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Sep
10
2005
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Leeds Festival Uncovered |
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Friday, 09 September 2005 |
 Donning the old shirt and tie was extra difficult this week after spending the bank holiday weekend in the company of occasional sunshine and the world's greatest rock bands... but nothing takes away those work-blues like being surrounded by colourful drunks and music-lovers intent on enjoying themselves for a few days. Ok, so I could have done without the tentful of overexcited 14 year old festival virgins screaming at 6am every morning because they were so excited, and I could have done with my camera too, but some tea-leaf relieved me of that during the Pixies' set, so you'll have to make do with drawings instead of photos, I'm afraid.... Day 1 was the traditional hard-rock/metal day on the main stage... so we mostly ignored it and hung around the campsite and making the most of the attractions - like the jacuzzi-tent - instead. But at 3 pm we roused ourselves for 4Tet in the dance tent... 4Tet a DJ who is very hard to describe... but I wouldn't use the world music. More synchronised industrial noise... think pneumatic drills and quad bikes, set to a dub-beat. Interesting, and also quite funny, to watch those who were drunk enough to be under the illusion that there was actually some rhythm in the music try and dance to it!
Marilyn Manson and Iron Maiden finished off the main stage, but after overdosing on some self-indulgent fret-tickling we went to see Bloc Party instead, who were fantastic, in the NME tent. Saturday was all about the Pixies, who finished the day with a really touching greatest hits set, full of personal favourites, including 2 versions of Wave of Mutilation. Those who abhor seminal bands reforming to make some more cash (Happy Mondays, Cream etc) should hold their tongues when it comes to the Pixies. The years may not have been kind to Frank Black's underwear elastic, or Kim Deal's cheekbones, but the music and the musicianship was just fantastic. Here's to the rumoured new album.
Also on the main stage on Saturday were The Killers.. but the would-be Glasto-headliners didn't do it for me... their set list is weak, and even their decent songs failed to take off because the drummer and the bassist couldn't keep time. Poor - and unfortunate in that they had to follow the Queens of the Stone Age, who totally rocked and were consummate performers. Leaving the Killers' behind, we went for a bit of LemonJelly, who never fail to be fantastic live, and had the dance tent leaping and screaming with delight. Their mixture of cheeky humour and relaxed house really worked well on the excited but tired crowd...
Finally, to Sunday, easily the best day, and the hottest too. Roots Manuva and Dinosaur Jnr started the day off strongly, and by 4pm, Canada's Hot Hot Heat were lighting up the NME stage with their brash pop-rock and effervescent showmanship. Great to watch, and made all the better by the crowd, who knew every word, and jumped around like loons. Immediately following them were the Arcade Fire. If you've not seen or heard of this band, I'd say you've been missing out. Their entire set was epic - mostly taken from debut LP Funeral, but with some older, rarer tunes too... the crowd were loving it - and the atmosphere was amazing - flicking between high-strung spine-tingling emotion to riotous partying and moshing with ease. For most, this will have been their introduction to this band - I'm lucky enough to have seen them before, and I'm fairly sure they're the best live band I've ever seen. They stole the festival for me...
But we weren't finished there - The Arcade Fire overran slightly (because the crowd wouldn't let them finish) so it was a mad dash to the main stage for the Kings Of Leon. I have never seen a tighter pair of jeans before than on singer Caleb Followil. The Kings had a job on their hands - following Razorlight on the main stage, and on at the same time as Babyshambles on the other stage, they had to work for their applause, but they got lots in the end because they're simply a great rock and roll band, with loads of crowd-friendly songs. They also have a pinch of strangeness about them, which helps. Stand-out tracks of their set, and of the whole festival, come to think of it, were California Waiting, King of the Rodeo, and an inspiring rendition of Tranny. Perfect soundtrack for the setting sunshine.
The festival finished with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. The Foos have slowly matured into full-on stadium rockers, all screaming, energetic passion and raw emotion. Their show is a rock-gig fantasy - songs like My Hero and In your Honour are made solely to be screamed out in front of an adoring audience, and they didn't fail to please. The Foos also have more than enough crowd pleasing sing-alongs, and they'd somehow acquired some massive green lazers which drew shapes in the sky - all round, and incredible performance. I think you'll agree, the first picture does it justice... Words By: John Culkin
Leeds Festival, Bramham Park 2005
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love zoe x