2019 - A Year in Live Music

It is that time of year again where I sum up the best gigs I’ve been to in the last year. I started the last one by wondering why I hadn’t blogged more in 2018. I thought I would have blogged more than I did in 2019, but this will be blog 8, whereas last year I made a paltry 3 posts. I often think I would like to do it more, but it is often requiring a subject and time. I cannot promise I will blog more in 2020, but I will try.

Anyway, for the first time since 2016, this blog starts off with a ranked list of the best festival sets I saw this year. In 2016, I only went to Victorious Festival and that meant slim pickings to make a list from (not that I didn’t see some good bands that year). This time round, I have two 1-day festivals and a weekend festival to work with. I went to Slam Dunk South, a day at All Points East and Download for the weekend. The way I derive this list is go back to my reviews, grab the bands that scored the highest scores (out of 10) and throw them all into one big list, and then work out the top 10 from there. Usually, the bands rated 10 go first and so on. This time around, a band who got a 9 snuck in…mainly because I have no idea why I gave them a 9 and not a 10 but oh well! Same as the top 10 for gigs, I have a small list of honourable mentions which I will go through now.

Cancer Bats – Slam Dunk South (original score 8/10) – I saw Cancer Bats 4 times in 2019 (you may read about a couple of them later in the blog if you are still here by then). This sadly was the worst of the 4 and it had nothing to do the band themselves (who as you can see from the original score, I still thought were great). There was a group stood near me who took the first half of their set as a chance to have a school reunion. I could (and probably should) have moved but the crowd was tightly packed where I was. Live and learn, I guess. Cancer Bats were great, the school reunion was annoying.

Black Futures – All Points East (original score 9/10) – My introduction to Black Futures was this 20-minute set and I was blown away. The show, the music – everything. I thought they were excellent.

Architects – All Points East (original score 8/10) – One of the main selling points of the festival for me. When they started, I thought “oh no, they have shit sound”. Unlike with Cancer Bats at Slam Dunk though, I did move – that move was an excellent decision as the sound was much better where I moved to. It was my first-time seeing Architects and I thought they were bloody great. I’ve heard others say since they’ve been much better, but I’ve got nothing to compare against. If they can get better though, crikey!

Skindred – Download (original score 9/10) – It is said in life there are only two certainties – death and taxes (Benjamin Franklin makes a rare appearance in a blog of mine). I am sure you could add a third one which is Skindred being dependable live…at their worst. They are such a good live band. It was shitting it down when they came on stage, and the whole time they were on stage, and they were still great. Lesser bands would have not coped with the British summer time weather – Skindred didn’t let it affect their show at all.

Reel Big Fish – Download (original score 9/10) – I’ve seen Reel Big Fish several times now. I very much enjoyed this set, but I’ve definitely enjoyed other Reel Big Fish shows more (thinking their Wedgewood Rooms show in 2014 as a standout). They were excellent still. The fact I was sheltered from the rain certainly helped matters as well.

Carcass – Download (original score 9/10) – The only reason this wasn’t a 10 is because it was too short. A 40-minute set to headline the 4^th stage is bullshit. Anyway, I thought this was excellent. It gave me something to watch instead of Die Antwoord, who weren’t my cup of tea at all. The tent was packed, and it was really good fun. Glad I made the decision to get there early so I could be inside the tent for it.

Black Futures – Download (original score 9/10) – On the strength of the All Points East set, I knew I had to see them again. There was either a change to the stage times, or they were late on – I was beginning to wonder if they weren’t going to come on and almost walked off (which was a shame as I had a spot on the barrier). Just as I was about to go, they started and smashed through the set (which was a whole 5 minutes longer than All Points East). Being slightly more familiar with them this time around, I really loved this set.

Lamb of God – Download (original score 9/10) – I loved seeing Lamb of God again. The fact they played almost the exact same show supporting Slayer at the tail-end of 2018 was a bit of a shame, but it is a bloody good show.

Additionally, I’d like to give a shout out to NXT UK at Download – I watched 2 of the 5 shows they put on, and it was good fun. Anyway, with that, we move onto the top 10 of festival sets:

10. Conjurer – Download (original score 9/10) – Here’s the thing, fuck you Download for clashing Conjurer with Clutch AND Delain! I chose Conjurer as what I had heard from them before the festival, I liked and wanted to see it live. I assumed I would see both the others on their respective headline tours (as it stands, nope). Conjurer were intense – that is probably the best word I have to describe their all-too-short set. I think it needed to take place in one of the tented stages – I’m not sure if it would have been as good open air – but I am more than happy to be proven wrong. They more than made up for me missing the first half of Clutch – and I really want to see them again. 

9. Bring Me The Horizon – All Points East (original score 9/10) – For absolutely ages, I had dismissed Bring Me because of their earlier work as a band that aren’t for me. I did a revisiting blog (June 2016! I almost typed recently…) where I discovered their then latest two albums were excellent. The bill supporting Bring Me helped get me there, but I wanted to see them as well. I couldn’t stay for their whole set because of travel reasons but the set I saw was superb. I very much enjoyed it and was (and am) glad I bought a ticket (although with the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had waited and won one of the many free ones that were available it seems). 

8. Royal Republic – Download (original score 9/10) – I went to see Royal Republic because a few of my friends had said how good they were, and there was no better option. They had a 30 minute set and they blew me away. That 30 minutes turned me from someone who was just there based on a recommendation into a fan of the band. Hang around, you might read more about them in a bit. 

7. Employed To Serve – All Points East (original score 10/10) – Employed To Serve smashed it. Not sure what else to write here really. I wish they were on stage for longer!

6. The Bronx – Slam Dunk South (original score 10/10) – I am not sure it is possible for The Bronx to put on a bad show. This set added weight to that theory as they were outrageously good.

5. IDLES – All Points East (original score 9/10) – The 9 that should have been a 10. I guess it wasn’t due to set list choices, but I still loved their set. They were my band of the day. 

4. Slipknot – Download (original score 10/10) – Slipknot headlined Download for 4^th time in 11 festivals, which to me is too often. Or, it would be if they weren’t so bloody good live. Their set was outstanding. I wrote in my festival review that it would be in with a shout of being one of my favourite times seeing them live, and that still rings true. Also, as an update from the festival review blog, Slipknot 2020 isn’t at Alexandra Palace! I’m so happy about this, even if I will be seeing the gig from the gods of The O2. 

3. The Interrupters – Slam Dunk (original score 10/10) – Long a band on my “want to see” list without me ever properly listening to them, because someone (I forget who) once said they sound like a modern Rancid. That was enough to sell me, and I think this was my first real chance to see them live. I walked over to the big open-air stage they were playing, and I was a bit annoyed due to how long the bar queue I’d just been in was. Any annoyance I felt just melted when they started. The Interrupters were just so much fun. The music immediately struck a chord with me and the end of their set came far too soon. 

2. The Interrupters – Download (original score 10/10) – If you had told me a year ago that I would be going to a festival where Whitesnake were playing, but I wouldn’t watch them because a relatively new punk band were on another stage, I would have probably asked how you knew that. But also, I would have thought you were lying. However, as it was, Whitesnake clashed with The Interrupters, and given how good they were at Slam Dunk, there was no chance I’d be missing them. Somehow, they were even better at Download. I would be surprised if you are not reading about them some more on this blog this time next year, as they have a headline show in London that I am very much looking forward to. 

1. Tool – Download (original score 10/10) – When you wait so long for something, and then it happens, and it is as good as you hoped it would be. That is why Tool top the list of my favourite festival sets. If you put a gun to my head and told me to pick a favourite bit of this set, it would be them dropping Vicarious, which hadn’t appeared on festival set lists to that point. Overall, this set was immense. I hope it is not a long wait before they are back here.

And that concludes the list of my favourite festival sets. I find it remarkable still that, were it not for Tool, numbers 1 and 2 would have been The Interrupters. They were that good, and I cannot explain how much I am looking forward to that headline show in February. Now that the top 10 festival sets have been covered, it is time to move onto the gigs and, as with all previous years (I think), a small (!) number of honourable mentions – basically written a top 20 this year without ranking the bottom 10!

Cancer Bats – Portsmouth – Last time Cancer Bats came to my hometown, I wrote “I’d love to be able to wax lyrical about this gig. However, “beers before Bats” occurred (as well as beers during Bats) and as a result, there are chunks of the gig I simply don’t remember.” This is not the reason this gig is here this time round, I wanted to shout it out because it was bloody great.

Persistence Tour – London – After many years threatening doing a Persistence tour show, I finally did one. It was a good gig and it seems odd not giving it a top 10 birth given how many good sets there were that day, but by the end of it, I was so tired and in a fair amount of discomfort…and I had a seating ticket! I would not have lasted as long as I did with a standing ticket (or would have missed a few the earlier acts in order to see headliners). The standout highlights of the day were Napalm Death and Walls of Jericho. Doff of the cap of course to the headliners Sick Of It All as well as Municipal Waste. Shout out to Siberian Meat Grinder, for having a good set but also for having (by far) the most gnarly band name on the bill. Metal AF!

Black Peaks – Portsmouth – I went to this after hearing a lot of love for their two albums, but not really checking them out until nearer the gig. Those two albums are great, and by extension so was this gig, Black Peaks knocked it out the park. A lovely time was had by all, I suspect.

Avantasia – London – I find it almost incomprehensible that Avantasia didn’t make the top 10. 3 years prior, they topped the pile. I think the main reasons why this one is an honourable mention this time round is that I wasn’t (and am still not) wild about Moonglow (I like it, don’t get me wrong) and they played almost all of it. Additionally, some of the personnel that couldn’t make the gig – Michael Kiske and Amanda Somerville not being there was a real shame. I still really enjoyed this one. Might have made top 10 if Tobi still sang Twisted Mind…just saying! (It probably wouldn’t, still – just really want that again)

Eureka Machines – Wolverhampton – This was my first-time seeing Eureka Machines in 4 years, so I was very much looking forward to this one, and they didn’t let me down at all. I had a lovely time.

The Wildhearts – London – They have featured in these lists almost every year. They are one of my favourite bands who I will always try to see live when they tour. Towers of London opened, and they were good. Massive Wagons were their usual excellent selves and The Wildhearts were just a lot of fun. The new songs (new songs!) fit in the set perfectly alongside some classics. This was great.

Cancer Bats – Southampton – This was on the same intimate run as another gig which you’ll read about later. I preferred the Guildford show to this one, but this was still bloody ace.

The Wildhearts – Southampton – This gig was different from the one I saw earlier in the year, and it was certainly on par with the earlier one. The thing I liked about this gig is that there were songs played that don’t usually get a live airing and some of the more well-known songs weren’t played. I love this band, and if they had chosen to play a best of + new album set again, I would have been fine with it. The fact they didn’t is a testament to them, I think. Also, they played Anthem with Danny singing and that almost got it top 10. Almost.

Okilly Dokily – Nuneaton – This gig was weird, but in the very best way. For a start, I wasn’t sure where the venue was, despite being stood in the downstairs bar of it at one point. After that, the support band, Red Rum came on. Now, I know I have been in a gig venue when they played before, and I knew (sort of) what sort of music they played, but I had absolutely no memory of them or their music when they came on stage. Turns out I really can’t remember much of the Alestorm gig they supported at a few years ago. Rum and beer rounds are bad news, kids! Especially when you are drunk before entering the venue. Anyway! Red Rum were good. Okilly Dokily were more than just a lot of fun (I am sure it is not a reach to suggest that a Ned Flanders themed metal [or Nedal] band would be fun). But they were also really good on top of that. I am glad I made the effort to go see them. I left having had a good time, and I guess that is the main thing really!

Skinny Lister – Portsmouth – A very quick summary of this gig was that it was a lot of fun! Skinny Lister’s particular brand of music is very catchy and easy to dance/sing along to. I recall liking them when they supported Frank Turner before, and I liked them again on this night. Very pleased that I grabbed a ticket for this one.

Bury Tomorrow – Portsmouth – To be honest, I am surprised this isn’t top 10. The most recent of all the gigs listed here (as it happened two nights ago from when I write this). Blood Youth opened and I went from not being fussed about seeing them before the gig to being glad I caught their set, as they were very good. Employed To Serve were the main support – you may have picked up the fact earlier I somewhat like this band (and there will be more on them later). Bury Tomorrow were excellent. Black Flame is a damn fine album and they played it in full, so that’s cool. Unrelated to this gig, but I wish they’d play Lionheart again, as that song rips.

And there we are, the 10 that all could have made the top 10. But here we are, the gigs that all did.

10. Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls – Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth – February

Before getting onto the headline act, a shout out must be given to Jimmy Eat World who were definitely one of the best support acts I’ve seen this year. Frank and his band were once again on top form. The set contained some songs I’ve not heard live in a while which is always a bonus. Basically, this was a really good gig.

9. Volbeat – O2 Academy Brixton, London – September

As far as tour packages go, this was probably the best one of the year. Danko Jones, a band I’ve wanted to see for a few years now. Baroness, similar story and of course, Volbeat who are one of my favourite bands. I’m not a massive fan of their latest album, and the set was mostly from it. The gig made me appreciate the album more for sure, but I would have preferred more songs I already liked I guess.

8. Behemoth – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, February

I wrote words about this gig earlier in the year. Amusingly (for me), the final line of that blog reads “Behemoth were outstanding. I wouldn’t be shocked to be hyperlinking this blog come December when I write my end of year list. “ – Well, as I predicted I would – click here for that review. Would it have been higher if they played more from The Satanist, and played a bit longer? Yeah, probably. Also, At The Gates were superb supporting Behemoth.

7. Metallica – Twickenham Stadium, London. June

Probably my favourite band are 7^th?! When I was drawing up this list, it surprised me I couldn’t put them higher, but it would have been dishonest to do so. Missed Bokassa because this was a midweek stadium gig and I couldn’t get there any earlier than I did. Missed the very start of Ghost due to my queuing for a shirt but saw most of their set and they were good. They were hampered a bit by the sound. Metallica were on excellent form. There were times I thought the sound was a bit ropey for them (at least where I was sat – I can’t speak for everyone naturally). The main memories I have from this gig are mostly good, but there are a couple of negatives (the main being finally getting to hear Frantic from St Anger…but it being a bit of a mess) which is one of the reasons it couldn’t be higher than 7^th. The other is that I enjoyed the 6 gigs ahead of it more (probably doesn’t come as a surprise that, given the context of this list).

6. Employed To Serve – The Garage, London. May

A quick word on the supports, Loathe opened this gig and I went in not having a clue about them. They were superb. Their set ended with me wanting more, so mission accomplished. I enjoyed Devil Sold His Soul, but not as much as Loathe. Employed To Serve I’d only seen before this in support slots and they had blown me away. This night they played for a bit longer than I’d seen previously and they were incredible. Their new album (which is a corker, by the way) had come out that day I believe, and the set contained 5 songs from it (they were all ace). It contained the best of their previous album, The Warmth of a Dying Sun, for the rest of the set. I love that album, which made me love this set.

5. Frank Turner – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. September

This was a charity gig for Nordoff Robbins (as part of the Get Loud gig series, there were a number on the same night across the country). I feel we in Portsmouth had the best gig in getting a Frank Turner solo show at the Wedgewood Rooms. I am slightly biased perhaps because I was there. The show covered every aspect of Frank’s solo career to date, including songs from this year’s No Mans Land album. I feel like it is a daft thing to write, saying that a solo show is different to a full band show (because of course it is…) but the shows have a different vibe to them, and it is one I like (I would say I like the vibes equally). Frank is doing a solo tour next March – I’ve got a ticket for the Brighton gig in a venue I’ve wanted to visit for a while so who knows, I’ll probably be writing similar words again next year.

4. Cancer Bats – The Boileroom, Guildford. August

The third of four times I saw Cancer Bats in 2019 was my favourite, and it was one of my favourite gigs of the year. A Cancer Bats show to me is always good, which means it starts off on a positive footing – I know I’m going to have a good time, it is just a case of how good of a time. Turns out, this time round, a lot of fun. The venue, The Boileroom, is tiny, which where I was stood (centre of the stage towards the “back”) was mosh pit territory. Not been in a mosh pit for a long time before this gig – it was a nice reminder that they can be fun. This show was ace.

3. Ghost – The SSE Arena Wembley, London. November

If there is any justice in this world, Ghost will be headlining Download (and other UK festivals) sooner rather than later. If this was an audition for the role of festival headliner, then Ghost surely would have got the job. The show is really quite impressive, and it has been said that it can be better now Ghost are an established arena act. This show was as good as Royal Albert Hall last year, if not better. My only complaint is that the duelling guitars stuff went on too long (much like the Ghoul introductions from RAH did). That is such a small complaint in the grand scheme of things though. Ghost finished 3^rd last year, and they finish 3^rd this year – that is because they are just excellent live.

2 Royal Republic – Engine Rooms, Southampton. October

I mentioned earlier how Royal Republic’s 30-minute set turned me from an interested bystander into a fan. At Download, they were plugging this tour. It was a no-brainer to go to it. Going was an excellent decision. This was, without question, the most fun gig I’ve been to this year. The band played almost all their latest album, Club Majesty, which is in with a shout of being my favourite album released this year, which I am sure helped make this one of my favourite gigs of the year. There were no negatives to report from this gig (itself, the hangover the next day was certainly a negative!) I think the Download set, but certainly this gig, has made Royal Republic a band I want to see live again, and probably again after that.

1. Rammstein – Stadium MK, Milton Keynes. July

This show had everything. Rammstein are an immense live band without the show, and I am sure that if they just turned up, played their songs and left, then everyone in attendance would have a lovely time. However, the show they bring with them just takes it to another level. This tour was the biggest they’ve ever done, and the show (as a result) was the biggest show they’ve ever done. It was incredible the amount they pulled off. I was worried when I saw how much of their new album they were playing live (it is an excellent album, another one in the conversation of my favourite of the year), but I needn’t have worried as the songs just fit in perfectly. It wasn’t until some days after the gig that I remembered they didn’t play Feuer Frei! – and I love that song! It is possible that next years list is already wrapped up as well, because Rammstein are bringing this tour back to Europe again in 2020, and I’ll be at the Coventry date, this time in the golden circle. I’ve no idea how different the show will be this time, but I am looking forward to finding out!

And that in a nutshell (!) wraps up my 2019 in live music. I am debating writing some decade blogs of best gigs, festival sets etc. Not sure how much of it will be fresh material or copy/paste stuff, but I’m sure I’ll do something. I am posting this before Christmas so to all, have a great Christmas/festive period (delete as appropriate) and, above everything else, just be excellent to each other.

RWC 2019: The Business End

Despite my lack of writing about it this time round, I have very much enjoyed watching how the Rugby World Cup has played out. It was unfortunate that games had to be cancelled but in the grand scheme of things, this was the right thing to do. Could World Rugby have done more in terms of having a contingency plan in place to avoid games being cancelled? Perhaps. But in the grand scheme of things, rugby union is just a game. My thoughts go out to those people (and their families, loved ones etc) who lost their lives as a result of Typhoon Hagibis – a reminder that some things are more important than sport.

Where I left my last post was speculating whether Japan were about to repeat history, by repeating their feat from the 2015 competition of winning 3 pool games but not qualifying to the knock out stages. A very quick summary of my hopes was that I hope they would not repeat history and that they would qualify, be that at the expense of Ireland or Scotland. I did not care for the way Scottish Rugby (not the players, I should stress) conducted themselves when it seemed possible that their game against Japan would be cancelled, threatening legal action against World Rugby if they were eliminated from the tournament as a result of the weather. This was a clear case of some people forgetting that some things are bigger than sport but almost as bad as that – there was an air of entitlement that I really found distasteful. I didn’t like that chat, and what it did was turn me, someone who was slightly favouring Japan in this match (but would have been okay with either team qualifying) to someone who was supporting Japan and hoping that Scotland lost. As it goes, that did happen, and I was very pleased it did play out that way. Scotland (same as any nation) do not have a divine right to make the knockout stages – you earn it by qualifying, and that is what Japan did.

The way the two quarter final days unfolded were almost a mirror image of each other in terms of how I reacted to the two games. Day one was England v Australia and New Zealand v Ireland, and Day two was Wales v France and South Africa v Japan. What I mean when I say it was a mirror image in the way they unfolded was that the first game was one that I got really invested in and was hooked in until the end of the game – and the second game ended up being somewhat deflating. England beating Australia in a dominant fashion was great to see as someone supporting England (unsurprisingly). I had high hopes for New Zealand v Ireland as a contest and those hopes were dashed certainly by half time, with the All Blacks being 22-0 up at the break. As said previously, excitement was replaced by feeling deflated as it became obvious that Ireland were not going to stage a miracle and they were heading out of the World Cup again at the quarter final stage. It almost feels wrong to move on from this point without acknowledging the fact that concerns that Ireland had peaked a year before the World Cup probably were true – this did not look like the same Ireland that beat the All Blacks the year before. Day two started with Wales v France and this was a proper test match. France went in at the break 19-10 up and I thought they were going to go on and win it. The red card for Vahaamahina didn’t massively tip the balance in favour of Wales, but I am sure it helped in allowing Wales to get back into the game and eventually win 20-19. I was invested the whole way though as I genuinely didn’t know how it was going to end. Sadly, that feeling only lasted for one half in the South Africa v Japan match. The first half was really close although I think more to do with South Africa being wasteful than Japan being in the contest in the meaningful way, what with the half time score being 5-3. South Africa dominated in the second half with Japan not scoring any more points. The game finished 26-3 and as South Africa started to pull away…it was deflating. All the praise in the world though goes to Japan – they went into the game with their Plan A and stuck at it for as long as they could. There was lots of chat about what happens next for Japan and I don’t know what the answer is, but it would be a travesty if they are not afforded the opportunity to continue growing as a rugby playing nation.

Due to a lack of competition for the nations that didn’t make the quarter finals, it was another week to wait until the semi finals when England would face off against New Zealand and Wales would play South Africa. Focusing on today’s game to start, I am sad to write that Wales are out. It was not an overly exciting game if I’m honest – Wales did not seem all that threatening when attacking. I can only think of one time when they put sustained pressure on the South Africa try line - which, in all fairness, did lead to a try – but Wales didn’t seem to have enough about them today to beat South Africa. I did wonder when it was 16 all if they would get the chance to nick it. I thought they had the momentum and they were going forward, but Francois Louw won a turnover penalty for South Africa which allowed the Springboks to not only clear their lines but put Wales on the backfoot. When Wales were on the back foot, they conceded a kick-able penalty – and Hendre Pollard kicked it to perfection, scoring the winning points and consigning Wales to a bronze medal match against the All Blacks.

I say a bronze medal match against the All Blacks because oh my god England beat New Zealand! It still sounds great saying that (feels good to type it as well). This wasn’t a case of England sneaking a win though – England dominated the All Blacks in perhaps the best performance the team have put in under Eddie Jones. People have often said that when you play New Zealand, you must be at your absolute best otherwise they will show you up. On this occasion though, New Zealand were not at their best and England punished them for it. It would be wrong to not mention that not only did England win, but they had two tries disallowed. The first one was fair cop – Tom Curry acted as a dummy runner and was in an offside position, drawing a defender away from where the ball was and leaving a gaping hole in the New Zealand defence – it was certainly poor defending, but Curry was not in a legal place so fair enough. The second try – I’ve read conflicting views from chalking it off was the right decision to it being extremely harsh. I fall on the side of it being harsh. I’m glad I’m not talking about those two tries in the context of an England loss however. England were brilliant and thoroughly deserved their win.

And that, in a not so small summary, is what has happened in the World Cup since I last posted a blog about it. Next weekend there will be a bronze medal match between a depleted Wales team and a hurting New Zealand team. I can’t look past the All Blacks for that one, but then I couldn’t look past them for Saturday’s game so…who knows?! There will also be the small matter of the World Cup Final between England v South Africa, a repeat of the 2007 final. The only prediction I feel solid about making is that Mark Cueto’s name is going to be mentioned a lot by the media and on social media in the next week (Cueto had a try ruled out in the 2007 final). My prediction is that England will win, but it will be exceptionally close. I think England by no more than 4 points. What I do know is that I cannot wait. I hoped that England would be here, but I didn’t think it would happen – so now that England have made it…lets jut hope for once that it is not a case of “it is the hope that kills you!”.

RWC 2019: Are Japan About To Repeat History?

During the 2015 Rugby World Cup, I wrote quite frequently about the tournament and all the various goings on. I had decided against that this time, instead choosing to just watch and enjoy – something I’ve been doing as much as possible. Some of the very early morning games have been missed, and sadly there is no work from home option in my job, otherwise I would have done that on certain match days. I go into the tournament supporting England but hoping all the teams go well, especially the other 3 home nations. From that perspective, things have mostly been good. England and Wales so far undefeated, and as of this writing, England are the first team to officially qualify for the quarter finals. This is excellent to see after what happened in 2015. If England can beat France, they will go onto the last 8 and likely play Australia. This will be a tough game for sure, but one I think England can win. Ireland and Scotland have had mixed tournaments so far, it is probably fair to say, and both of those teams will feature in this blog post – the subject of which is the host nation, Japan.

Japan, I think it is fair to say, won the hearts of the rugby world when they beat South Africa at the 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup. It was, and remains, one of the biggest upsets in sport. I wrote a tribute blog to some of the smaller nations at the last tournament (which you can read in full here). On Japan, I wrote the following (slightly edited):

The final mention though has to go to Japan. I gave them no chance before this tournament, as I am sure so did many others. There have been so many words written about that game against South Africa. Just yesterday I watched that try which won Japan the game again. It was such a moment in time. The biggest Rugby World Cup upset? Undeniably. The biggest upset in the history of Rugby Union? If there is ever a top 10 list, it will be in it. One of the biggest upsets in sporting history? I would say so, yes. From that moment, almost everyone wanted to watch Japan win. I think it legitimately surprised people just how good they were. Their 4 day turnaround before the game against Scotland was just unfair really, and something which ought to be changed for the next World Cup. Teams like New Zealand can deal with such a short turn around as they can almost pick a new XV from their squad without issue. The smaller nations just can’t do that, and 4 days isn’t long enough to recover properly in time for another game. They comfortably beat Samoa in another game I expected them to lose. Samoa went in at half time having scored no points, and not looking like they would score any. They managed to get one try scored by the time the game ended but Japan were the deserved winners. They went into the last weekend knowing they could potentially qualify for the quarter finals. If Scotland lost to Samoa, they had their chance assuming they could beat the USA – a team they lost to back in July in the Pacific Nations Cup. Sadly for the, (and for rugby as a whole I think), Scotland beat Samoa and qualified for the quarter finals. This meant there was little to be played for in Japan’s game against USA. You wouldn’t know that by watching the game though! Japan played a fantastic game (and USA also played very well). Japan won, and became the only team in Rugby World Cup history to record 3 victories in the pool stage and not qualify for the last eight. It is such a shame they didn’t because they have been great to watch. For me, they have been the team of the tournament so far. Long after this tournament ends, people will still be talking about Japan and I think they will have become a lot of people’s “second” international team. Hopefully, the departure of their coach Eddie Jones does not derail their growth as a rugby nation. It would be great to see them make the last eight at their own Rugby World Cup in 2019.

Before talking about Japan, I would like to address the 4-day turnaround comment. It has not been dealt with in this tournament, but more teams have faced one (or will face one) – which makes it a bit fairer. Still tough for sure, but fair. Anyway, it was a hell of a tournament for Japan, and a real shame they did not qualify. Looking back on their pool, it was clear to see that bonus points (and Japan’s lack of them) was their undoing. Scotland qualified on the same number of wins, but with two additional bonus points to Japan’s zero. I concluded the paragraph above back in 2015 hoping that Japan make the quarter finals in 2019. We are now in 2019, and Japan have a very real chance of doing so. At the start of the tournament, Japan found themselves in a pool with Ireland (the world number one team at the start of the tournament, if you believe the rankings) and old foes from 2015, Scotland and Samoa (as well as Russia). Pre-tournament, I am sure I am not alone in predicting that Japan would finish third, behind Ireland and Scotland (in that order). Then, the tournament started. Predictably, but importantly, Japan kicked off the tournament on the opening night with a bonus point win against Russia. With a bit of a break, they then went into the game against Ireland. No-one really gave Japan a chance in this one, but they shocked the world again by beating Ireland 19-12 (a deserved result as well). This result dramatically shook the apple-cart so to speak in Pool A. The results so far have been:

Japan 30-10 Russia (Japan Bonus Point [BP])
Ireland 27-3 Scotland (Ireland BP)
Russia 9-34 Samoa (Samoa BP)
Japan 19-12 Ireland (Ireland BP)
Scotland 34-0 Samoa (Scotland BP)
Ireland 35-0 Russia (Ireland BP)
Japan 38-19 Samoa (Japan BP)

Which means the business end of the pool table currently looks like this:

  

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	Team	Played	Won	BP	Points
1	Japan	3	3	2	14
2	Ireland	3	2	3	11
3	Scotland	2	1	1	5

The next game in the pool is on Wednesday, when Scotland take on Russia. The Japan/Ireland game (as well as the Fiji/Uruguay game) has proven that anything can happen on the day. I would predict however that Scotland will not only win this game but get a bonus point win. This would keep Scotland third, but put them one point away from Ireland heading into the final weekend of the pool games. The penultimate Pool A match on Saturday sees Ireland take on Samoa. Samoa were no pushover against Japan today, but I would expect an Ireland win, and probably one with a bonus point as well. Samoa have not had the best of World Cups either stopping Ireland from getting the bonus point or beating them would be an excellent way to sign off. However, I am predicting an Ireland bonus point win. This would put Ireland 2 points ahead of Japan, with the final pool match still to be played. This match happens on Sunday, and it is between Japan and Scotland.

Scotland crushed Japan at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. This, as mentioned above, was Japan after a 4-day turnaround. Still though, it was 45-10 to Scotland. The two nations have played twice since, when Scotland went on a summer tour to Japan, Scotland winning both times. Both matches were close affairs, but Scotland did get the win twice. These results are worth keeping in mind but will have no bearing on the game a week on Sunday. If Ireland beat Samoa, this game essentially becomes a knockout game to be the second team to qualify from Pool A. There are several permutations from this one that I can think of. Japan’s best way of getting to the quarter final would of course be to win. There are two other routes to the knockouts for them, one is by losing with a bonus point, and Scotland not getting a try bonus point for scoring 4 tries.  The other is both teams getting a try bonus point, and Japan getting a losing bonus point as well. This would put Japan on 16 points and out of reach of Scotland who can only get on 15. Were that to happen, Japan would also win the pool by virtue of having beaten Ireland in the head-to-head. I guess the point I am trying to make here is that there are a number of ways for Japan to qualify, and they don’t necessarily have to win. Scotland though could spoil the party for them and break Japanese (and the rest of the rugby world’s) hearts again. Could Japan be about to repeat history, and become the second team (after themselves in 2015) to win 3 pool matches, and not qualify for the knockout stages? It is entirely possible.

I have no idea how this will pan out. I am hopeful that Japan will qualify because they have been great this tournament. The old romantic in me wants this to happen as well because it would set up a likely quarter final clash with South Africa…a rematch from the 2015 Rugby World Cup. What a story that would be! It would probably be for the best to not think of the world cup warm match between the two at this point because that somewhat spoils the magic. All I can say for certain is that I am very excited about how all this will play out. Next weekend, when the Japan/Scotland match kicks off, you will find me glued to the TV watching it all unfold. 

Review: Download Festival 2019

This weekend just gone was Download Festival 2019 at Donington Park. It was personally the 8^th one I’ve been at, but the first full weekend festival since Victorious Festival in 2016 (and that one wasn’t that much effort as it is down the road from where I live). My last Download festival was in 2015, so it had been a while since I’d been. As was the case for 2014 and 2015, I was in a hotel in Derby rather than camping on site. It is a bit of a hassle getting there and back each day, but no complaints at all on that front. The queue to get in each day seemed to be managed in a very odd way, which caused delays each time. I also didn’t get searched at all when going in. I don’t try and take things in with me that I shouldn’t, so it wasn’t an issue. However, in previous years when I have been searched each time I enter the arena, I’ve been surprised to see glass spirit bottles in the arena. This year, when seeing them, it was less of a surprise. I’m not sure what happened there. Anyway, I guess the main talking point, bands and wrestling aside for me has to be the weather and the condition of the site. The weather was mostly fine when I was watching bands. On occasion it battered it down, but I was lucky to be in a tent when this happened for the most part. The arena floor was very muddy as a result, which made getting about a bit of a slog from time to time. That being said, I didn’t fall over in the mud or get hurt, so again, no major complaints. I felt the festival did what they could in the arena in terms of straw etc.

A quick note about the Thursday. I arrived in Derby on the Thursday. Went out for food at Sainsburys Café (getting the rock and roll started early) – had a belting sweet potato katsu curry. The evening after that was mostly chilled and washing my shoes (had boots for the festival, went out to the shop in shoes, and ended up getting them muddy – a precursor to the weekend ahead!) Anyway, onto the primary focus of this festival, the bands. It usually makes sense with these things to kick off with the first day, so I will, with Friday. As per, the scores attributed are based on my own personal enjoyment, and not a comment on the band in question, mostly.

Friday:

I had Goodbye June on my list to watch but was queuing to get in the weekend arena/day ticket entrance the entire time they were on, which is a bit of a shame. Wasn't mad keen on seeing them mind, so not overly annoyed – but it would have been nice to see them. Instead, I trekked over to the Dogtooth stage to catch Groundculture – 6. I didn’t know much by them, but they were a fine way to kick the festival off. Up next on the Dogtooth stage was Those Damn Crows - 7 who were really good. Not a lot else to say about them. I left wanting to get into them properly. I trundled over to 2^nd stage for the first time for Kvelertak – 5. I've seen them a few times before and this wasn't the best time seeing them. Not sure if it was just being too far away from the stage or owt, but after they left, all I could muster was a shrug.

I headed back to a now much busier Dogtooth stage to see Conjurer - 9 and blimey, that was something. Blinder of a set, that. Want to see them again and can't make the October tour, which made me do a sad. They were so good. There aren’t many bands that would make me miss some of Clutch’s set, so I am glad I enjoyed them as much as I did. Speaking of Clutch – 8. I love Clutch. I didn't see them all because of that vicious clash with Conjurer. They finished with Electric Worry and X-Ray Visions - what's not to love? I suspect I'll be seeing them in Southampton at the end of the year and having a lovely time (assuming the sound isn’t bobbins). Up next on second stage was Deadland Ritual - 7 - I base these scores on my personal enjoyment of the set, and I thought it was cool seeing a supergroup play songs from Dio-era Sabbath, Velvet Revolver and Billy Idol. Their own material is...fine, but the score is mostly for the covers.  I didn’t stick around for the whole set as I wanted to make sure I was in the 3^rd stage tent for the next band.

If you had said to me in the build-up to this festival (well, before the times came out) that I wouldn’t be seeing Whitesnake, I would have called you a fool or something equally as derisory. However, when it transpired they clashed with The Interrupters – 10, well there was only going to be one winner there, particularly after their set at Slam Dunk. The Interrupters stole the show for the Friday (and nearly for the whole damn weekend). Their set was just immense. I really want them to be added to the Fireball tour. It will sell me a ticket in an instant. Stayed at the Avalanche stage for Reel Big Fish – 9, who were a lot of fun. The classics were all great as per and I liked one of the new songs. Sure, it was a bit RBF paint by numbers at times, but that didn’t hurt the set at all. They are good at what they do, that is for sure! Went over to the Dogtooth in the hope of seeing Jinjer but the tent was rammed, and people were several rows out, so decided against it. Figured this would be the case for At The Gates as well so decided to call it a night after Rob Zombie. Hey, speaking of - Rob Zombie - 7 - Decent way to end the night. I’ve never been a massive fan (due to me not listening to him/White Zombie more than not liking) but it was decent enough. Did think for a headline set on the second stage it was a bit short. I did consider sticking around for Def Leppard…but didn’t.

Saturday:

Got held up getting in again, but I had arrived early enough to factor this in, and didn’t miss the first band – which was nice.

For only the second time of the weekend so far, I was at main stage for a band! Alien Weaponry – 7 were first up and I quite enjoyed their set. Royal Republic - 9 were on main stage next and I loved this set, thought they were excellent. It made me want to see them again and they are playing up the road from me, so I might just! After them was a set I was very excited about. Power Trip – 8 did not let me down either – they had a great set. I thought it was brilliant that they were on the main stage and they didn't look out of place there. After Power Trip was probably the biggest extreme metal show in the UK to date with Behemoth - 8 on the big stage. I only saw the first 30 or so minutes, but they were sounding in fine form. You may wonder why I decided to leave their set to head to another stage. This was the second worse clash of the weekend for me, so decided to see some of Behemoth and then go catch Epica – 8. They opened with my favourite song of theirs, so that almost gave them a 10 right there. It was excellent though, but I think I prefer seeing them indoors. Not sure if they will stick a UK date on their Euro tour later in the year (which they couldn't announce right away due to Download) - we'll see. The rain started coming down during Epica, and it didn’t stop throughout the whole of the next band’s set really. 

Skindred - 9 - In the hands of a lesser band, this part of the day could have been miserable (what with the rain and all). Skindred were just excellent, which they always are. Sure, the stage patter is pretty samey at this stage, but that didn't spoil it for me. They could play every year and it not be boring. I don’t know if they will ever be higher on the bill, but they have the show to justify it. I’d love to see what they could do headlining the second stage or having a longer slot on main. After Skindred, I made my first visit to the NXT UK tent. Can't really give this a rating the same way I rate a band, but I enjoyed what I saw. Getting a main event of Matt Riddle v Ilja Dragunov was quite something! Moustache Mountain v Grizzled Young Vets as well was very good. Pleased to see Xia Brookside/Killer Kelly and Rhea Ripley/Piper Niven wrestle as well. After the wrestling, I headed to the Dogtooth and caught the end of Batushka - NR - I have no idea what to rate this. I base all these on enjoyment and I can't work out if I enjoyed it or not. I heard one song, a lot of bell ringing and what looked like a sermon? I was quite interested by the whole thing though. Also, probably worth noting that I heard a bit of Die Antwoord in the main stage on the walk and…I got nothing. Am I out of touch? No, it is everyone else that is wrong!

The headliner of the Dogtooth stage that night was Carcass – 9. Belting set this. One of the best of the day. Made even better by the announcement a new album is nearly finished. Hopefully a UK tour will come with that. I like that they played mainly classics but fit in some songs from their latest album. Jeff Walker joked that most of the people were in the tent because of the shit weather and a really shit band on the other stage. Not sure if he meant Die Antwoord or Halestorm, so I am assuming he meant Die Antwoord. They fit that description for my tastes at least. Anyhow, main event time to so speak. Slipknot - 10 - Band of the day for me. They were excellent. Could be one of my favourite times seeing them live, but all the times have been pretty great so tough to work out. Opening with People = Shit and Get This was incredible. Unsainted is massive live. It is outrageous when a band can drop a song as big as Before I Forget in the middle of their set as if it is just another song. Slipknot live 2020 has me interested - just not Ally Pally please!

Sunday:

Set off a little bit later after a call to my Dad (it was Father’s Day and all!). I didn’t need to be in first thing, but the queue to get in was relatively quick, so was able to see the first bands on. I headed to the stage where I was planning to start the day to see Redhook – 6. They were a decent enough start to the day.

Black Futures - 9 - I almost walked off when they hadn't started nearly 15 mins into their set, but glad I stuck around because they were excellent. Probably the delay (and subsequent overrun) had a knock-on effect on the rest of the day on that stage, which is a shame. A bit later than planned, but the next stop was to see NXT UK. Arrived as Toni Storm was wrestling Candy Floss, which was decent from what I saw. Xia Brookside v Jinny was also pretty good. The final two matches were ace, Matt Riddle v James Drake and Adam Cole v Zack Gibson. I did have a bit of a chuckle when they had to reshoot a segment with Toni Storm, Candy Floss and Kay Lee Ray (I guess these things happen, but it was hard to be that invested in it). Went back over to 3rd to see Black Peaks, who were due to be on in 5 or so minutes from when I got there, but Heart of a Coward were still on (aforementioned knock on effect). Resolved to missing Black Peaks, I went off to second instead and caught the end of Starset. Starset - 3 - Not for me! I didn't like what I heard. This is the only rating really that is influenced by not enjoying the set, and not really liking the music being played. Perhaps it would be a different story had I listened to them before the festival? Who knows. After them on second stage was State Champs – 5, who I thought were fine - didn't hate it, didn't overly like it either. 

Amon Amarth - 6 were up next and they are always decent, usually immense. I was quite far back for them though, which meant they were pretty quiet from where I was. Also, I bumped into a pal at this point, so was occasionally having a chat and not really paying attention. I may go see them at the end of the year if the price is right (which I tried to find out when typing this and it cannot be found – not liking this trend of gig ticket prices being unknown until they go on sale). Anyway, I cut seeing Amon Amarth short to see Beartooth – 8. First time seeing them and I thought they were bloody great. I need to check them out properly. They are another band who are touring in the UK soon, and it is tempting to drop into London to see them. Back to the main stage where I remained for the rest of the weekend. Lamb of God - 9 were immense as per usual. I loved their set. It was a slightly longer version of the set they played supporting Slayer at Wembley, so hopefully when I see them next they will mix it up, but this was still really good. The penultimate act of the day and indeed the weekend was Smashing Pumpkins – 7. They were one of the "must see's" of the day for me, and it was great to see some of the songs they played. They were good. The stage patter left a little to be desired, but it didn't spoil it for me. According to Setlist FM, they were joined on stage by Myrkur for a cover of Snowblind by Black Sabbath. I don’t think Billy Corgan announced her as Myrkur though, rather her real name (which to my shame, I don’t know). At the time, I remember not knowing who was announced but I have seen Myrkur before. Maybe Setlist FM is wrong, or maybe I just misheard the announcement. Anyway, the cover was cool although it probably meant we didn’t get 1979 played, which is a shame. No matter though, they were a must-see band and they didn’t disappoint. Finally, and oh boy! Tool - 10 – Comfortably band of the weekend. They were incredible. I just wish they could have played for longer. It was all so good, but he high point of the set for me was Vicarious, which I had got into my mind wouldn’t be played as the festival set list appeared to be shorter slightly than the main headline tour one. A comment on the graphics – they were all really cool to look at. It didn’t detract from the band at all that they themselves were not the focus of the cameras. Hope there isn't another 13 year wait to see them again!

All in all, Download 2019 was a decent weekend. Few little complaints here and there, and the weather did make getting about a bit treacherous at times, but it didn't spoil it for me which is cool. It was worth coming out of festival retirement for. I’m not sure now if I will return to festival retirement (indeed, I don’t have another one booked for this year). I guess it will all depend on the line up.