Download Festival Report - Sunday
14 June 2009
Donington Park, England
So to the final day and my first port of call was the mainstage to catch Tesla. The American rockers admitted that they’d wanted to play Donington for a long time and as usual they were on top form. However, if I had one criticism it would be that including solo spots when you only have a 30 minute slot is a bit of a waste. However with a closing volley of Signs, Comin’ Atcha Live and Modern Day Cowboy, Tesla definitely left the crowd wanting more.
Tesla set list:
I Wanna Live / Heaven’s Trail / Getting’ Better / Signs / Comin’ Atcha Live / Modern Day Cowboy
It’s been over 10 years since Skin called it a day, but a call from Download head honcho Andy Copping tempted the band back to life for another Donington appearance and who knows what will follow. Vocalist Neville McDonald’s voice was as rich as it was back in the band’s heyday and Myke Gray’s guitar playing remains impressive. Gray now ply’s his trade as a personal trainer which was evident from his muscular torso which he didn’t wait long to reveal. With his shave head his current look makes his stint with Right Said Fred seem less surprising. Wisely picking fan favourites, though the cover of EMF’s Unbelievable was less palatable, Skin’s nostalgic return was well received.
Skin set list included:
Money / House Of Love / Look But Don’t Touch / Tower Of Strength / Unbelievable
Time for the youngsters to show their worth, as Black Stone Cherry prove exactly why they’re this high up the mainstage bill. Drawing a huge crowd, the onstage energy as ever from these Kentucky rockers was off the scale. At Chris Roberston’s request we all sang along to Lonely Train before having a well deserved chill out to Things My Father Said. With a short set Black Stone Cherry kept their closing version of Voodoo Child mercifully short with memories of a ridiculously long version taking the edge off their otherwise impeccable Sweden Rock set last year.
Black Stone Cherry set list:
Rain Wizard / Blind Man / Yeah Man / Please Come In / Maybe Someday / Lonely Train / Things My Father Said / We Are The Kings / Voodoo Child
No time to head anywhere other than forwards with Journey up next, with us ending up three rows from the front. I was surrounded by a lot of young people in a variety of different band shirts all excited to see the melodic rock giants, proving that the classic rock day at Download was a great success. Of course the main point of interest is the arrival of Arnel Pineda as the band’s frontman. Discovered by Neal Schon via a youtube clip, the Filipino singer is finally exactly the right person to fill the void left by Steve Perry. Pineda’s voice fits exactly the same range as Perry with the same rich tone. His onstage energy is what really makes the difference as he bounds, spins and leaps around the stage clearly loving every minute of the performance. Meanwhile the old hand’s of the band take a more reserved but complete rock star approach and grin like the cat’s who got the cream whilst watching their frontman. Awesome stuff.
Journey set list:
Separate Ways / Stone In Love / Ask The Lonely / Change For The Better / Wheel In The Sky / Faithfully / Don’t Stop Believing / Any Way You Want it
I didn’t get chance to see much of ZZ Top as I had planned to see Clutch on the second stage. What I did see had me cursing clashes again and hinted it would have been a great time to kick back with a beer and enjoy the blues.
ZZ Top set list included:
Got Me Under Pressure / Waiting For The Bus / Pincushion / Cheap Sunglasses / I Need You Tonight / Heard It On The X / Just Got Paid / Gimme All Your Lovin / Sharp Dressed Man / Legs / Tube Snake Boogie / Tres Hombres / Tush / Jailhouse Rock / La Grange
Clutch clashing with ZZ Top was a bad one and you can’t help but think that the Maryland mob would probably have fancied checking out the Texans themselves. Still, this certainly wasn’t the wrong decision to go with Clutch with them on typically good form. Grouped around Jean-Paul Gaster’s drum kit little movement is to be expected from bassist Dean Maines, nor Tim Sult, save for Sult rocking back and forth on his wah-wah pedal. The groove the three provide is however infectious and topped off by Neil Fallon’s strange tales. This was a real reminder of how much I like this band and I really can’t wait to get hold of their new album Strange Cousins From The West, from which two new songs were aired.
Clutch set list included:
Who Wants To Rock / The Mob Goes Wild / Profits Of Doom / 50,000 Unstoppable Watts / Power Player / Struck Down / Cypress Grove / Mice & Gods
I’d amusingly seen Buckcherry earlier in the day as Josh Todd led his entourage into the guest area restaurant and glanced across at me munching on my breakfast. Taking to the second stage the band seem a bit disappointed by the response from the crowd that are visibly now wilting in the heat and from two previous days of rock. At times they hit fifth gear such as Broken Glass and Lit Up, but the band haven’t pushed their last album Black Butterfly very heavily in the UK and the response to its songs are notably more restrained. As Todd predicts the song we want to hear close the set is Crazy Bitch and as good as it was, I really wish they’d play it straight, rather than the funked up jam it has become. Good but no cigar.
Buckcherry set list included:
Tired Of You / Next To You / Broken Glass / Out Of Line / Lit Up / Rescue Me / Talk To Me / Sorry / Crazy Bitch
I wasn’t disappointed to have missed Whitesnake. They appeared to be churning out the same set I’ve seen a few times already and although David Coverdale’s voice sounded better than at Sweden Rock I have no idea why he insists on yelping like a dog being run over randomly through the songs.
Whitesnake set list:
Best Years / Bad Boys / Can You Hear The Wind / Love Ain’t No Stranger / Guilty Of Love / Lay Down Your Love / Deeper The Love / Is This Love / Got What You Need / ‘Ain’t No Love In the Heart Of The City / Give Me All Your Love / Here I Go Again / Still Of The Night
So finally to Def Leppard finally headlining at Donington, 23 years after their last appearance here. Joe Elliott took time out to explain the significance of that day which marked drummer Rick Allen’s return to the stage following the car crash in which he lost an arm. The crowd’s response had Allen in tears in a poignant moment. Back to the show though and after an initially good start, Def Leppard took the wind right out of their set with Love Bites followed by a David Essex cover and two acoustic numbers. Fortunately the second half of the set was filled with rocking classics that had the crowd singing along. Except amusingly when Elliott amusingly demands we all sing the words to the next song which was followed by a number of blank looks around me when it turned out to be the less well known When Love & Hate Collide. Elliott had one more question for Donington, “Do you wanna get rocked”, as cheesy party anthem Let’s Get Rocked brought the curtain down on Download 2009.
Def Leppard set list:
Rocket / Action / C’Mon C’Mon / Make Love Like A Man / Too Late For Love / Nine Lives / Love Bites / Rock On / Two Steps Behind / Bringin’ On The Heartbreak / Switch 625 / Hysteria / Animal / Armageddon It / Photograph / Pour Some Sugar On Me / Rock Of Ages / When Love & Hate Collide / Let’s Get Rocked
Download 2009 was a massive success in comparison to the previous year. The new layout was much better, ticket sales had gone through the roof and mercifully despite the forecast there was no rain during the actual festival. Word has it that the success of the classic rock day will mean it will return next year. On the downside clashes are always going to happen but some improvements in crowd flow would help. Perhaps a back route between the second and third stages. Also Sunday night on the campsite was a bit of a nightmare, though this can only be blamed on the minority who spoil things for the rest rather than the organisations. All those bemoaning the ability to bring in gas canisters should have been in the vicinity of one of the many aerosols that were exploded on fires which kept the fire crew busy most of the night until some rain arrived.
LINKS:
Download Festival
|
