Download Festival 2018 : The Royal Republic tidal wave

Un petit bilan de mon premier Download Festival à Paris !

I experienced the Download Festival for the first time in Paris in June (I know, I know… but in my defense it was only the third edition on this side of the Channel) ! I was really sad to miss last year’s since it was the last chance to see Linkin Park in France so I motivated myself to participate this year. Overall, the lineup was pretty cool, without being on the UK’s level in my opinion, which is perfectly normal seing as it’s originally a british festival. The parisian edition gathered about sixty bands on four stages (against over a hundred for the british festival for the same amount of stages) and we could notice the presence of Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, The Foo Fighters and Guns n’ roses, as well as The Offspring and The Hives. However, a good amount of these names were also on the british lineup next to other leading names such as Avenged Sevenfold , Bullet For My Valentine or Shinedown and safe bets such as Black Veil Brides (which to my utmost despair canceled their european tour, thus their visit to France but who was still present for this london show), The Maine, You Me At Six, Rise Against or Asking Alexandria as well as growing bands such as Marmozets, Starcrawler, The Faim or Neck Deep.

Personally, I absolutely wanted to see The Struts that I discovered a few years ago as the opening act of a McFly show in London and that I instantaneously loved, and Royal Republic, that I discovered recently (shame, I know) but who’s now one of my favorite bands, even more after seeing their show at Download. I also wanted to see Nothing More, that I discovered at their parisian show last winter but who was unfortunately moved from sunday to saturday, and Hollywood Undead that I’ve been following for a long time. The Offspring, Marilyn Manson, Billy Talent, The Hives and Guns n’ Roses were also amongst the bands that I would have liked to discover live (by the way, it seemed like the very light monday lineup rested solely on Guns n’ roses et I sort of wonder why the festival is in a span of four days and not three like in the UK…).

In terms of organisation, everything was handled pretty well from my point of view (I didn’t experience all the aspects of the festival), there was a lot of staff mobilized on the parking lots and at the different entrances and there was a wide range of options for food. The cashless technology was present, which can be really handy, even though certain stands forced you to use a bracelet to buy something and others didn’t, which can be a bit annoying (especially when you’re very thirsty !). The disposition of the two main stages was not ideal because their proximity didn’t allow shows in parallel, but the bands alternated to play so it wasn’t an issue anyway. I don’t know if the main stages bothered the smaller ones.

Let’s get to the interesting part : the concerts ! I didn’t make it in time to see Teacup Monster’s show that I heard from afar, which I’m sad about because I was actually curious to see them (they’re one of the few french rock bands that I like). I was a bit early for The Struts and I was able to get relatively close to the stage. I was surprised by the small number of real fans in the crowd and I think a major portion didn't know them (but I may be wrong). Overall, I was kind of disappointed by their performance event though I really love this band and I loved their show in London. Their style is really original and literally transports you to 70’s Glam Rock England, they make Rock n’ Roll music like we don’t hear much of nowadays ! As for the frontman Luke Spiller, I just love his style, from his hair to the exuberant outfit he wore that day, his attitude and his presence on stage make me think of a mixture between Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson (I love his dance moves) ! The technical quality of the live was there and Luke Spiller is a VERY good singer, but the unfolding of the performance felt very mechanical and repetitive. The songs came one after another without any real connexion with the audience in my opinion, apart from the « repeat after me ! » and the « clap your hands ! », even if the singer had some touching words at the end about how France actually welcomed them at their beginnings, even before England. To conclude, I wasn’t elated, I wasn’t really in the moment and I was just waiting for them to play my favorite tracks. Here is snippet of their set that I filmed :

Luckily, Royal Republic did not disappoint ! I expected a memorable show given the energy of their music but I didn’t think I would enjoy myself as mush as I did ! Everything was amazing : the gold glitter costumes, the synchronized dancing, the beach balloons launched in the crowd, the guitar solos, the loud bass and especially the little interludes of the frontman Adam Grahn that were hysterical ! The performance was mastered from the beginning to the end and felt like a tidal wave. The energy and the groove of their sound was magnetic and you could tell that people were naturally attracted toward their stage. I danced until the last second and I’m only waiting for one thing : seing them live again as soon as possible ! Honestly one of the best shows I’ve ever experienced ! I tried to film a snippet without great success because of the crowd movements and the power of the bass…

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay to see The Hives but it looked pretty epic from the videos I’ve seen ! In any case, this first Download was really positive overall and I can’t wait for next year’s lineup !