Live Review: Reading Rising Festival 2023 (Part #2 – Red Room)

“You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes” ~ Morpheus, The Matrix

But no one ever asked what happened if you throw down both pills with mouthful of turpentine, did they?! Fortunately with Reading Rising you don’t have to make a choice; there are 12 bands spread over the 2 stages with 0 clashes – and – you don’t even have venture far to witness any of them. Here’s the second part of our review of the event, the bands who played the Red Room…

There is no wait between bands for stages to be changed over at Reading Rising, just a 10 second walk to the Red Room stage for Blues Rock fuelled trio NervEndings [7/10] who look like they’re having the time of their lives this afternoon. In keeping with the Alternative vibes the band like to keep things a little weird and perhaps even eclectic with their lyrics while sonically they are a well oiled machine who are in cruise control throughout their set. “Muddy Puddle” and “Democracy Manifest” are highlights as they take us along for the ride on a groove laden journey with a little tongue in cheek humour thrown in for good measure. It has to be said that there is a familiar about their charismatic frontman though… House of Games anyone? They know they have fans in Australia, so maybe one day…

Like fireflies Our Fate [8/10] exude a warm glow as they perform a set packed with songs that have an emotionally charged quality to them. Combining Pop-Punk with Alternative Rock and even Melodic Hardcore, the half an hour of power that is their debut album “Reflections Of My Past” provides the backbone for a set that has a satisfying crunch and plenty of sing-a-long moments. The clean vocals are just so good in contrast with the rich melodies they have to offer. They have been through some hard times recently and its a testament to their character that they are not only here but deliver such a powerful, heartfelt set with “Alone” a special moment. Sobering but captivating rather than sombre, you can’t help but feel you want to give them a sweaty hug after the show is over.

They may have bass and synths on a backing track but there doesn’t stop Crushed By Waves [8/10] from being being a Linkin Park inspired good time. A high fat, full caffeine lethal dose, they’re armed with all the big choruses, bold synths and heavy breakdowns that you could ever want, their infectious energy getting the first proper mosh pit of the afternoon. Caught in the swell between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal there is something for everyone in their set, a few numbers tinged with Nu-Metal, some with Sleaze Rock and others a little more serious, their heavily tattooed drummer looking like he’s just stepped out of Motley Crue. How they have managed to nail a sound that is both nostalgic and yet fresh is mindboggling…

Vocalist Joe Simon looked a little crestfallen before his band took to the stage having woken up with a sore throat but fortunately he has his friends and the crowd in his corner because what we get from InAir [9/10] is arguably one of the most unique sets of their career. Usually a three piece they have Finn Panhaleux from Our Fate join them on stage with guitarist Aaron Iley and drummer Connor Shortt all helping out with the vocals. The harmonies that they end up creating combined with the fans makes for something really special with “Pieces” and “Chemicals” both enthralling highlights which capture everyone’s hearts with their anthemic qualities. Rich melodies and a delicate balance between the guitars and synths all work in their favour meaning tonight is a triumphant home coming that sees the band more united than ever, this one will live long in the memory for all the right reasons.

Mellowing things out before tonight’s headliners, the return of Reading Alternative Rock outfit Veridian [8/10] finds The Facebar flooded by dry ice. They’ve played Reading Rising before and they are welcomed like local heroes, bassist Johnny Slevin being integral to their sound in the live arena with his vocal parts elevating everything. On stage the band seem cool, calm and collected despite not having played a show since March and everything runs smoothly, their set littered with warm emotive moments and songs you want to sing-a-long with. What they lack is a song with greater contrast or texture, something with a longer ambient section or that contrasts acoustic with electric guitars to really make it stand out from the pack but that’s a minor thing as what they do they do incredibly well.

You have to take your hat off to vocalist and guitarist Tobias Young because having rebuilt South coast Metalcore heroes Our Hollow Our Home [9/10] from the ground up as the sole surviving member of the band that have been touring around Europe over the past seven years or so. Why? Because this is the second time we’ve seen this new line up live and on the surface at least, coupled with single “Downpour” it feels like Young has got everything right. That’s not something that’s easy to do but it has to be said that nothing feels out of place, especially vocally and tonight the band are in pulsating form, nailing each and every track perfectly. It’s fair to say that they play it somewhat safe and don’t offer up an encore or any unreleased new material despite telling us having an album waiting in the wings, so instead we get a classic career spanning set which has plenty of promise. From “Hartsick” to “Idlewaves” and “Better Daze” everything is slick and well rehearsed so the crowd dissolve into a mass of bodies swaying like marionettes, singing along to the choruses, headbanging during the verses and fuelling the fire of another strong performance. They do lack a little of the intensity which they had when they opened for Atilla in the summer but tonight is a very different audience so we can forgive them that. 2024 is going to be huge for them so be warned because they’re armed with sticks and bricks.