Reading TR Part 3+ WCOOP/General poker update

Lizzie has been constantly bugging me to finish this report which I said would be done about 10 days ago. The stupidest thing is that I do so little, there's no excuse for me to be as lazy as I am; but hey, you just have to love me the way I am.

Sunday
I woke up at midday on Sunday morning, slightly hung over and very disappointed by last nights 'headlining' act. It didn't help with my usual level of first-3-hours-after-I-wake grumpiness, but I somehow managed to put it to one side and drag myself down to the NME stage to see Frank Turner with Lizzie and my mood changed instantaneously. Having only heard a few of his songs before I was skeptical of how good a full set of his would be, but I had to eat my words as he gave a full 40 minutes of great acoustic tunes with really got the crowd going.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrkdYXJK6_A
This was actually taken from a short set he did at the BBC introducing stage shortly after his set (his full set wasn't on TV).

As Frank Turner ended I wandered around and tried to find Tom and Fiona, and after some half-arsed searching I wandered back in to see Deadmau5, who despite headling the dance stage, was playing in the early afternoon (I'm assuming because he had to go and play Creamfields or Notting Hill in the evening). I actually missed half the show because of a distinct lack of phone to tell me the time, but the parts I saw from the back of the crowded tent were pretty awesome. I definitely thought it was a shame I didn't see the full set, so I'll have to catch some sometime soon.

After Deadmau5 I headed back to the campsite to eat, drink and chat about how amazing the final night was going to be; the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, followed by Bloc Party then Radiohead.

At about 6:30 we rolled down to the main stage to see the band who Lizzie and Abbie had been really excited to see all day and they certainly didn't disappoint with their very own brand of weird rock, it seems that Karen O is; and has always been, everything Lady Gaga strives for, but does it while managing to keep credibility and put out good music.

I'm kind of tilted that this was the only performance highlight I could find;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds/2009/artists/yeahyeahyeahs/

Bloc Party were next to hit the stage with their soulful styled rock anthems getting a slightly rained on crowd into the mood to jump around and sing along. This was the third straight year that this band had played at Reading (and according to the band, their last for a while), and they seemed as fresh and eager to please as first timers. Despite the fact I'd never really been into this band before, I really enjoyed their set and put me in a great mood for Radiohead.

Again, the good people at the bbc have decided to remove all but 40 second clips of all their bands, so this will have to do;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds/2009/artists/blocparty/

As Bloc Party left the stage a nervous wait began as roadies started to set up for debatably the greatest band in the world, and I'm sure one that will be looked at half a century from now with the likes of your Pink Floyds and Led Zeppelins. Having seen them the year before on tour I know that they have a very liberal choice of setlists, ranging from random songs on EPs to their mega-hits from The Bends and OK Computer. Being such a huge fan I would have been happy with either Karma Police or Stop Whispering. What I was not expecting was them to open with Creep, a song which they didn't play in concert for 10 years from 94 to 04.

To be honest, it shows why a band like Radiohead are where they are today, they gave the people what they want. I'm aware that not everyone in the tens of the thousands watching the main stage that night was as bigger fan as I am, and wanted to hear their hits. Radiohead somehow produced the best setlist I think i've ever seen in;

* 1.Creep
* 2.The National Anthem
* 3.15 Step
* 4.There There
* 5.All I Need
* 6.Nude
* 7.2+2=5
* 8.The Gloaming
* 9.Climbing Up The Walls
* 10.Street Spirit (Fade Out)
* 11.Reckoner
* 12.Karma Police
* 13.Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
* 14.Just
* 15.Idioteque
* 16.Exit Music (For A Film)
* 17.Bodysnatchers
* 18.You And Whose Army?
* 19.Lucky
* 20.These Are My Twisted Words
* 21.Jigsaw Falling into Place
* 22.Paranoid Android
* 23.Everything In Its Right Place

Sitting here in front of my computer I'm having trouble finding the words to really express how awesome those 2 hours were, basically just singing/dancing and generally rocking out to some of my favorite songs around thousands of other people who were also near the front who were singing/dancing and generally rocking out to their favorite band. As Jonny finished the last notes to Everything In Its Right Place, I left the main stage almost shaken at how much I'd enjoyed the set. Definitely the best band in a really great 4 days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds/2009/artists/radiohead/index.shtml

F U BBC for not having it all up.

As I think back about that weekend, it's certainly the great performances by the likes of Radiohead, Florence+The Machine, The Prodigy and Frank Turner that I remember rather than the child like attitude of the Kings of Leon or the general terrible set by the Arctic Monkeys. I'm afraid I had to leave a ton of stories out to keep this SFW (my parents read this blog), but if you catch me on facebook/IM then I'm sure i'd be able to fill you in.

I'm certainly looking forward to hitting up a festival next year. I feel slightly old for Reading, so that may not happen unless the lineup is amazing again. Might hit up Global again if people are going. I suppose it's useless talking about until the lineups are announced.

Just a quick poker update. I've basically bricked the WCOOP, cashing in about 1/10 events, but my non festival results have been okay so I'm only stuck 1/2k since the start. I also won a live £200 HORSE event last tuesday for £2500 or so, basically proving I am the master of all games.

The end of September/beginning of October will be pretty busy with all the yanks in town for the WSOPE/EPT London. As well as that, my good friend Marty MF Mathis is coming to stay for a bit before he hits up Europe for a few months; and who knows I may join him for a bit.

Thanks for reading this huge tl;dnr
xxx