Poor organisation aside, Friday was a mixed bag of bands, but the main stage bill didn't really do justice to the fact that Metallica were headlining.
Over-rated band of the day would be The Used, who should be renamed The Useless; their sound was awful, possibly due to the volume of one of the speakers going in and out, but their lead singer's desire to be the band to say the F word the most times was not big or clever, saying it for the sake of it is an abysmal reason. Good Charlotte again sounded awful, and single "Girls and Boys" is the only song that really is worth catching, as it sounds like a throwback to eighties soundtracks during the verse, has a rousing chorus and middle eight, and infectious no-brainer rock. I'm loathe to call them punk rock for reasons which will become apparent.
Missing out Primal Scream, the Radio 1 stage proves to have the
under-rated stars of the day; Hell is for Heroes run through a set business-like, and get the response that the The Used and good Charlotte wished they had; Hot Hot Heat are the under-rated stars of the day. No question. Steve Bays and co's set is perfectly distributed with singles No Not now and Bandages split between key tracks from Make up the Breakdown and their first album, with Bandages
System of a down also get usurped in favour of Grandaddy, who perform a pleasant set, starting with new single "El Caminos in the West", moving through to "Summer here Kids" from "Under the Western Freeway" and other choice tracks, "The Crystal Lake" which is fantastic as usual, as is "Now it's on" and finishing with "Lost on your merry way". Lead singer Jason Lyttle's belief that their lifestyle is more punk-rock than most bands calling themselves that these days is more than valid. The former Pro Skateboarders do themselves proud with a solid set, and give as much respect as they take.
Finally, after sorting out the crowd congestion, Metallica storm the stage and are as solid as usual, pyrotechnics included. They certainly know how to put on a show, Hetfield's now much more humble, and they truly love where they're at as a band right now as they play a 2 hour set which is enough to keep the die-hard Metallica fan more than happy. There's even some humour between Kirk Hammett and Lars Uhlrich, as they swap duties. "The Black Stripes" they announce, and produce the entertainment that Liam and Noel could never get away from their home country. Which is why they aren't the biggest band on the planet. Metallica, on the other hand, are more than qualified contenders.
Craig Aston.
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