“Put down your mobile phones and live in the moment,” demanded Isaac Holman (drummer and singer of the two-piece punk act) early on in Slaves’ set on Saturday afternoon at the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage. This set the tone for the whole show: discordance, discontent and distaste for the society we live in and are controlled by. Slaves were one of the loudest, angriest and most memorable festival acts imaginable. The atmosphere was quintessential for a rebellious band like them – sweaty, chaotic and physical. This created a genuinely electric atmosphere. The concentration of mosh pits and crowd-surfers was higher than in any other set that day on the NME/BBC Radio 1 stage. They delivered an anarchistic master-class of live music, particularly during songs such as ‘Cheer Up London,’ that left the crowd shouting along so passionately that many left the stage unable to talk properly. Virtually nobody left Slaves’ set not soaking in sweat and water that had been thrown about from the first song to the last. Slaves created a certain energy at Reading that was unmatched by any other band there; they are a testimony that truly prove protest music is alive and well.
