The awesomeness that was SONISPHERE 2010
As some of you may have read of Nellies LJ, we visited Knebworth this weekend for Metal Debauchery. It was FUCKING AWESOME! Big thanks to matsuo_kumiko , larpsidekick , Brid, Gemma, Andy and Ellen for being there and contributing to the awesomeness.
The preparations started on Thursday night when Nellie arrived. A few chilled beers were had whilst watching Zack & Miri and Jay & Bob. Unsurprisingly this had quite an effect on the weekend with quotes a plenty (with guest appearances from Top Gun and Bad Boys 1 & 2) and Nellie varying between being 'Lunchbox' and 'My Black Manservant'.
On Friday we met up with Brid and Gem for a hearty breakfast to set us on the right path. A bad omen was given when larpsidekick failed completely to eat his cooked breakfast...
We set off, arrived, pitched tents and then bought a slab of Carlsberg from the 'slab bar'. Several beers later we headed off. We had initially wanted to join in the world record attempt for the Time Warp. However confusion over times led us to missing out.
Instead we got to watch Turisas. I've been aware of them for some time but never really paid that much attention to them. Although not musically my cup of tea they were absolutely brilliant to watch, really entertaining and a top way to start things off. The lead singers kit was also awesome :) We then headed off for beers and such like before making our way back to watch Gary Numan. Or was it carnaaki ? Either way it proved to be a another good surprise. Gary Numan does a good line in Industrial/Goth/Pop - Lite. Cars was awesome and he had a good look on his face to suggest '20 years ago I never thought I'd be playing a huge metal festival' More beer followed and we came back for Alice Cooper who turned out to be a bit of a dissapointment. I didnt really get into the music and the stage show was bit boring to be honest. Cue more beer. We then headed over to watch Terrorvision and they were real fun. They played all the classics and were just bursting with energy. Was a good end to the musical part of the night :)
We headed to the fair ground and embarked on the first of what would be many spinny rides over the weekend. we had our first dodgem session. Cue me and larpsidekick singing 'Bad Boys' and pretending to be Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett. Drink driving FTW :) We ended the night after more alcohol and rides as spectators at the Silent Disco. For those of you who are unaware, you are given a set of wireless headphones linked into two music channels. You can then switch between the two depending on what you want to listen to. It is a sight and sound to behold as a spectator. Listening to some guy singing in death metal style to Money For Nothing whilst the guy opposite him is singing Killing in the Name Of and both of them dancing completely off kilter to each other was really funny. We headed back to the tents and met two guys, Kev and Tom. Kev told us how he had lost Tom earlier in the day. Tom apparently had gotten very drunk and woke up in the car park. So that was Friday, cue a very small amount of sleep, and say hello to Saturday.
So after much staggering in the bright daylight, I headed up to the main stage to meet matsuo_kumiko to watch Lacuna Coil. They were pretty good. Christina Scabbia has an awesome voice, not quite so sure about the male vocalist however. Cue more beer. We headed over to watch Soulfly and were not disappointed. As well as doing old and new Soulfly tracks they played Refuse/Resist and Roots Bloody Roots and both were amazing. Cue more beer and Anthrax. They were really good and only played the old classics. They are starting to look old however and Scott Ians beard looked grey. Then came, what was for me, the highlight of the weekend. Fear Factory.
I had been feeling a bit sluggish up until this point but all the cobwebs were blown away with opener Mechanize. They played a mix of old and new classics including Martyr off their first album which I haven't seen them play live since 1995. The majority of my bruises came from the Fear Factory pit and my lack of a voice can be traced here too. They were completely awesome, they play with such precision and Burton C Bell still has an awesome set of pipes :)
We then mixed alcohol with Tim Minchin (very funny), Apocalyptica (with Dave Lloyd on Cello and Lewis Moody on drums), Skunk Anansie and then Motley Crue. It was time to party like it was 1990 :) They too played a classics set. Mick Mars hobbled off at the end looking in a worse state than Ozzy ever does. They were awesome and one of the acts I enjoyed most of the weekend. Cue beer, jagermeister, Rammstein (awesome) and finally Therapy? who played nothing but Troublegum. The power went twice during opener Knives, but they got everything fixed and show rocked on. Really awesome show, matsuo_kumiko particularly enjoyed it and went a bit mental :)
More beer and fairground rides followed by Brid and I deciding to partake in the silent disco. It was fun and bizarre at the same time. At one point I was dancing and singing along to Billy Idol whilst she was doing the same to Rage Against the Machine. Really cool. End of the night and another short sleep period.
Sunday was a hard start but going to watch Skindred shook everything loose. These guys are brilliant, one of the best live acts Britain has produced. Benji Webbe (a big black rasta with a thick welsh accent) is a brilliant frontman and really knows how to work the crowd. Cue more beer :) The came Slayer. Having seen these guys a number of times and always being in the pit, I took advantage of a good position in the crowd to actually watch these guys. Man can they play. Watching Hanneman and King riffing together is a thing of beauty. They wer brilliant, really got the crowd worked up, but I think Tom Araya was a bit miffed at being so low down the bill. Cue more beer. I should state that 'beer' was often Vodka sneaked into the arena mixed into coke/sprite or fanta :)
Alice in Chains came on and once again did not disappoint. With my voice screwed by Fear Factory the day before, it was hard to sing along, but I managed it. I doubt that I sounded good however :) larpsidekick acted like a golf caddy throughout and kept us well supplied with Apple Vodka and Sprite. It is very drinkable :) Alice in Chains finished with Rooster and it was a thing of beauty...
Cue more beer and some food whilst we sat and watched The Cult. These guys have not aged well. Ian Astbury is looking more and more like a fat old Jim Morrison and his vocals really struggled to meet the grade *shrugs*. I volunteered for bag watching duty during Pendulum as I'm not a fan. They seem to me to be like the Good Charlotte of dance/metal crossover. I wish the organisers has paid a bit more and got the Prodigy instead, but hey ho the others really enjoyed them. And finally came Maiden. They put on an awesome show and I really enjoyed it. A mix of classics and new stuff. Really enjoyed Hallowed be they name. A good closer to the music part of the festival. Cue more beer and fairground rides with another session on the dogems where the object of the game was to steal everyones hat, much fun and many quotes :) Another trip to the Silent Disco and some more beers closed out the weekend. It. Was. Awesome. Great people, music, beer and times :)
The preparations started on Thursday night when Nellie arrived. A few chilled beers were had whilst watching Zack & Miri and Jay & Bob. Unsurprisingly this had quite an effect on the weekend with quotes a plenty (with guest appearances from Top Gun and Bad Boys 1 & 2) and Nellie varying between being 'Lunchbox' and 'My Black Manservant'.
On Friday we met up with Brid and Gem for a hearty breakfast to set us on the right path. A bad omen was given when larpsidekick failed completely to eat his cooked breakfast...
We set off, arrived, pitched tents and then bought a slab of Carlsberg from the 'slab bar'. Several beers later we headed off. We had initially wanted to join in the world record attempt for the Time Warp. However confusion over times led us to missing out.
Instead we got to watch Turisas. I've been aware of them for some time but never really paid that much attention to them. Although not musically my cup of tea they were absolutely brilliant to watch, really entertaining and a top way to start things off. The lead singers kit was also awesome :) We then headed off for beers and such like before making our way back to watch Gary Numan. Or was it carnaaki ? Either way it proved to be a another good surprise. Gary Numan does a good line in Industrial/Goth/Pop - Lite. Cars was awesome and he had a good look on his face to suggest '20 years ago I never thought I'd be playing a huge metal festival' More beer followed and we came back for Alice Cooper who turned out to be a bit of a dissapointment. I didnt really get into the music and the stage show was bit boring to be honest. Cue more beer. We then headed over to watch Terrorvision and they were real fun. They played all the classics and were just bursting with energy. Was a good end to the musical part of the night :)
We headed to the fair ground and embarked on the first of what would be many spinny rides over the weekend. we had our first dodgem session. Cue me and larpsidekick singing 'Bad Boys' and pretending to be Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett. Drink driving FTW :) We ended the night after more alcohol and rides as spectators at the Silent Disco. For those of you who are unaware, you are given a set of wireless headphones linked into two music channels. You can then switch between the two depending on what you want to listen to. It is a sight and sound to behold as a spectator. Listening to some guy singing in death metal style to Money For Nothing whilst the guy opposite him is singing Killing in the Name Of and both of them dancing completely off kilter to each other was really funny. We headed back to the tents and met two guys, Kev and Tom. Kev told us how he had lost Tom earlier in the day. Tom apparently had gotten very drunk and woke up in the car park. So that was Friday, cue a very small amount of sleep, and say hello to Saturday.
So after much staggering in the bright daylight, I headed up to the main stage to meet matsuo_kumiko to watch Lacuna Coil. They were pretty good. Christina Scabbia has an awesome voice, not quite so sure about the male vocalist however. Cue more beer. We headed over to watch Soulfly and were not disappointed. As well as doing old and new Soulfly tracks they played Refuse/Resist and Roots Bloody Roots and both were amazing. Cue more beer and Anthrax. They were really good and only played the old classics. They are starting to look old however and Scott Ians beard looked grey. Then came, what was for me, the highlight of the weekend. Fear Factory.
I had been feeling a bit sluggish up until this point but all the cobwebs were blown away with opener Mechanize. They played a mix of old and new classics including Martyr off their first album which I haven't seen them play live since 1995. The majority of my bruises came from the Fear Factory pit and my lack of a voice can be traced here too. They were completely awesome, they play with such precision and Burton C Bell still has an awesome set of pipes :)
We then mixed alcohol with Tim Minchin (very funny), Apocalyptica (with Dave Lloyd on Cello and Lewis Moody on drums), Skunk Anansie and then Motley Crue. It was time to party like it was 1990 :) They too played a classics set. Mick Mars hobbled off at the end looking in a worse state than Ozzy ever does. They were awesome and one of the acts I enjoyed most of the weekend. Cue beer, jagermeister, Rammstein (awesome) and finally Therapy? who played nothing but Troublegum. The power went twice during opener Knives, but they got everything fixed and show rocked on. Really awesome show, matsuo_kumiko particularly enjoyed it and went a bit mental :)
More beer and fairground rides followed by Brid and I deciding to partake in the silent disco. It was fun and bizarre at the same time. At one point I was dancing and singing along to Billy Idol whilst she was doing the same to Rage Against the Machine. Really cool. End of the night and another short sleep period.
Sunday was a hard start but going to watch Skindred shook everything loose. These guys are brilliant, one of the best live acts Britain has produced. Benji Webbe (a big black rasta with a thick welsh accent) is a brilliant frontman and really knows how to work the crowd. Cue more beer :) The came Slayer. Having seen these guys a number of times and always being in the pit, I took advantage of a good position in the crowd to actually watch these guys. Man can they play. Watching Hanneman and King riffing together is a thing of beauty. They wer brilliant, really got the crowd worked up, but I think Tom Araya was a bit miffed at being so low down the bill. Cue more beer. I should state that 'beer' was often Vodka sneaked into the arena mixed into coke/sprite or fanta :)
Alice in Chains came on and once again did not disappoint. With my voice screwed by Fear Factory the day before, it was hard to sing along, but I managed it. I doubt that I sounded good however :) larpsidekick acted like a golf caddy throughout and kept us well supplied with Apple Vodka and Sprite. It is very drinkable :) Alice in Chains finished with Rooster and it was a thing of beauty...
Cue more beer and some food whilst we sat and watched The Cult. These guys have not aged well. Ian Astbury is looking more and more like a fat old Jim Morrison and his vocals really struggled to meet the grade *shrugs*. I volunteered for bag watching duty during Pendulum as I'm not a fan. They seem to me to be like the Good Charlotte of dance/metal crossover. I wish the organisers has paid a bit more and got the Prodigy instead, but hey ho the others really enjoyed them. And finally came Maiden. They put on an awesome show and I really enjoyed it. A mix of classics and new stuff. Really enjoyed Hallowed be they name. A good closer to the music part of the festival. Cue more beer and fairground rides with another session on the dogems where the object of the game was to steal everyones hat, much fun and many quotes :) Another trip to the Silent Disco and some more beers closed out the weekend. It. Was. Awesome. Great people, music, beer and times :)