Download Festival 2023

Springywheel

Haven't been since 2005. It's slowly gone downhill since then. For the past few years I've been to Poland's Mystic Festival and Sweden Rock. Great lineups, and I think it costs less than the full Download package, including travel.  

hollywoodrox

It was best when it was Donnington - monsters of rock

Reverend

A few friends played it this year. One said his onsuagw sound waa awful. 
At least half the fb/insta posts i saw were industry people so a very different experience to punters. Ive only ever gone on one day to see maiden and/or kiss

DefaultM

I've only ever been to 1 day of Leeds Fest but it sounds very similar. The toilets were enough to make me never go again. I never thought I'd experience horror like that.

Philly_Q

20 years of Download? Wow.

I haven't been since Monsters of Rock in 1981 so I have no input to offer.

west

When i went it was called donnington .... in 1984 the lineup was 

AC/DC

Van Halen  ... ( with roth )

Ozzy ( jake e lee )

Gary Moore ...

Y+T

Accept

Motley Crue

tommy vance ...

a very fond memorable day .... !!  burgers and cheap cider in plastic juggs ...

StefB

west said:

When i went it was called donnington .... in 1984 

Monsters of Rock, surely?

west

StefB said:

west said:

When i went it was called donnington .... in 1984 

Monsters of Rock, surely?

yes but we always called donnington where it was held ....  actually i meant to pop this link in ...  what a line up in 84 ....

https://www.ukrockfestivals.com/donington-1984.html

Philly_Q

We always mis-spelled Donington as Donnington as well. 

west

WafflesOnHorseback

I live 15 miles away and heard it quite well. Seemed alot louder than previous years. 

Roland

Wind direction has been different this year. 

Woodenhead

Metallica brought 6 massive towers with them, each had an array of speakers which might have been the reason it was so loud this year.

Personally, I had a great time, yeah there were some sound issues now and again but not enough to spoil any performances I saw.

The price of food and drink was a joke and the amount of chairs too close to the main stages needs looking in to. We had weekend arena tickets and I drove (live only 25 miles away) so I brought my own food & drink with me.

Went mainly for Metallica but saw some other good bands, Bad Religion, Green Lung, Within Tempation, Alter Bridge, Slipknot, Placebo put on a good show. Stand out band for me was Ghost, they could've easily headlined the mainstage, wasn't a fan before but will get tickets when they're next in the UK.

Boromedic

I went the Saturday only, it was fuckin mint, 5 people from the barrier for Metallica and loved it. Thought they were patchy in places but they always are on and off, but once they got through Bells the sound came together and James is on fire these days, comfy in his shoes and his role as the man. Couldn't do a whole festival nowadays, but for one day I was 17 again. Bliss....

PearlsPreserve

I went for 2 days this year.  I had a weekend ticket but, to be honest, the lineup for the Friday and Sunday wasn't good enough to warrant the travel to get there and back.

So, the positives:

- The atmosphere on the Saturday was incredible.  So many people there made it very special.
- The weather (albeit it was a bit hot saturday, but so so much better than if it was raining)
- Metallica as headliners was brilliant and, for me, the ticket was great value for money considering the bands I did get to see (Metallica, Alter Bridge, Disturbed, Mammoth WVH, Ice Nine Kills, Placebo, Coheed and Cambria etc. etc). 
- I saw some truly excellent smaller bands, Rituals were a real highlight.

The negatives:

- The sound at the dogtooth stage was truly horrific.  We saw Caskets there and couldn't hear a thing.  We nicknamed it the Dogshit stage it was so bad.
- The sound for Metallica on the Saturday was very poor.  When they started I literally couldn't hear James' guitar.  At all. We genuinely thought his amp had failed.  We then moved 100m or so to the right and could hear James' guitar, but it was still very quiet.  Kirk's guitar completely overpowered everything, and he wasn't playing that well!
- The traffic management was abysmal.  I drove to Derby and caught the shuttle bus from the train station.  On the Thursday it took aout 30 minutes to do the 6 miles to the airport, and then 1 1/2 hours to do the 1/2 mile from the airport to Donington park. On the way back, I managed to get an earlier bus (thanks to my long legs and purposeful stride) but if I'd been only 5 minutes later I'd have likely been waiting well over an hour to get a bus.  It then took an hour and 15 minutes to do 7 miles.
- The facilities were poor.  By the Saturday people were just pissing up fences etc, and the toilets were overflowing.  You had to walk through puddles of raw sewage to go for a piss.  In 30+ degree heat, that's really really unpleasant.  The water was non-existent.  The food was expensive and pretty average.
- If I ever see one more advert for BMTH Genxsis I'm going to murder someone.
- Coheed and Cambria were incredible.  I would go as far as to say the best band of the weekend.  For some reason known only to the organisers, they were put in a tent, with a tiny stage.  You couldn't get near the place.  They should have been on a much bigger stage.
- The lineup was pretty average, to be honest.  BMTH are not my thing, that's fine.  But outside the headliner for each day, and the key sub-headliner, there wasn't that much to get me excited.

All in all, I would say I had a good time, but I'm in no rush to go back

Boromedic

PearlsPreserve said:

I went for 2 days this year.  I had a weekend ticket but, to be honest, the lineup for the Friday and Sunday wasn't good enough to warrant the travel to get there and back.

So, the positives:

- The atmosphere on the Saturday was incredible.  So many people there made it very special.
- The weather (albeit it was a bit hot saturday, but so so much better than if it was raining)
- Metallica as headliners was brilliant and, for me, the ticket was great value for money considering the bands I did get to see (Metallica, Alter Bridge, Disturbed, Mammoth WVH, Ice Nine Kills, Placebo, Coheed and Cambria etc. etc). 
- I saw some truly excellent smaller bands, Rituals were a real highlight.

The negatives:

- The sound at the dogtooth stage was truly horrific.  We saw Caskets there and couldn't hear a thing.  We nicknamed it the Dogshit stage it was so bad.
- The sound for Metallica on the Saturday was very poor.  When they started I literally couldn't hear James' guitar.  At all. We genuinely thought his amp had failed.  We then moved 100m or so to the right and could hear James' guitar, but it was still very quiet.  Kirk's guitar completely overpowered everything, and he wasn't playing that well!
- The traffic management was abysmal.  I drove to Derby and caught the shuttle bus from the train station.  On the Thursday it took aout 30 minutes to do the 6 miles to the airport, and then 1 1/2 hours to do the 1/2 mile from the airport to Donington park. On the way back, I managed to get an earlier bus (thanks to my long legs and purposeful stride) but if I'd been only 5 minutes later I'd have likely been waiting well over an hour to get a bus.  It then took an hour and 15 minutes to do 7 miles.
- The facilities were poor.  By the Saturday people were just pissing up fences etc, and the toilets were overflowing.  You had to walk through puddles of raw sewage to go for a piss.  In 30+ degree heat, that's really really unpleasant.  The water was non-existent.  The food was expensive and pretty average.
- If I ever see one more advert for BMTH Genxsis I'm going to murder someone.
- Coheed and Cambria were incredible.  I would go as far as to say the best band of the weekend.  For some reason known only to the organisers, they were put in a tent, with a tiny stage.  You couldn't get near the place.  They should have been on a much bigger stage.
- The lineup was pretty average, to be honest.  BMTH are not my thing, that's fine.  But outside the headliner for each day, and the key sub-headliner, there wasn't that much to get me excited.

All in all, I would say I had a good time, but I'm in no rush to go back

Were you on the R hand side of the stage by any chance @PearlsPreserve ?

I was stage front at the right hand side and yeah, James's guitar was absent on Whiplash, then suddenly during Bells it seemed like someone plugged something in. After that it was quiet and Kirk's tone was super hot but I thought it was because I was down the front. It all balanced up a bit later in the set, but Kirk was still a little too loud (not enough to put me off) and yeah, plenty of clams

Still loved it TBF, also I didn't find water an issue bar the queue I guess, also thought the Gyros were nice (if a little pricey) as were the bubble waffles!!

PearlsPreserve

@Boromedic ; I was stage right or, if looking at the stage, on the left hand side (i.e. towards the second stage).  We then moved right more towards centre stage and it was just right of centre where we settled and could just about hear James' guitar.  

And I did notice that the sound faded in and out at points, like it was being blown away by the wind.  It was strange.  

As you say, I still loved it.  I went home Thursday and Saturday absolutely knackered, with no voice, and some truly great memories.  I am just very very glad I wasn't camping like a couple of friends were.  They were in the quiet camp, and had pre-paid for parking near the camp.  Parking was full when they arrived, and they were sent to a car park 7 miles away from their campsite.  They had to lug their camping gear, food, and drink, oveer 7 miles (took them 2 1/2 hours) in the heat.  An absolute shitshow

Rkphilpot

PearlsPreserve said:

@Boromedic ; I was stage right or, if looking at the stage, on the left hand side (i.e. towards the second stage).  We then moved right more towards centre stage and it was just right of centre where we settled and could just about hear James' guitar.  

And I did notice that the sound faded in and out at points, like it was being blown away by the wind.  It was strange.  

As you say, I still loved it.  I went home Thursday and Saturday absolutely knackered, with no voice, and some truly great memories.  I am just very very glad I wasn't camping like a couple of friends were.  They were in the quiet camp, and had pre-paid for parking near the camp.  Parking was full when they arrived, and they were sent to a car park 7 miles away from their campsite.  They had to lug their camping gear, food, and drink, oveer 7 miles (took them 2 1/2 hours) in the heat.  An absolute shitshow

We done exactly the same, pre paid west car park, quiet camping, got parked in East. 
Agree with everything else you said too. 

What disappointed me was that this was billed as 20 year anniversary 4 dayer. Yet overall they only had 9 more bands than last year. A whole day, 4 stages and only 9 more bands, for all that extra ticket money?!
Plus you'd think after 20 years they would have the basics nailed by now.

Creed_Clicks

Whoever mixes Metallica's live vids for YT does a top job.

Boromedic

Creed_Clicks said:

Whoever mixes Metallica's live vids for YT does a top job.

Whoever "fixes" Metallica's live vids for YT does a top job.....