Carling Reading & Leeds Festival 2004

United Kingdom | | 29 August 2004

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But the Carling Reading/Leeds Weekend was thankfully a lot more than flying beer and piss. It was the last 'big five' festival of the summer season and, despite a few early reservations about the line-up, sets from the likes of Goldie Lookin' Chain, The Darkness, and Green Day made sure the bank holiday went off with a bang.

A week of worrying about everything, from floods to freak downpours to fungal infection, during the lead-up to Reading proved no more than a storm in a teacup, as festival-goers rolled up their trousers and slid around in the sludge to their favourite bands, while at Leeds live music fans bathed under almost constant sunshine.

Crime was down at both sites (although VF heard several tales of bands behaving badly by stealing security's golf buggies!) And the summer of 'shrooms was evidently having a positive effect on the number of beered up idiots deciding to end the night with a drunken fight, opting instead for a go on a fairground ride perhaps?

Reaction to the state of security has been mixed. Big Brother seemed more dormant than at most other festivals this year, with the number of wrist checks suitably minimal - although getting in and out of both campsites proved a time-consuming squeeze, especially when everything shut down at the end of the night. 

The toilets also seemed in fairly good order, although obviously there was the odd (100) stinker. Bar queues were kept to a reasonable level, which is more than can be said for the queues of cars trying to escape both sites on Monday morning. 

But what of the music, the most essential ingredient of any festival? Click on the links below for VF's comprehensive band reviews from the Carling Weekender, written by our intrepid crew that included: Peter White, Oli Pritchard, Duncan Hall, Mat Hocking and George Terry.

Main Stage - Reading (Fri) Leeds (Sat)
Main Stage - Reading (Sat) Leeds (Sun)
Main Stage - Reading (Sun) Leeds (Fri)
Radio One Stage - Five That Made For Interesting Viewing 
Carling Stage - Five You May Have Missed But Shouldn't
Concrete Jungle Round-up