of what you can get from a major festival compared to a holiday, it’s amazing value for money. You’ve got as many as five or six days of camping on some occasions, and all of the best bands that exist playing at the same venue. Why wouldn’t people opt for the festival?” Why not, indeed? TPi


Photography: Bart Pettman, Andy Sheppard, Ryan Mason,


Brendan Docherty & Simon Moss. www.readingfestival.com


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