Reading 2016: Boy Better Know forever

With clear blues skies and scorching sunlight, anyone would think the day couldn’t get any hotter, right? Ricocheting up the temperature, Boy Better Know prove all of that wrong, bringing the fire to Reading – quite literally. With flames shooting up in front of the stage, and coloured smoke grenades flying over the audience, the performance is a venture into lawlessness that everyone relishes. It’s the kind of pandemonium that almost can’t be believed unless you witness it – from ridiculous fancy dress costumes losing their minds to the beats or the guy elevated by his friends who drops his pants before jumping face forwards into the crowd, absolutely anything goes. The sentiment is echoed through everything BBK do. Declarations of “this is your time” emanate from the stage front as ‘Man (Gang)’ rallies the crowd. From start to finish the set is nothing short of dynamite. ‘Shutdown’ delights in the energy it creates, whilst ‘Feed ‘Em To The Lions’ cements itself as a bonafide anthem. Add Lethal Bizzle stepping into the fray for a riotous rendition of ‘Pow’, and the resulting energy verges on an explosion. “BOY BETTER KNOW FOREVER!” the collective declare as they leave the stage, and indeed, this is a memory that will stay with those present for a long time to come.