Reading/Leeds Festival Line-up reaction (NME/RADIO ONE STAGE)

READING FRIDAY/LEEDS SATURDAY
NME/RADIO 1 STAGE
BABYSHAMBLES
Young scallywag Peter Doherty returns to Reading once again with the rest of Babyshambles. While some say he is a tragic genius, and others say he is a scrounging waster, their show will be interesting. Probably.

THE WOMBATS
While the only of their songs that I ever listened to and vaguely enjoyed was "Let's Dance To Joy Division", I was surprised to learn that they had previous released an album in Japan. Weird. I'll be on the main stage.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND
The latest in a long line of New York hype bands and the booking that will arguably fill out the NME tent.
Can't Wait To Hear: Walcott

MGMT
The duo bring their spaced-out stylings to Reading for the first time, and will hopefully be as electrifying as they have been on TV.
Can't Wait To Hear: Time To Pretend

READING SATURDAY/LEEDS SUNDAY
NME/RADIO 1 STAGE
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
They may be past it even more than U2 and REM combined, but the majority of their set is well worth the headlining set they've earned, even if its in the tent rather than on the main stage.
Can't Wait To Hear: If You Tolerate This...

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
BFMV tour their new album Scream Aim Fire. Yes.

JUSTICE
French electro house duo try out their best Daft Punk impression in the NME tent. Let's hope they're a bit more spectacular than when I saw them, but a festival crowd may yet be more favourable for them.

FOALS
Having done the now typical "release-an-album in march then play Brixton in October" that has been exemplified in recent years by We Are Scientists, Kaiser Chiefs and Klaxons, its not a shock either for them to have been pushed up to the NME stage after their electrifying set on the Carling Stage last year. While they arguably won't be as big as Klaxons, the early signs are promising and it may well end up being one of those albums that hangs around in the top 20 for a while.
Can't Wait To Hear: Mathletics

READING SUNDAY/LEEDS FRIDAY
NME/RADIO 1 STAGE
THE CRIBS
I have to say I've never really seen the appeal of the brothers Jarman and although their songs aren't unlistenable, and possibly even preferable to Metallica, I both don't know enough and don't want to know enough to make a judgement.

CONOR OBERST
Okay, this is a bit weird. Conor Oberst, who I always assumed was the only "real" member of Bright Eyes, is playing a solo set under his own name, with Rilo Kiley's drummer, amongst others. But Wikipedia tells me that Bright Eyes was always a group project. Either way, he'll probably chuck in a couple of Bright Eyes tracks anyway.

PENDULUM
When they first appeared, they were frequently referred to as being "the new Prodigy", probably by those who thought their remix of Voodoo People was an original song. To be honest, past Slam I'm not that familiar with anything of theirs, past the fact that people always seem to want to request some when they don't like a DJ at a club.

More bands announced soon...

CSS @ Carling Academy, Brixton, 03/12/2007

It seems odd to me, with over 3 years (yes, I know, three whole years) of going to gigs in London, I have never been to the Brixton Academy. I've been almost everywhere else, from The Dublin Castle in Camden, to Wembley Stadium, in.. erm... Wembley. But never here. I thought it would be bigger.

And better.

While a slanted floor has its advantages (seeing everything from the back, for example), it does mean you have to put in safety barriers every so often so the crowd doesn't just slip down the slope and congeal into a warm, sticky mess. But herein lies the problem. People who forget or get there late push to the front and get stuck there. And don't know where to go. But I digress.

This isn't a problem, of course, for opening band Metronomy, who face a criminally empty room, and are currently working on their second album, provide the suitable robotic warm-up for the almost-headlining set from Justice. Dressed all in black, the live trio of Joseph Mount, Gabriel Stebbing and Oscar Cash, each with their own personal light display on their chest that looks like it was stolen from a Travelodge. For most of the set, these are combined with some interestingly lazy dance routines that involve a lot of pointing, and the result is that they look like some sort of Smart Price Daft Punk.

However, they save the best until last, with a group of similarly-light-clad dancers joining them onstage, bringing much need life to the set for the last two songs that were easily their best: "Heartbreaker" and current single "Radio Ladio".

www.myspace.com/metronomy

From Smart Price Daft Punk, to the heir-apparent to their French House throne, Justice. With a stage-set that includes a massive shining white cross, things look promising. Kicking off with the overlong and overblown intro song "Genesis", perhaps Justice have been told they will charged for every different beat they use, so they make sure their opening one lasts at least 15 minutes, drowning out everything else, with the occasional quiet bit in between.

Already, as much as it pains me to say, I was dissapointed, but looking forward, at least, to "D.A.N.C.E.", which unfortunately is horribly butchered from the opening with some sort of piano ballad, and doesn't really recover. Even "The Party" fails to make much of an impression.

The set does pick up however, with the always amazing "Waters of Nazareth" as well as fair few remixes slipped in, such as their version of "Atlantis to Interzone" and the ever-present "We Are Your Friends", but the damage has already been done, and I personally am dissapointed.

Your best bet is probably to just stick on the album and get a few mates over.

http://www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous

After almost an hour of Justice, CSS quickly take to a stage covered in Christmas trees, while the crowd get covered in snow, and start out with album track "Fuckoff is not the only thing you have to show" before quickly heading into fairly new track "The Beautiful Song".

Although Lovefoxx tries to be her usual self, the band seem visibly nervous at playing such a large stage and this perhaps rubs off - the band aren't quite on top form tonight, and the playfulness that made them a festival favourite this summer is at a minimum.

The new songs also don't sit well alongside crowd-pleasers "Alala" and "Off the Hook", but all-too-soon the band saunter off backstage before returning for L7 cover "Pretend We're Dead". But the biggest cheer is always going to be for just one song. The band finish off the shortened set with the awesome "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above", making sure they finish with a bang that the rest of the set lacks.

With Lovefoxx promising before she leaves that the next time they play in England, the new album will be finished, but to be honest, based on tonight's performance, it doesn't seem like it will be anything special.

www.myspace.com/canseidesersexy