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Features: Festival Memories: Part Two

Rock Sound staffers, Outcry Collective, Manchester Orchestra, Thursday and more talk about magical festival moments.

Part two of our Festival Memories feature (for part one click here) continues below with tales from Rock Sound staffers, Outcry Collective, Manchester Orchestra, Thursday (pictured) and many more...

Gary Holt, Guitar, Exodus
“Festivals are always a lot of fun, insane sometimes and stressful getting set-up in limited time but it's always killer to see a lot of friends you never get the chance to hang out with all in the same place. This usually means a lot of very drunken people, autograph sessions you barely remember attending and a lot of hangovers. The first truly huge festival we ever played was Dynamo in 1997, first show back in Europe with Paul Baloff singing. Sickest show ever. I couldn't have imagined playing in front of 88,000 people until that day.”

Chris Phelps, Guitar, Outcry Collective
“One of the stand out moments of this festival season so far would have to be at Download, seeing Vince Neil having a true rockstar tantrum at Tommy Lee for cranking his music too loud during his pre-show warm up near their dressing rooms. It felt like being an eyewitness to a real life Spinal Tap moment. Classic!”

Faye Lewis, Staff Writer, Rock Sound
“When I was 11 years old at the Whitby goth-festival Marc Almond (of Tainted Love fame) was supposed to make an appearance. He pulled out and my mum was outraged. Dressed in a cream Marks and Spencer's sheep skin coat, she led a hoard of gloomy looking goths in all their studded leather glory to the ticket office to demand a refund!”

Geoff Rickly, Vocalist, Thursday
“It was our first time on the Reading Main stage, probably 2004, and we were sharing a dressing room with The New York Dolls. Growing up in the New York area, I always loved the Dolls but all I could think about was the singer's alter-ego, Buster Poindexter and his ghost-of-Christmas-past role in Scrooged. The women from the 5,6,7,8's flooded into the room with a vintage collection of New York Dolls records on LP, speaking Japanese to each other, laughing and repeating "David Johansen" every ten seconds. Later, all three of our bands stood in disbelief as Morrissey drove his Mercedes from the dressing rooms to the stage adorned with his name in flashing lights.”

Zach Carothers, Bassist, Portugal. The Man
“I have to say that our set at Bonnarroo was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. Things could not have gone better for us. First show after the sun went down, relaxed sound check due to the band before us missing a flight, biggest crowd we've ever played for and I don't think smiles left our faces for weeks”

Ali Lane, Vocals, To Catch A Thief
“I'd managed to avoid taking a shit for three days at Download 2006 but it got to the last day and I couldn't hold it off. Went along a row of portaloo's opening each door from a distance trying to find one that was bearable. About 5 doors in there was a toilet which had poo piled around 2 feet up out of the toliet and all over the floor. I've no idea how that feat was accomplished but it was the worst thing I've ever seen or smelt.”

Ingo Donot, Vocalist, The Donots
“We played a festival in a giant thunderstorm once and all of a
sudden a lightning bolt hit one of the pizza stands right next to the stage. The whole stand got atomized but luckily nobody got hurt. Damn, I should have tried a slice of that extra crispy pizza afterwards.”

Jeremiah Edmond, Drummer, Manchester Orchestra
“My most memorable festival experience would have to be watching My Morning Jacket for the first time from side stage at Lollapalooza 2006. They blew my mind. I remember thinking - This is rock and roll. This is how it is supposed to feel.”

Doris Yeh, Bass, Cthonic
"ChthoniC played the Ozzfest back in 2007 - this was a memorable event for us for a number of reasons, as I'm told we were the first Asian band to be involved. We also saw a lot of tits and asses!”