The Darkness
Download Festival has an incredible legacy, and no band could be blamed for being intimidated.
-Young Guns, however, showed no signs of nerves as they powered through a strong set on the Second Stage.
Not really a classic 'fit' for Donington, they had a surprisingly strong fan-base in the crowd, which definitely helped their spirits and performance.
Despite some sound issues, the band put on a good show, clearly thriving on such a (relatively) large stage.
-Up next, however, Anti-Flag put on a great, energetic performance, showing their live experience to its fullest.
The set-list was, at times, a bit predictable, but even expected songs like 'The Press Corpse' and 'This Is The End (For You My Friends)' were played with such heart and energy that it was impossible not to enjoy them.
There were no real surprises in the set, but the performance itself proves why festival really are something special. A cover of The Clash's 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' proved to be a singalong highlight that saw Anti-Flag paying homage to perhaps their biggest influence.
(Check out our full review of Anti-Flag)
-Over on the main stage, Thin Lizzy made their Donington debut, albeit with the latest reincarnation of the rock legends.
Newest front-man Ricky Warwick showed amazing stage prescence, once again proving that he is more than capable of carrying the responsibility of 'replacing' Phil Lynott (although Ricky would be the first to say Phil can never be truly replaced).
A heartfelt tribute to Phil and Gary Moore during 'The Cowboy Song' went down well, as the band put on a brilliant 'greatest hits' set, coming to an end with 'Black Rose'.
(Check out our full review of Thin Lizzy)
-Alter Bridge had the tough job of following this set, and fell a bit flat.
It wasn't that the band weren't performing well, it just didn't feel as special as a festival set should.
Myles Kennedy was vocally brilliant as always, but a dueling guitar solo late into the set went on far too long.
Some bands can pull something like that off, but, at least this evening, Alter Bridge couldn't.
-It was up to The Darkness, then, to make their triumphant return and get everyone back in an excellent mood.
Justin Hawkins was well and truly back on form in a set that included huge flames, all the hits and a costume change.
The band looked to be really enjoying being back, and the crowd responded well, singing along to a set heavily leaning on the band's debut.
(Read our interview with The Darkness and full review of the set)
Keep checking back for these pieces, plus more to come from the rest of the weekend.
Interviews with The Darkness, The Hype Theory, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows and Skindred.
Full reviews of The Darkness, Thin Lizzy and Anti-Flag.
Interviews with The King Blues and Bowling For Soup.
Full reviews of Bowling For Soup, Skindred, The King Blues and System of A Down.
Interviews with ACODA, Starseed, Buckcherry and Silverstein.
Full reviews of The Gaslight Anthem, Silverstien, and Frank Turner.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
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