Download 2019 - Day 1

 Wednesday 17^th June 2019. A time long before covid. For E this meant the last day in the office until next week and for T, a journey to E’s for the next day, the ET crew would be making the journey north to the hallowed fields of Donington Park. Why you ask? Well, for the uninitiated, this is where the legendary download festival, the UKs largest rock and metal festival takes place!

T arrived at E’s shortly after 8 and for the ET crew this naturally meant one thing, the pub! Off to E’s local it was where the crew settled down for a few pints of London Pride for T and a few of Cornish Orchards cider with an obligatory pub salad. Plans were hatched for the following 3 days with the crew working out possible clashes and how to dart between stages. With plans made and the clock nearing 10pm, the ET crew made their way back to E’s for the last night of proper sleep in a proper bed for 4 days. The next morning, with final showers taken and the car loaded (thanks to honorary member T for the lift) it was time to depart and make the short journey to Readings Calcot coach stop.  

On arrival at the coach stop, the ET crew were greeted by a few other Download goers. With 20 mins until departure time, it was a quick nip into Sainsburys for T for snacks for the north bound journey. For E, this was where he realised, he’d forgotten his folding chair! Now, anyone who’s ever been to a festival knows how crucial these are. Fortunately, there’s a sports direct in the nearby retail park so off E went on the off chance they sold them. Result! They did! First possible crisis of the weekend over before it began! Before too long, the coach arrived and with bags safely loaded, the ET crew settled down for the 2-hour northbound journey.

With traffic light and the notorious M42 actually clear for a change, 2 hours later the ET crew were pulling into Downloads transport hub. With the bags unloaded, it was into a queue for the shuttle bus to the RIP camping entrance (yes, we paid extra for RIP. Deal with it). With the first bus which arrived filling up, the ET crew would have to wait for the next one. Not ideal, but it gave us a chance to be amused by the antics of a group consisting of 2 South Africans and a Canadian guy. Upon hearing that we’d have to wait for the next bus, one of the South Africans exclaimed “Don’t worry, there’s enough time for everyone to watch the Canadian get f***ed up!”. It then became apparent that the two South Africans were trying to get the Canadian as hammered as humanly possible and were doing a pretty good job of it. It’s only Thursday lads! Make sure you’ve got enough booze to last the weekend! The bus soon arrived and with it loaded to the gunnels, the crew and fellow passengers were soon trundling down the road towards the RIP check in. During the journey E says in passing to T, “If we crash, it will be quite a story”. This greatly amused one of the South Africans who was in full agreement.

Check in complete, wristbands on and with bags and booze stowed and sleeping arrangements set up (top tip for festival goers; do this before you start drinking as soon as you get there!) it was time to crack open the first of many beers of the weekend. E had managed to secure a job lot of the finest quality plastic bottled Fosters and Bulmer’s from one of his football contacts and also had decanted a two-litre bottle of vodka into a plastic bottle. Various mixers and snacks had also been bought. As you can imagine, this weighed an absolute tonne so the ET crew decided it all had to be drunk over the weekend as we’re not attempting to take it home!

A couple of beers later, it was off to the village for the ET crew to get a bite to eat and explore. This was where we first discovered the mud bath for which the festival would become known. When we say it was ankle deep, we’re not joking! Bringing wellies was a good call! The stalls in the village were doing a roaring trade in waterproofs and wellies. We feel sorry for those who forgot there’s! Extortionately priced burgers were purchased and with stomachs suitably lined, it was into the dog house bar for the ET crew for shelter and a few more beers.

The mud claims its first victim

Whilst enjoying a few beers and a natter, a female approached the crew and asked if we were both single. Hello! This could get interesting we thought, but alas no. The only reason she wanted to know was to give us a balloon which apparently, she was trying to give balloons to all single people in the dog house to try and get them to meet each other. Nice idea but realistically was never going to work. I mean, who could resist someone covered in mud, soaking wet and most likely on the way to getting hammered.

With time marching on and the evening well and truly upon Donnington, the ET crew decided to make the trip back to their accommodation for a few of E’s lovely plastic bottles and to check out the RIP area. It turned out there was a bar in a barn serving one of E’s favourite ciders ever. No judgement here please, but it’s Strongbow cloudy apple! The barn was a welcome shelter from the elements. The ET crew took full advantage of this to warm up used it as an excuse to get even more hammered. The clock reached midnight and with a big weekend of metal and drinking ahead, the ET crew made the short walk stagger back to their living quarters and to bed.

Warming up nicely!

The festival hadn’t even begun and the ET crew were already feeling knackered on Friday morning, but no time to waste! Our first band of the weekend was due on in 90 mins! With a cereal bar and cup of tea for breakfast it was off to the arena! Our first band of the weekend would see the ET crew take in Icon for Hire on the Avalanche stage! Sound problems meant their set was cut short to 3 songs. Thankfully these were three crackers, Last One Standing, Venom and finally Make a move! A decent set on the whole, but a shame the sound problems meant their set had to be cut short.

First band of the weekend!

The next band on the ET crew’s list Whitesnake, weren’t due on till later so it was back to the guest area for a bite to eat. A wonderful Peri Peri Chicken stand was found and the crew were soon munching on some extremely spicy chicken wings. Stomachs lined, it was back to the living quarters for a few more plastic bottles and some tunes from the ET speaker. It was then off to the main stage for the first time during the weekend. Whitesnake entered (can’t remember to what) and the ET crew were very impressed and with them closing their set with Here I go again! The mood was set for the rest of the evening!

Next on the ET crews list was Slash with Miles Kennedy. 45 mins between the two sets meant on thing for the ET crew, a trip to the bar for the first festival pints of the weekend! 2 pints each ordered and with over £20 spent for 2 Carlsberg’s and 2 Somersby Cider (damn festival prices!) the crew were soon fully hydrated. Tanks drained, it was back to the main stage for Slash and Miles Kennedy. Onto the stage they burst with the call of the wind. A mixed set with some classics thrown in had the download crowd bouncing and as they ended with World on Fire featuring a cracking drum solo and some extended solos from slash, the ET crowed were ready for the first headliner of the weekend, Def Leppard!

Regular readers of the ET rock blog will know how partial to a kebab the ET crew are. E was desperate for one and soon a kebab van was found called the kebab cartel. These kebabs were promised as being “always gangsta” and they did not disappoint! In the ET crew’s kebab awards, these are well and truly the winner! How is it possible that the best kebab comes out of a van at a festival!?!

Gangsta Kebabs!

Stomachs filled, it was off to the bar for a couple more pints and then off to the main stage for the main event of the day. Def Leppard. E has seen them previously in the year at Wembley arena and instantly noticed they were using the same countdown clock again! As soon as the clock hit 0, Def Leppard entered with their classic from the Hysteria album being played in its entirety that evening, Women. Mid set, pour some sugar on me sent the Download crowd wild with Joe Elliott exclaiming “You lot can’t be Def Leppard fans, you’re all to f*****g young”! What can we say, we appreciate the classics Joe! He then went on to explain that Def Leppard had played Download before it was even Download festival and was called Monsters of Rock. We then learned that Rick Allen’s return to drumming following his amputation was at Monsters of Rock in 1986 and because of this, Download and Donington will always hold a special place in their hearts. Massive respect to Joe and the rest of Def Leppard! The set then continued with classics such as run riot and Hysteria before entering the six-song encore! Finishing with rock of ages and finally Photograph. A fantastic set from some true legends!

Countdown Begins!

Following the end of Def Leppards set, it was back to the RIP guest area for a few post show pints and then finally back to base camp for the night where more plastic bottles and vodka served as a night cap accompanied by some songs from the ET crew speaker. With time marching on, the ET crew finally called it a night and passed out in preparation for the next day of booze, rock and metal!

E