Being one of the first bands to kick off a festival like Reading is a daunting task. Not only are you up against the early afternoon draw of still being in bed, but you’re also partly responsible for setting the expectations for the rest of the festival.
Over on The Pit stage, LIFE kicked and screamed their way through their opening set. Swaggering around the stage, frontman Mez Sanders-Greens’s infectious jaunting soon struck the crowd who joined him in getting things off to a physical start this sunny Friday.
Not wasting a moment, he introduces ’Rare Boots’ by talking about shopping in Hull before ‘In Your Hands’ is welcomed as a politically charged number by shouting “Fuck The Tories!” Even the US President gets a takedown (“this next one’s about Donald fucking Trump. What a wanker.”)
By the end the set, the tent had doubled in size by curious onlookers checking out what the ruckus that escaped through the energy filled screams from Mez were. With the audience in their hands, LIFE departed, more graciously than you’d expect, from a band who spit and launched around the stage.
Looks like this year’s going to be a good one then.