The first thing that strikes you as peculiar about the opening day of this year’s edition of the Leeds Festival, is that, following a heavy downpour last night (along with the distressing memory of last year’s mudbath on the Friday), things are surprisingly clear, dry, and there is no need for wellies; that is strange in itself considering the summer we have just had, but as Reading’s noisier and more kick-ass Northern counterpart gets under way, there is a real feeling that this is exactly how British summer festivals should be.
Frank Turner, recently seen playing to billions of people at this year’s Olympic’s opening ceremony pre-show gets back to his hardcore roots, with his new side-project Mongol Horde (comprising one former member of his original post hardcore act Million Dead) slotting in early over on the Lock-Up stage, and putting in a solid shift of fiery hardcore passion.
It is far removed from his ultra successful day job as folk rock’s favourite troubadour, and in stark contrast to his recent expoits over the past 12 months. However, it makes a nice change to see him screaming again, and getting sweaty in the intimacy of a smaller tent.
The band’s 30 minute set gets a great reaction from the crowd who clearly enjoy seeing Frankie T stripping things back to his roots, and rocking it old school style; while the songs might not be anywhere near as anthemic or memorable as those from his day job, this still makes for an entertaining start to this year’s festival.
Over on the main stage though, The Gaslight Anthem simply own every second of their heart stopping 45 minute set today, reminding everyone just why they are one of the must see acts of this year’s festival. They rip through the hits, showcasing not only their phenomenal back catalogue, but a plethora of solid gold hits from their recently released Handwritten opus.
Their set is nothing short of majestic, and the first real set that can legitimately claim to be hit after hit after hit. They have no shortage of anthems in their ever growing arsenal, and opening with a one-two of Great Expectations and The ’59 Sound leaves all before them dumbfounded at their brilliance. That they play two of their signature tracks to open, before segueing into one of the highlights from their recent album (the quite simply breathtaking Mulholland Drive) they yet again prove just why they are one of the most incredible bands around right now.
Their set is just perfect, the exquisitely balanced mix of old and new, and whether they are cracking out a thrilling The Diamond Church Street Choir and American Slang, or recent hits 45 and Handwritten, there is just no stopping them this afternoon.
The only crime is that their set is over with far too soon; something which becomes a recurrent theme over the course of this afternoon; for 45 minutes though, their musicianship is a sight to behold. They leave in the only way they know how; a pulsating The Backseat acting as the perfect crescendo to an unstoppable set.
Another band whose set flies by is All Time Low, cracking out the hits, and thrilling the pop punk fans in attendance with charisma and tunes by the bucketload. They also enjoy the honour of eliciting the biggest female reaction of the afternoon, a quite frankly astonishing number of girls making it their mission to mount a nearby male to give the Baltimore quartet a flash of the flesh whilst playing.
Their schtick is perfect for festivals, cribbing from the Blink 182 school of thought, but it goes down well with their energetic anthems, purpose built for festivals such as this; backed up by some of the finest pop punk gems of the last few years, they really couldn’t fail here today.
A powerhouse Lost In Stereo sets things off, before the unexpected early inclusion of Stella proving to be a great move, paying homage to the band’s favourite alcoholic beverage of the same name. I Feel Like Dancin’ (from last year’s Dirty Work) may still be somewhat forgettable when up against a stellar back catalogue, but elsewhere there are big hits in the form of Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t) and the perennial brilliance of Time-Bomb, Jasey Rae and a storming Weightless. As they close out on Dear Maria, Count Me In (as ever) there is a sense of disappointment when they leave the stage; they clearly could have played for longer here today, and those in attendance would have lapped up every single sugar coated moment.
Giving the fans the only real dose of TROO METAL all weekend on the main stage are Bullet For My Valentine, who are quite simply outstanding here today, as they remind everyone just what a phenomenally tight and well honed band they are; it has been a while since we last saw them, but they are still as tight as ever, and they provide the fans here with yet another set on this sterling Friday line-up that is cruelly shorter than it needs to be.
They blast through the hits, but another 45 minute set seems criminally short for a band who, like the two bands directly before them, could have played for twice the length of time they are scheduled for.
They are fucking brilliant. A thunderous Your Betrayal opens up a raucous set, Bullet sticking to 8 of their big hitters here today to make maximum impact; they do not fail one bit. Pleasure and Pain, Scream Aim Fire, an enormous Tears Don’t Fall; it is all here. 4 Words (To Choke Upon) is as venomous as ever, and a viciously delivered Waking The Demon finishes off an inch perfect festival set, leaving the crowd a huge sweaty mess from some of the most intense circle pit action they will see all weekend.
Their new album, and return to the live circuit can’t come quick enough; it has been too long!!
Although The Kaiser Chiefs are, I suppose, an odd booking to follow the metal magic of Bullet For My Valentine, they do what they do best here today. They are big on hits, and have enough to crack out an endlessly entertaining festival set at any point; the fact that they are on home turf here in Yorkshire (Yorkshire . . .Yorkshire . . etc) only helps their cause.
Whether they could deliver such a thrilling set over the course of 90-120 minutes without some filler remains to be seen, but when it comes to a 60 minute set at a major festival, they are one of the most enjoyable acts you can bear witness to.
Front man Ricky Wilson is electric, leading his men through huge Indie club staples such as I Predict A Riot, Ruby, Oh My God et al, other impressive highlights coming in the form of Everything Is Average Nowadays, and Never Miss A Beat, proving that the Chiefs kill it every time out here on home turf. The crowd duly oblige in losing their shit to their Indie stylings time and time again.
Heading over to the lock-up, Turbonegro close off their set with a cameo from Gallows frontman Wade MacNeil, before McNeil and his comrades rip up the lock-up stage, proving yet again there is clearly life in the band post-Frank Carter. Carter may make his festival debut later this weekend with his new outfit Pure Love, but Gallows don’t miss him one bit; MacNeil stepping into his shoes more than capably and being a captivating and mesmerising front man in his own right.
The man is an absolute beast, and although I only catch about 15-20 minutes of a pulsating set (to get a good spot across on main for Foo Fighters which is a must), the short part of the Gallows set I did witness was just proof that with MacNeil at the helm, and with a new album shortly to be released (Last June sounding anthemic in its delivery here this evening), the band will continue to go from strength to strength.
When their self-titled opus drops in a couple of weeks, chaos will once more ensue.
The evening’s main attraction is the return of Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters bandmates to a festival etched into Foo Fighters folklore. Grohl has appeared a number of times over the years and although Leeds certainly doesn’t have the history of its southern counterpart, where Grohl started his love affair with the UK, Leeds gets a performance right out of the top draw from him, and a band that continue to epitomise the very upper echelons of stadium rock at its very finest.
They are a band quite like no other, commanding the biggest of stages with ease, with a multitude of ground shaking anthems purpose built for occasions like tonight. Headlining festivals and stadiums is what they do best. There are not many better sights than a pumped up Dave Grohl leading the line, firing on all cylinders, and he clearly has a blast here on this night.
Opening with a guttural White Limo may seem to many like a risky move, but it works, and gets the blood pumping early. The beauty of a Foo Fighters set lies in the fact that there are hits at every turn, and when you can crack out solid gold anthems like All My Life, The Pretender, a euphoric, life affirming My Hero and Learn To Fly early in a 150 minute plus festival set, you are clearly witnessing greatness at work.
Whether it’s trips down memory lane to early material such as This Is A Call or Hey! Johnny Park, or recent hits such as Rope, Walk and Arlandria, they never fail to hit the mark. Monkey Wrench is a huge highlight as always, as the band leave the stage to take a bow with the front rows in a slight downpour. The final call to arms ends an extended jam session, which perhaps may border on the indulgent to some, but which only goes to bookmark and highlight the ferocity of the final run through to the song’s thrilling climax. It works so well here tonight.
A riotous Bridge Burning is arguably one of the finest riffs the band has written, and a skyscraper chorus to a closing Best Of You is one of the festival’s highlights, as each crowd member rips their vocal chords singing along to the tracks’ anthemic refrain.
An extended encore sees the band return for Times Like These, Breakout, an excellent cover of Queen’s Tie Your Mother Down (complete with Roger Taylor’s son on drums), and the immortal Everlong to finish off. It will go down in history as one of the greatest songs ever written; and tonight, it is the most fitting way to end a juggernaut set that lasts over two and a half hours. The sing-along is immense, a real awe-inspiring performance, and unforgettable to witness. It does little more than prove once more to all in attendance that the Foo Fighters are, and will continue to be, the benchmark for everyone else doing this kinda thing for a long time. . .
Truly astonishing stuff.
Setlist – Mongol Horde - Make Way For Mongol Horde / Tapeworm Uprising / Unknown / Stillborn Unicorn / Unknown / How The Communists Ruined Christmas / Unknown / Casual Threats From Weekend Hardmen / Don't Mug Yourself (The Streets cover) / Territorial Pissings / (Nirvana cover)
Setlist – The Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations / The '59 Sound / Mulholland Drive / The Diamond Church Street Choir / Even Cowgirls Get the Blues / 45 / Old White Lincoln / American Slang / Handwritten / Too Much Blood / Mae / The Backseat
Setlist – All Time Low - Lost in Stereo / Stella / Forget About It / Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't) / I Feel Like Dancin' / Time-Bomb / Jasey Rae / The Reckless and the Brave / Weightless / Dear Maria, Count Me In
Setlist – Bullet For My Valentine - Your Betrayal / Pleasure and Pain / Scream Aim Fire / All These Things I Hate (Revolve Around Me) / 4 Words (To Choke Upon) / Tears Don't Fall / The Last Fight / Waking the Demon
Setlist – The Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss a Beat / Everything Is Average Nowadays / Kinda Girl You Are / Everyday I Love You Less and Less /Pinball Wizard (The Who cover) / I Predict a Riot / Listen to Your Head / Ruby / The Angry Mob / Take My Temperature / Oh My God
Setlist – Gallows – Misery / Last June / Leeches / London is the Reason / True Colours / Death Voices / Outsider Art / Abandon Ship /Everybody Loves You (When You're Dead) / Mondo Chaos / In the Belly of a Shark / Orchestra of Wolves
Setlist – Foo Fighters - White Limo / All My Life / Rope / The Pretender / My Hero / Dear Rosemary / Learn to Fly / Arlandria / Cold Day in the Sun / Generator / Walk / These Days / Monkey Wrench / Hey, Johnny Park! / This is a Call / Bridge Burning / In the Flesh? (Pink Floyd cover) / Best of You / Times Like These / Breakout / Tie Your Mother Down (Queen cover - with Rufus Taylor, Roger Taylor's son) / Everlong
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