200 OK

So I am going to the Download music festival next week with people, if you are coming and I know you and we have not arranged a meet up then make sure you drop me a message before you set off or be a bit more rock’n'roll and text me when you get there, I guess you could be stone cold rock’n'roll and just think you’ll bump into me on the off chance, amoungst 10′s of thousands of metallers (I don’t quite know how phil managed this in 2007 in the queue but he and ruth did!).

The lineup isn’t my ideal one this year but I am really looking forward to seeing Killswitch Engage again and The Prodigy whom despite being one of my favorite groups of all time, I have yet to ever see live! The return of Limp Bizkit is going to be entertaining, there does seem to be a numetal revival going on at the minute, which is bizarre when you think about it… all those people into Korn, Coal Chamber etc… back in the mid-late 90′s to the early 2000′s are all much older now and must think back on such times with the same nostalgia many older music fans have for groups from the dreaded 80′s.

Everyone always goes off on a rant about the lineups at festivals and I don’t want to really start. For me, as long as there are a few bands I love, a couple I wouldent mind seeing and some surprise gems that really get me listening to them for the first time then i’m happy. Apart from Motorhead and Pendulum I don’t think there was one band last year I wanted to see, and Lethal Bizzle,,, yea he’s not the worse musician on the planet but WTF!

What I really wrote this for

I really wrote this post to share my festival checklist with ya’ll in case you need some help on what to take to a festival like Download. Crossed out ones are previous choices now disregarded.

• Tent – You need one of these unless you are hardcore or just strange
• Sleeping bag – Again pretty essential unless you like the cold
• Ear Plugs – Hardly ‘\m/ ROCK METTTALL’ I know, but if/when you do decide to sleep and the tent next door has some shit black metal blastin away you’ll feel smug
• 2x Toilet rolls - Obvious reasons o..O
• Bin Liners – Totally essential, I split mine like this, 1 food, 1 toiletries, 1 in-tent bin, 1 dirty clothes. The rest you’ll need for ya camp site etc. Buy a whole roll! do it now. 
• mini First Aid kit – Fuckit live dangerously, and if you can’t make it to the St Johns medical tent then that means ya dead or soon to be in an ambulance anyway.
• Torch – Useful, if only for the fact it saves you from all those fucking tent ropes.
• RucSack - No brainer
• Mobile - Essential social tool for meeting people and getting the best out of the festival, dont worrying about batteries they have charge points everywhere. 
• Sun screen – All day in the sun takes it toll
• Hat - I look like a cock in a hat, you feel free to take one if you like.
• Toothbrush – Makes you feel civilised and refreshed in the morning.
• Alcohol gel  - Tottaly 100% fucking essential. They cost about 30p will last you for ages and give you peace of mind and keep you free from plague.
• Soap - When push comes to shove you don’t need this, its impractial unless you have bowls and towls and ugh forget it
• Wet Wipes - Another essential item, 1 maybe 2 packs will do the job of keeping you clean with no mess or fuss.
• Tape - If your tent gets mashed, or anything for that matter gets mashed… buy a new one at the festival.
• Booze - Yes, bollocks to taking booze with you is what I say. Download has a festival village where you can buy beer and its not as expensive as you’d think. Plus you wanna remember the event, you can get royally fucked up at home when you get back. 
• Cup – No brainer
• Mess Tin - No brainer
• Lighters – The ability to start fire is always good, humans have known this for thousands of years
• Pillow – Blow up one will do
• Fags – Even if you don’t smoke you never know when they might come in handy, to give to me if i run out hah.
• Food - Yep, fuck taking food with you as well, I’m loaded and there are loads of places to buy food. I’m taking maybe a box of cereal bars and an apple or two.
• Money – Expect to spent lots of money, if you have none then don’t go.  
• Tooth Paste – works well with the brush.
• 5 Pairs Pants – 4 nights, 1 for emergencies.
• 5 Pairs Socks  - 4 nights, 1 for emergencies
• Deodorant - People who forget this are called cunts and should be executed at the gate.
• Brush – Unless you have no hair
• 2 Pairs Shorts - For wearing
• Jeans - Also for wearing, when its cold
• 4 T-shirts – go on the wed its 5 days, you should without fail buy a festival t shirt so wear that on the last. 
• Jumper – It gets cold
• Small Bottle 500ml – Fill with water when ya out an about
• Large Bottle 2.5 – 3ltr – Fill with water and keep in ya tent so you dont have to make many trips
• Towel - Waste of time
• Day Carry Bag – For phone, bottle shit like that. 
• Sun glasses - It gets sunny, plus sunglasses make everyone look badass. 
• Seat - Easily forgotten but majory essential. 
• Floor Mat - Floor gets very cold in tent
• TICKET – If you don’t take this then you’re a moron and dont deserve the fun of a music festival anyway.
• Tin/Bottle opener  - Glass is banned and you’re an idiot if you take tinned food that isnt a ring pull.
• Pain Killers – Listening to loud metal in the day and teenages screamin ‘TIMMAY’ till 6am takes its toll. 
• Torch Batteries  - Torch should last long enough without more battery’s. If it don’t buy more there. 

The above looks like a big list but its actually mainly essentials. You can get carried away with packing for something like this and end up not being able to walk. You have to remember you’v gotta lug all that shit for at least 2 hours in a queue which being June will probably be blisteringly hot. One person can easily carry all of the above pretty comforably for a long period of time and with the combination of plenty of money the above list’ll do you fine.

Anyhoo hope this post is useful to someone and i’ll see you all at the front going mental with Maxim an Keith!