Britpop is officially dead. That's the message that rang like an alarum at this year's Reading/Leeds festival. The genre was well-represented by headliners Blur and Elastica, bandwagon-jumpers Space, Gene, Catatonia and the Divine Comedy, and pioneers Echo and the Bunnymen and the Charlatans, but concert-goers seemed much more excited to see American rock acts like the Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Luscious Jackson and, on the Vans Warped Tour stage, Pennywise and Less Than Jake.

The Yankee line-up closed the festival at both sites (Reading on the 29th, Leeds on the 30th) fairly uneventfully with only mild moshing and a couple of tiny, safety conscious bonfires. Woodstock, this was not.

Festivals in Britain, like the long-running Reading, have never really been as much about the music as the friends, the sunshine (or the hoping for it), the late-night camp parties (and the wise old sage crap that goes on), the day off from work (Monday was a bank holiday), the festival rumor (50,000 people believing some obscure celebrity had passed away), and of course the beer (and more beer). So it was hardly surprising that Friday afternoon's mainstage lineup of Apollo 440, the Donnas, Reef, Space, Echo & the Bunnymen and a rollicking performance by the Dandy Warhols, merely served as background music for the thousands littered across a grassy field attempting to get that last summer tan before autumn rears its chilly head.

By the time night fell, people remembered that Elastica were officially back on the market and made their way from the curry stalls and taco stands over to the Radio One Evening Session Stage to see Justine Frischman and Co. After interminable sound checking, all momentum created by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's raucous set had seeped away. When a haggard-looking Ms. Frischman and Elastica did take to the stage, performing as a sextet, they jumped into a revved up version of "Annie" and it felt like 1995 all over again. Only it was actually 1999 and Bentley Rhythm Ace were headlining the dance stage. So when Justine said "So, did you miss us ... no!" before jumping into "Connection" you had to agree with her. Dull versions of new songs like "Generator" sounded like arty B-sides of their old material and the crowd thinned out to go catch the end of the ever-endearing Charlatans.

Day Two of the festival, it was off to the Leeds site to see if the vibe was any different up North. It wasn't. It was still about lazy days in the sun (though there wasn't any; in fact, some rain fell before Blur's set) rather than the artists onstage -- Beth Orton, Symposium, Pavement, Sebadoh and the Fun Lovin' Criminals, among them. Water did come cheaper, though, at only a dollar a bottle compared to the nearly two dollars a bottle at Reading. And once you had one, Woodstock fans will be growling to hear, there were plenty of places nearby to fill them up. The site itself was quite compact, with only 150 paces between the end of the main stage pit and that of the Radio One stage. To get from the entrance gate to the furthest tents took no more than fifteen minutes. There were even plenty of toilets and, yes, toilet paper, too. If that wasn't heaven enough, you could leave the site to go for a wander or for a McDonald's in the city center of Leeds or Reading and still get back in time to catch Blur.

But you may not have wanted to. After overrated Welsh act Catatonia whipped the kids into jubilation with their anthem-laden tunes, Blur only alienated the crowd by sticking mainly to material from their newest record, 13. By the time favorites like "Girls and Boys" were played, no one seemed to care and people had already started heading back to the campground. Even Jarvis's secret performance with the All Seeing I couldn't keep people entertained; but perhaps the crowd were just saving their energy for the final day -- the day of Yankstock.

Britain's rock youth, made up of young men in ponytails, Doc Martens and the obligatory Sepultura/Nirvana/Metallica/Ministry/Offspring t-shirt, marched to the festival sites on the final day (you could buy a one-day pass) to get out their puberty-driven aggressions. With the dance stage replaced by the Warped Tour stage, a few mosh pits actually sprouted up, though the intensity level was hardly intimidating. The Offspring went over well, but lost originality points when they smashed up cardboard cutouts of the Backstreet Boys as they did during their Woodstock performance a few weeks ago. And the Chili Peppers closed the show with a well-rehearsed set, leaving the non-rioting Brits to savor their music rather than plumes of putrid smoke.

JOLIE LASH
(September 1, 1999)