Friday, July 11, 2008

T in the Park highlights on TV

BBC has extensive T in the Park coverage this weekend:

Friday:
7.30-8.30 BBC3: Stereophonics, The Verve, Feeder KT Tunstall, Scouting For Girls
10.30-11.45 BBC3: The Verve, Chemical Brothers, Stereophonics and Feeder

Saturday:
7.00-8.30 BBC3: The Kooks, the Raconteurs, the Pigeon Detectives, Reverend and the Makers, We Are Scientists
10.00-11.30 BBC3: Kaiser Chiefs and the Fratellis

Sunday:
7.00-9.00 BBC3: Amy Winehouse, Kings of Leon, Pendulum and the Zutons
11.45-2.00am BBC3: REM,the Prodigy and Primal Scream

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Morrissey @ O2 Wireless Festival download

Get this before it's removed - the whole 90 minute show was broadcast on the radio, and some kind person has uploaded it for all to enjoy in mp3 form. To download (53Mb): click here: Morrissey O2 Wireless Festival

New official beer for Reading

With Reading and Leeds' Carling branding no more, Tuborg has stepped in as official beer supplier adding to the brand's roster of summer festivals which includes Download Festival, 02 Wireless Festival, Hard Rock Calling, Global Gathering, Latitude Festival, and Escape into the Park. The Reading/Leeds partnership is for three years. “These are fantastic music events for the Tuborg brand to establish its 'official beer' status and continue to build on its music credentials in the UK,” said Gareth Roberts, Head of Sponsorship and Media at Carlsberg UK. Additionally, Strongbow Cider has been replaced at Reading and Leeds by Gaymers. Handily, at Download and Wireless these brews were both served in stumpy plastic bottles - ideal for throwing at crap bands...

Nirvana Reading 1992 DVD on sale

Nirvana's legendary last UK appearance at Reading 1992 is finally available on DVD. The tracklist is:
1. Drain You
2. Aneurysm
3. School
4. Sliver
5. In Bloom
6. Come As You Are
7. Lithium
8. About A Girl
9. Tourettes
10. Polly
11. Lounge Act
12. Smells Like Teen Spirit
13. On A Plain
14. Negative Creep
15. Been A Son
16. All Apologies
17. Blew
18. Dumb
19. Stay Away
20. Spank Thru
21. Love Buzz
22. The Money Will Roll Right In
23. D-7
24. Territorial Pissing
Initial reviews on play.com are less than positive, with buyers complaining about the picture quality, missing first track ("Breed") and the video company logo and track names being on screen all the time. Given that it doesn't appear to have any connection with Geffen (the band's old label) it may well be - effectively - a bootleg. Still, at £6.99 including delivery, it might be worth a punt. To find out more, click here: Nirvana Reading 1992 DVD

Classic Rock Festival special on sale

Actually, this has been out a few weeks, but it's still available in the shops. A one-off magazine, it covers all manner of festivals from Woodstock to Reading, and everything in between. The free cover-mounted DVD is disappointing (basically a sampler for DVDs in the "Live at Montreaux" series) but the mag itself is thoroughly excellent with superb photos. £5.99 from most retailers.

Pre-order Metallica's festival show

You can pre-order Metallica's Reading or Leeds festival shows for legal download in either mp3 or lossless FLAC versions from www.livemetallica.com. The mp3 version costs $8.95 (about £5), while the FLAC version is $11.65 (about £6). These prices save 10% on the post-tour prices. Look like bargains to me!

The Reading order page is here:
Metallica at Reading 2008.
For Leeds, click here:
Metallica at Leeds 2008.

Top Ten Disastrous Festival performances

Virgin Media has compiled a top ten of the most disastrous festival performances ever:
1. Rolling Stones, Altamont, 1969
2. Stone Roses, Reading, 1996
3. Bay City Rollers, Futurama, 1983
4. Meat Loaf, Reading, 1988
5. Morrissey, Madstock, 1992
6. Kevin Rowland, Reading, 1999
7. My Chemical Romance/Panic At The Disco, Reading, 2006
8. Daphne and Celest, Reading, 2000
9. Bad News, Monsters of Rock, 1986
10. 50 Cent, Reading, 2004
Read more here: Top Ten Disastrous Festival Performances

Actually, I reckon Daphne and Celeste triumphed by completing their two-song set. And where are The Rasmus, gloriously bottled off at Reading? Or Steel Pulse who met the same fate in 1983?

Meatloaf slates UK festivals

Porky rocker Meatloaf (left) has slated UK festivals, branding them "stupid" and claiming the crowds are "apes". In an interview the fat old has-been says: "We played with Jefferson [Starship] at one of those stupid English festivals, and I do call them stupid because people behave like apes who haven't eaten a banana in a week. I refuse to play them." He's referring to the 1988 Reading Festival where he was pelted with bottles of piss. He stopped playing to ask "You wanna rock 'n' roll, or you wanna throw stuff?" He was promptly hit in the face by a flagon of cider and stormed off. Presumably like a bat out of hell...