THERE’S no place like home for The Amazons lead vocalist Matt Thomson, following the band’s debut on Reading Festival’s Main Stage East on Sunday.
They gave audiences an explosive set on the final day of the big rock festival – a far cry from their early days honing their talent in Reading’s pubs and clubs.
Afterwards, in an exclusive chat with Reading Today, Matt said: “It feels good to be home – we’ve had a mad weekend playing Leeds on Friday, then in Paris on Saturday, before finishing up here.
“We’ve been thinking about this one for a long time, so it’s really good to be up there.”
As for whether they still feel the nerves ahead of a performance, Matt said: “Every time… Reading has the capacity to be emotionally traumatic because the stakes are high, so the high you get when it goes well is incredible.”
The band first performed at Reading Festival under another guise all the way back in 2010, and for the first time as The Amazons in 2015.
“We came back and played Fest Republic (stage) in 2017, BBC Radio 1 in 2019, and now Main Stage in 2023.
“We ran into Melvin [Benn] straight after this year’s set, and he loved it; he wanted us to wear a Reading FC shirt, and we’ve agreed – if we get booked for the Main Stage again.”
The crowd also gave such a positive response to the band: “Doing this slot is interesting, because it’s challenging: people are rolling out of bed, you don’t know what you’re gonna get.
“It was such a warm reception, it was like we’d breathed life into some of the more zombified figures.”
In his experience, he explained: “From playing places like Austin City Limits and Rock En Seine this weekend, there’s no experience like a UK festival experience, and Reading is one of the great examples of that unhinged, deranged, Dark Fruits culture.
“I remember it well, but I like being in the stage.”
After having played all over the world, Matt said: “All the talk of this being a journey up to this point, over 13 years, you’d think it felt like an ending, but it doesn’t- it feels like a new beginning.
“It’s been a difficult year for us just on a personal level.”
This includes the departure of the band’s drummer at the end of 2022, after which he explains the band went through a period of “recalibration, working out who we are, and what our voice is now that Joe has left.
“He wasn’t just a drummer, he was a massive personality and character in our group – ultimately an older brother.
“We have to kind of grow up and do our thing, this felt like a first step for a new Amazons.”
As for what can be expected from the new era for the band, guitarist Chris said: “We always want to feel like we’re a little out of our depth, that’s where we’re most comfortable.
“We’ve never been a band to settle where we feel most safe, we’d rather push as far as we can – when it pays off, it’s well worth it.”
Matt added: “It was really uncomfortable, and it still is a bit, you have to come out with a new sense of faith in the band and what you stand for, and just where it sits in your own life, which is constantly challenged.
“And if you pull through that, you have a much more robust identity, whether that’s from the exterior which can be seen, but more importantly that we felt that within ourselves.”
With so much ahead of them, Matt says from Reading Festival the work continues: “Azerbaijan next, where we’re supporting [fellow Reading Festival Performers] Imagine Dragons.”
Bass player Elliot said: “It’s a destination I don’t think any of us expected to be going to any time soon.
“It’ll be a wild one, and a reminder of the places this band has taken us, and that’s one of the best parts of being in a band.”
Cryptically, Matt added: “I think we’re gonna be back home sooner than anyone could ever imagine.”
This article will be updated with photos from their set on Monday, August 28.
