Dienstag, 31. Aug 2010, 19:22
Fri 27 Aug – Leeds Festival 2010
Well well well, lovely Leeds returned once again in a flurry of dappy hat wearing arseholes, voluntary manual labour and sleep deprivation, reminding us that MUSIC CONQUERS ALL, or something.
We got early bird tickets for the first time, which was alright. After cheating the train networks into paying a tenth of the price for our tickets and smuggling weed past the police, we queued up with our rapidly breaking crates for a shuttle bus, which I imagine cattle buses in India are like, y'know, hot and crowded with unintelligent life. Wednesday really was just a day of getting as drunk as possible and dancing until the downright disgraceful hour of 3am when everything closed… there was an utterly wonderful sunset over the NME tent though, properly beautiful.
THURSDAY was another day of heavy drinking and casual drug use until the Dance to the Radio tent opened for another feel good sesh with some new bands and Get Cape.
The Neat- 6/10. They blustered and shouted without any real reward, their first song was good and they had some nice riffs but it was really samey, which is a shame cos I bet they'd be alright if they had more variety.
Spectrals- 7/10. Really surprised me, the lead singer came out looking like Fiz off Corrie had just been sacked, but they played a really uplifting pop set, really feel good music.
Chickenhawk- 8/10. WOAH. Totally didn't expect them to be as good, loud or mental as they were, played a really good, energetic set with a surprisingly good crowd, it served as a great warmup for the heavier bands of the weekend.
Bear in Heaven- 5/10. Started pretty well, but I got a bit bored after a while and so did alot of the crowd I think. Seemed to be grateful to be there, but they didn't really have anything different to offer.
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly- 9/10. Superb set. Sam is really popular at Leeds and he played a real crowd pleasing set, some of the really big songs went down brilliantly, peppered with new material that sounded really good and were picked up quickly by the crowd. Really set the bar high for the rest of the lineup.
FRIDAY was a brilliant day all in, despite the massive hangover that not even my first hot meal of the weekend, a bargain £4 sausage and chips, could shift.
Rolo Tomassi- 9/10. Seeing Rolo for the third time, I thought the heaviness and Eva Spence's amazing dancing would have worn off and I'd be bored of them… Clearly not. Still as fresh live as the first time I saw them, and seem to be getting fans at a ridiculous pace. I'd urge anyone to catch them live ASAP before they play bigger venues and their raw energy gets a bit lost.
I'll review The Futureheads and Mystery Jets- 4/10 together because they both seemed like the same band… Filler. Both clearly have the potential to be cracking live, but their sets just seemed a bit uninspiring and the crowds were limp for both.
Gaslight Anthem- 6/10. They were the first band of the weekend to suffer with the sound on the mainstage, which was a shame because it just robbed them of their energy completely. Their between-song chat was nice though, and they played a reasonable set with some of their 'classics'- just not as good as it was on the lockup in 08.
Modest Mouse- 9/10. I love Modest Mouse, so I was never going to let a terrible crowd behind me ruin what was a make or break gig for me… Modest Mouse didn't disappoint with a brilliant set, throwing in Black Cadillacs was just brilliant. One of the highlights of the weekend, for sure, Isaac Brock is one of the best frontmen around.
Gallows- 8/10. As they said of themselves, 'the worst kept secret in Leeds history,' 'the Rats' took to the stage with a large, expectant crowd, who they didn't disappoint. Playing a set laden with hits and provoking a giant circle pit which ended up running outside the LockUp tent, Gallows were every bit as good as every other time I've seen them. Great live band, will be a shame to see them go.
Frank Turner- 10/10. I've said it before and I'll say it again- one of the best live artists in the world. By miles. I've never, ever heard a singalong like the one he instigated for the utterly brilliant new song I Still Believe, which even had the crowd applauding some individual lines because they were so good… Just a heart-warming, all round wonderful gig. You'll never leave a Frank gig without a smile, or with your voice.
Dizzee Rascal- 7/10. After Frank Turner, we only really saw Dizzee to get a decent place for the Libertines, but he was surprisingly good- he's acquired a band since I last saw him, and his songs are obviously all crowd pleasers. It took a full set of crazy dancing to stop the boredom, but it wasn't the shitshow I expected.
The Libertines- 9/10. FINALLY. Years and years of waiting built up to this, and they (astonishingly) didn't disappoint. Despite the cringey onstage 'love' between Carl and Pete, their set was brilliant, with the crowd deciding not to notice the odd blip in their playing. Sound could have been slightly better, and they could have played France, but other than that, it was brilliant.
Arcade Fire- 10/10. The best band of the weekend, and one of the best bands I've ever seen, full stop. Played an absolutely faultless set, playing classics like Intervention and No Cars Go alongside tracks off the wonderful the Suburbs like Ready to Start and Sprawl II which was out of this world. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) was one of the best songs I've ever seen live, even outshining the ever wonderful Wake Up and Rebellion (Lies). I hope this is the catapult to superstardom they deserve, because they're a truly wonderful band.
SATURDAY
The Joy Formidable- 6/10. Started with a blatant set ender… Massive intstrumental ending, with the lead singer smashing her guitar up. Bizzare. The rest of the set was filled with pretty nice songs though, a bit like Sky Larkin but not quite as good. Pretty decent, nothing special though.
Local Natives- 5/10. I think I've missed the boat with this one. They were just entirely average, with the end of their final song being absolutely brilliant. Other than that, entirely forgettable.
Los Campesinos!- 8/10. I've fallen a bit out of love with LC! recently, but that doesn't stop a part of me loving them unconditionally. Because of this, and them being wonderful the other time I'd seen them, I had high hopes for their set- these were matched in every area apart from the setlist, which lacked a lot of their really strong live songs. Still thoroughly enjoyable though.
You Me At Six- 3/10. I can't believe people honestly enjoy this. It was just some guys on stage playing rubbish pop-punk whatever music whilst being massively deluded- 'let's get the six biggest circle pits in Leeds history!' for example. But, their fans love it, and they actually made it a decent atmosphere. Just totally, totally not for me.
Limp Bizkit- 8/10. The first HOLY SHIT I'M 12 AGAIN! band of the day, and they blew it away. Opening with Rollin' was an obvious crowd pleaser, and after that they were just consistently great. Shame about Fred Durst being the world's biggest douche and no-one knowing Eat You Alive, but they were great.
Cypress Hill- 7/10. Another nostalgia band who hit the spot, 'the world's highest man' and friends delivered a feel good set, matched only by the giant cloud of smoke that mysteriously appeared over the stage and the crowd throughout the set. Despite the crowd clearly only knowing Insane In the Brain, it was a great set, the absolutely giant joint they smoked onstage can only have helped with that.
Weezer- 8/10. Weezer have, as far as I'm concerned, about 6 really good songs, and loads and loads of filler. Weezer clearly share this view, playing those six songs, a BRILLIANT ironic cover of Teenage Dirtbag, inspired by people's confusion of Weezer and Wheatus, a Kids/Pokerface cover and a lot of fucking around- Rivers Cuomo is a brilliant man, falling off an advertising board and being chased by security and loads of fans. Great fun without any real musical merit.
Paramore- 3/10. Sub headliners? Seriously? Bloody hell. The sound was terrible, the crowd was full of children and, for all of Hayley Williams' prancing and blustering, there just seemed to be something missing. Another band that I just don't think I'll ever see the point of.
Blink-182- 9/10. Rumours of them pulling out, stories of their awful live performances, songs lacking musical skill or any real meaning… all things that would make me hate most bands. This is no ordinary band. Blink-182 were my childhood, so this giant nostalgia fest was always going to be wonderful. They played a wonderful, wonderful set, ending on Dammit which was one of the most apt songs of my life, what with me moving to Uni and stuff in a couple of weeks… they genuinely seemed to be having fun. The only things that made is drop short of the 10/10 were the terrible sound (again) and the stupid crushing at the front… other than that, a brilliant set which led to awesome group singalongs in the campsite for the rest of the night.
SUNDAY
Frankie and the Heartstrings- 6/10. Really different live, Frankie's voice is alot deeper and less camp than I expected, but they were nice enough. Suffered a bit with a limp Sunday morning festival crowd, but they were ok.
New Young Pony Club- 6/10. I've only heard one song by them, Ice Cream, but they were pretty good live (and the lead singer and guitarist were really, really sexy). I'd have liked to have seen them on the Dance Tent instead, I think they'd have got a more willing crowd, rather than one full of hipster posers waiting for Girls.
Girls- 1/10. You just knew what was coming as soon as they brought the flowers out to put onto their mic stands… Pitchfork landfill shit. I've got their album, and it's actually good, but it just doesn't transfer well live whatsoever. A shame, but I'm sure the hipsters in the crowd enjoyed it.
Two Door Cinema Club- 5/10. Another OK band that I just don't see the hype about, they were decent live but nothing that warranted the sort of popularity they provoked. No different from a hundred other indie bands around at the moment.
Pulled Apart By Horses- 8/10. It was always going to take a special band to drag the monotony out of Sunday's dire shows so far, and PABH are just that sort of band- loud, wild and up for a laugh. The crowd appreciated them alot more than when they played this stage last year, and despite a very short set, for some reason omitting several of their better songs, they were excellent once again. Another band to catch before they get too big.
NOFX- 6/10. Anyone who would care to explain to me what went on here, I'd appreciate it… Something weird happened anyway. They were enjoyable at least, but we only caught half their set and it was a really surreal moment to say the least.
Stagecoach- 8/10. I still maintain that these are the best young band in Britain, and their BBC Introducing set didn't disappoint, with them playing great songs from their EPs We Got Tazers! and Crash My Ride. A really good, genuine indie pop band who I STRONGLY URGE YOU ALL TO CHECK OUT ASAP.
Biffy Clyro- 5/10. Biffy's set was one of favourites of 08, so it seems strange that they've gone so far down in my estimations since then. It probably has something to do with the horrible stadium rock album they released between the two sets. The only redeeming factors of a bland, uninspiring set from one of the best rock bands in Britain were Simon's bleached beard and hair, Simon throwing a dodgy amp off the stage and There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake. Otherwise, very disappointing, not helped by the rubbish crowd.
Adam Green- 8/10. We needed a shot of energy after the Biffy set, and a completely plastered Adam Green was just the man to provide it. Crazy dancing grouped with mass singalongs to his hilarious songs, complemented by his genuinely good singing voice, created what was a truly good set, something quirky and different- something Leeds has seemed to miss a bit this year.
Blood Red Shoes- 9/10. One of my favourite bands playing to a half empty tent as half of Leeds sucked that utter cunt Josh Homme's ginger cock at Queens of the Stone Age was always going to be brilliant, and brilliant it was, the band reeling out hit after hit and ended with the always wonderful Colours Fade. Another band bubbling under the surface ready to become really really big- and they deserve it. Awesome people with two consistently awesome records who put on an awesome live show.
Phoenix- 9/10. Now this was a set I didn't have high hopes for. Getting bored during their set at Glastonbury and feeling a bit uninspired by Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, I wasn't expecting much, but my God did they deliver. Lisztomania and 1901 were highlights of the festival, and that live show- wow. A tent full of dancing people led into LCD in the best possible way, brilliant gig.
LCD Soundsystem- 8/10. They had a big act to follow in Phoenix, and they didn't quite match it- not playing Someone Great was a mistake, but they peppered their set with classics like Get Innocuous!, Yeah and Movement (an epic moment) made the whole set feel just about epic enough to justify a headlining slot closing the festival. Just about.
Overall, yet another amazing weekend. Musically better than 09 by miles, and with a better all round atmosphere (despite the massive number of chavs)… proper brilliant.
Next year's headliner wishlist- AC/DC, Slipknot and Green Day. Let's get rid of the chavs and replace them with middle aged rockers. From experience, those guys know how to fucking party.
Peace out.