Hellogoodbye - Main stage

The closing day of any festival can often leave crowds wandering from stage to stage desperately seeking something unique, a sound they haven’t already heard replicated over the last few days.

Appearing on the Main Stage earlier today, complete with a warning to ‘expect the unexpected,’ Hellogoodbye have, amongst other things, dressed up as different pieces of fruit while they’ve performed on stage.

The crowd who gathered to witness what was meant to be a unique spectacle, may have been left slightly disappointed when a kumquat or passion fruit failed to appear on stage at the start of their act. For despite their relatively ordinary appearance, the sound this band produces is something quite extraordinary.

At times, the high pitched vocals produced by lead singer Forrest Kline during Baby It’s Fact, would have sounded quite at home with Muse and Matt Bellamy’s infamous falsetto tones. 

Switching from vocals to keys, Kline appeared alone on stage during the slow Oh, It’s Love, instructing the men in the crowd to grab their girlfriends and sway, while the energetic chorus gave everyone else a chance to avoid remaining still and looking, well, a bit of a lemon.

Touchdown Turnaround from the band’s Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! album demonstrated why this is the kind of band perfect for a final day’s bill at Reading. The heavy, key thumping techno beat along with vocals similar to the style employed by Daft Punk, meant this appearance which was to end a two week tour for the band, also went some way to providing a spectacular end for those fortunate enough to witness something completely different.

David Ricketts