Friday at Reading + Leeds had more excitement than anyone could surely take: truly special guests, surprise covers and, er, Great British Bake Off host Noel Fielding running around Kasabian's set while dressed as a vampire! If Saturday and Sunday are this good, we're going to need a week off to recover.
1) Lethal Bizzle flooring grime's superstars
Biz’s set at Reading was utter hype: a run of rowdy hits from Pow! to Rari Workout; a karate display; half the crowd throwing their tops off.
He brought on Skepta for I Win. He brought on Stormzy for Dude. But whose name was everyone shouting at the end? Only one, and it goes B-I-Z-Z-L-E.
Lethal Bizzle also showed he was in tune with Reading’s rock heritage with a moving tribute to Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. We're fairly sure that might be the first of many tributes this weekend.
2) Kasabian taking an Eez-eh trip Around the World and straight to Nirvana
A few songs into Kasabian’s barnstorming headlining set, everyone was ready to sing the chorus of Eez-eh one last time, but then Tom, Serge and the boys suddenly dropped into a funk-rock version of Daft Punk’s Around the World. Time for a quick double take? No, time to dance even harder.
Later on they played a beautiful, gentle cover of Nirvana's All Apologies too. A tribute to Nirvana's legendary '92 set at Reading?
Oh, and then Noel Fielding took to the stage dressed as a cross between guitarist Serge and a vampire. What on earth was happening? Who cares! Kasabian's whole set proved just why they'd been invited back to headline - and why they should be back again soon. Too, too good.
3) Tory Lanez managing to walk on the crowd like he's walking on water
Well, almost :)
4) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets
“You know who we are? You know what we came for?” said Josh Homme after walking on stage with Queens of the Stone Age to play Reading’s worst-kept-secret set.
Everyone did know: QOTSA were there to play the gnarliest, sexiest, dirtiest rock'n'roll imaginable and they did for a pummelling 30 minutes.
“We hope we gave you a night you’ll never remember,” Josh joked at the end. Er, we’re going to be remembering it for a long time, thanks.
Surely there aren't going to be any other surprises at the festival this good? Well, we wouldn't be so sure:
5) Anne-Marie taking selfies with everyone
We don’t know if she got their numbers afterwards, so she could WhatsApp them copies!
6) Jimmy Eat World making the perfect case for a Reading 鈥渓egends鈥� slot
Glastonbury every year gets so much attention for its “legends” slot - y'know, the one on Sunday afternoon, just when everyone fancies a singalong. Well, maybe Reading should go the same way, except with one on Friday teatime. At 5:40pm today, emo originators Jimmy Eat World - formed back in 1993 - took the stage and proved just why they've been soundtracking parties and heartbreaks for 25 years. The perfect start to the evening. Get someone similar next year, please!
7) Declan McKenna showing why he's a future headliner
He's got the attitude. He's got the tunes. He might have been on at 3:20pm on the NME/Radio 1 stage today, but give it a few years and the Main Stage will be his.
