Where would you rather be? Probably nowhere!
It's a big leap for Brighton based Zico Chain, moving from the third stage last year to opening the main stage at this year's Download Festival. Traditionally Friday is one of the quieter days in terms of numbers so it's good to see that there's a decent sized crowd assembled in front of the main stage, which includes a couple of Zico Chain flags.
Considering they're the first band on they get a great reception and make a hell of a noise for a three piece. Despite being dwarfed by the size of the stage, the sound is great and today they just sound immense! Hard, melodic, fast and tight it's exactly what was required to kick things off and good interaction with the crowd gets them onside early. Guitarist Paul and vocalist/bassist Chris uncharacteristically don't move around too much but today but you can forgive them for wanting to put in a tight musical performance and that's exactly what they do.
It's an excellent showing and they mix new songs with old throughout their half hour set, from the new single 'Where Would You Rather Be' to set closer 'The Lonely Ones'. This is by far the best performance I've seen them give and from the reaction further back on the hills surrounding the stage it seems like they've made plenty of new friends today. Great start to the day and for Zico Chain it's job done.