Early on the NME stage is Frank Carter’s post-Gallows outfit Pure Love, who attract a decent sized crowd to witness their set in the early afternoon. For now, with a wedding imminent, Carter seems more relaxed and happier than ever. Although that means we won’t be seeing him returning to his manic days as a frontman for a raucous punk outfit anytime soon, he seems in a content place, and although not as immediate as his former band, Pure Love have something about them.
He is still a captivating frontman, who, picking up on an initial sense of apathy, throws himself in amongst the collected, and joins the fans in the pit. As he does this, he wins them over, and gets them on board. They have some decent enough songs, and with more shows under their belt and a long awaited full length, they should go from strength to strength. With Carter and guitarist Jim Carroll getting up close and personal with the fans, and unleashing huge white balls in the process, they set the tone for a great day ahead.
It seems strange seeming him in this guise, but clearly having turned a new leaf, Pure Love could well do the business for him in the future.
What follows is something very special indeed; Twin Atlantic are on the brink of something incredible, and look certain to follow Biffy into the ascent to the big leagues on the back of their 2011 opus Free. Their climb to greatness is imminent, which makes a ridiculously low billing on the festival’s second stage all the more galling, when you see the thousands of people here to witness them smash it.
The fact that they get a considerably larger crowd than the band headlining this stage today (more on that later) is telling, but they waste no time in thrilling all before them with a hit packed set, peaking at a monumentous Make a Beast of Myself. They follow by showcasing a delicately fraught and epic Crash Land, before coming back full circle with a storming rendition of their album’s title track to bring their set to an end.
Catch them while they can; they won’t be messing around at this end of the bill for much longer.
Where Twin Atlantic’s set is majestic, OFWGKTA’s set (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All for the uninitiated) is just nuts; it’s a strange combination, but with tonnes of members, their set literally focuses on rap tunes to offend the more delicate of constitution; it’s so “offensive” that it is funny, but you have to wonder whether the joke can really last much longer, as a 45 minute set does have a tendency to drag.
That the highlight of their set comes in the form of a blow up sex doll that is bound and tied together with gaffer tape says it all; this is before the band alternate from performing classic wrestling moves at will (People’s Elbow anyone??) and stamping on her head to rip apart the doll; it sums up their performance, but if it’s controversy you want, then it’s controversy you get.
Perhaps they are the smartest of all of us; at the end of the day, their exploits here (as with their Reading showing) make front page news on NME.com. They are clearly doing something right; the music though, leaves a lot to be desired, even if plenty of people are into it.
A timely gap should give chance to catch Al Murray on the alternative stage, but a poorly timed downpour ruins that plan, as everyone takes shelter under the alternative stage’s sizeable tent, making entry impossible. The NME stage is much bigger though, so a lot of people take solace in there and catch Santigold in the process.
Not much to report; a very colourful and energetic R & B set goes down well, even if she is lacking in truly killer songs; she is watchable, and enjoyable for what it is, but a lot of people checking her out would clearly be elsewhere were it not for the downpour engulfing the site.
Luckily it dries up though, and Enter Shikari take to the main stage to glorious sunshine (typical British weather eh?!). They are as good as ever, but watching them from a far, some of the energy is lost, and although they still crack out a few gems, a lot of their newer material is simply not a patch on the likes of Sorry You’re Not A Winner and Mothership.
Missing Juggernauts ain’t great either, making a trek over to see We Are The In Crowd over on the Festival Republic stage, but it is so worth it. The Poughkeepsie pop-punkers put in one hell of a shift, and doubtlessly win over a lot of fans here today.
Their crowd grows with each minute they are on stage, and blessed with a solid 40 minute set to play with, they crack out hit after hit; there are plenty of them too, whether it’s the awesome opener Better Luck Next Time, oldies Never Be What You Want and Both Sides of the Story or their newer hits like Exits and Entrances and Kiss Me Again, this band have the chops to go all the way and vie for the Paramore crown.
They have a long way to go, but another album of pop punk bangers will not do their cause any harm whatsoever.
As they close on a rampant Rumour Mill, it is clear that they have the star quality to go all the way; bigger stages must surely beckon in the future. There is just not enough superlatives to say how good We Are The In Crowd were this afternoon.
As they finish, The Vaccines are well into their set over on the main stage, playing to one of the biggest crowds of the weekend; catching If You Wanna, is a massive bonus, and although front man Justin Young might be fronting double denim at Leeds, he and his bandmates kill it. They fully justify their billing as future headliners, and it is surely only a matter of time before they top this bill.
Up next though, is one (of the two) real surprise packages of the festival for me. I am not a Florence and the Machine fan by any stretch of the imagination, and although I know only a handful of songs, I was only really checking them out due to a lack of anyone else of interest playing at the same time. I was so glad I took the gamble to check them out though. They were incredible. Florence Welch is a mesmerizing and almost ethereal vocalist, really putting on a huge performance on a massive stage, and delivering like her fans clearly knew she always would.
You cannot take your eyes off her, and she speaks to the crowd with such warmth and tenderness, yet has a huge booming voice; a chap to my right really hits the nail on the head in calling her the modern day Kate Bush.
She has some hits, her recent number one chart-topper Spectrum going down well, along with Dog Days Are Over (which she gets the crowd really into) and Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up).
The highlight of her set though is an epic Shake It Out, which rocks Leeds to its core, and justifies her slot here subbing the main stage. It is a massive moment for her, and a thunderous refrain makes for an unforgettable showpiece. When the dance remix of the same tune kicks in on the last reaches of the song, it takes it to a whole other level. It is one of the most impressive sights of the weekend.
Welch owns it today, and wins another convert to her cause in me – what a voice, and what a show.
From one surprise to the next though, heading over to the Lock-Up stage (today renamed the Dance Stage) to see Katy B is another genius move. For 60 solid minutes, she “does a Florence” and obliterates the tent, putting in a one of the finest sets of the entire weekend to crowd who couldn’t be more up for it.
Opening with a phenomenal Broken Record, and sporting some incredible “short shorts” Ms B takes the crowd in the palm of her hand, and although she might only be diminutive in stature, she walks tall on stage tonight, and knocks it clean out of the park.
She gets her fans raving like their lives depend on it, drops some big hits, and an ingenious extended DJ set really gets the party atmosphere pumping. She and her band take turns to drop only the biggest and best club bangers with Jay-Z and Kanye’s Watch The Throne collaboration of Nigga’s In Paris being the pick of the bunch; the crowd response is absolutely breathtaking.
Flanked by a solid live unit, killer light show, and enough smoke to fuel a High School disco, Katy B is unreal on this night, a closing one-two of two of her biggest anthems Katy On A Mission and Lights On ending a breathtaking set on a massive high.
Yet another unexpected highlight from a girl with great talent; considering her album didn’t do much for me last year (singles aside) this was a fantastic set packed full of dance music and a British urban edge.
En route to catch a recently reunited At The Drive-In headline the NME stage, Kasabian are mid way through their infectious, yet terrible track Velociraptor! (seriously, it’s a shit tune from a band with plenty of hits) and Feeder pack out the Festival Republic tent and then some, but only catching two songs, I fail to catch any of their hits.
What greets my arrival to the tent though, nobody could have expected. It is empty. Not even “early in the day” empty, but desolate, as At The Drive-In play to a tiny, tiny crowd, and prove that it was seemingly a mistake to book them into such a high spot here.
A cult band perhaps, but a much awaited and heralded reunion doesn’t equate to bodies in the tent here tonight, and it is almost embarrassing as the band walk out to one of, if not the, smallest crowds I have ever seen in this stage. To put that into perspective, only 8 hours earlier were Twin Atlantic packing this very stage at 1pm; now, there is barely a few thousand people here to watch At The Drive-In.
There is a congregation at the front of the barrier, and barely anyone behind the front bit, which is a shame for a band whose reunion has been anticipated for a long time. Ultimately, their set is solid if unspectacular, it only really kicking up a notch when they crack out their signature tune One Armed Scissor at the end (even if it does sound like a Billy Talent song!?).
It’s a shame, because they are clearly a very capable band, but they are clearly too much of a cult concern to headline the second stage of one of the biggest commercial festivals out there. The sparse crowd must surely affect their performance, and on their night they can surely kill it. Although tonight is solid, this is not that night, but they are still worth a watch, ultimately lacking in the tunes required to pack this stage this evening.
So . . . Leeds 2012 closes festival season for yet another year. What will 2013 bring? Hell, that’s ages away . . . let’s focus on “gig season” first, which kick starts anytime after . . . . . NOW . . . .
Setlist - Pure Love - She / Beach Of Diamonds / Anthem / Bury My Bones / Handsome Devil's Club / Burning Love / Scared To Death / Riot Song
Setlist - Twin Atlantic - Edit Me / Apocalyptic Renegade / The Ghost of Eddie / What Is Light? Where Is Laughter? / Make a Beast of Myself / Crash Land / Yes, I Was Drunk / Free
Setlist – OFWGKTA - Hold Me Back (Rick Ross song) / Bitches / French! / Fish / 50 / Rella / Sam (Is Dead) / Swiss Army / TANGGOLF / Rella (Reprise) / Everything That's Yours / Yonkers / La Bonita / Radicals / Sandwitches
Setlist – Santigold - Go! / L.E.S. Artistes / Shove It / Say Aha / The Keepers / Creator / Freak Like Me / Fame / Big Mouth
Setlist - Enter Shikari - System... / ...Meltdown / Sorry, You're Not a Winner / Destabilise / Mothership (Motherstep intro) / Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here / Gandhi Mate, Gandhi / Arguing with Thermometers / Juggernauts (Blue Bear's True Tiger Remix) / Sssnakepit / Zzzonked
Setlist - We Are The In Crowd - Better Luck Next Time / Never Be What You Want / Both Sides Of The Story / Exits and Entrances / The Worst Thing About Me / Kiss Me Again / Lights Out / For The Win / On Your Own / Rumor Mill
Setlist - The Vaccines - No Hope / Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra) / Tiger Blood / A Lack of Understanding / Wetsuit / Teenage Icon / Under Your Thumb / Post Break-Up Sex / All In White / Ghost Town / Wolf Pack / Blow It Up / If You Wanna / Bad Mood / Nørgaard
Setlist - Florence and the Machine - Only If for a Night / What the Water Gave Me / Cosmic Love / Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) / Spectrum / Heartlines / Breaking Down / Shake It Out / Dog Days Are Over / Never Let Me Go / No Light, No Light
Setlist - Katy B - Broken Record / Easy Please Me / Hard to Get / Why You Always Here / Louder / What You Came For / DJ set… / Sweet Dreams / Perfect Stranger / Katy on a Mission / Lights On
Setlist – Feeder - Feeling A Moment / Renegades / Pushing The Senses / Idaho / Just The Way I'm Feeling / Borders / Buck Rogers / Insomnia / High / Generation Freakshow /
Just A Day
Setlist - At The Drive-In - Arcarsenal / Pattern Against User / Chanbara / Lopsided / Sleepwalk Capsules / Napoleon Solo / Quarantined / Enfilade / Pickpocket / Metronome / Arthritis / Cosmonaut / Catacombs / One Armed Scissor
No comments:
Post a Comment