Leeds Festival Report

Hi All,

Got back from Leeds (eventually) late yesterday. A thoroughly enjoyable event only marred by some rotten organisation from the Mean Fiddler Org.

Highlights for me were mostly in the Radio 1 Tent.

British Sea Power on Friday were absolutely storming and the crowd loved em for it. Like Radiohead, but with a sense of humour ... and tunes The Von Bondies weren't bad and the 22-20s would have been a lot better if it weren't for their bass player, who quite frankly was a prat - like Stuart Cable doing an Angus Young impersonation - offputting. Supergrass were a bit disappointing and didn't really seem to click.

Saturday during the day wasn't all that great to be honest (although Ikara Colt were well worth checking out) but the evening made up for it with Graham Coxon put in a brilliant set followed by the Super Furries who really finished the day perfectly - basically a big party (joined at the end by Goldie Lookin Chain) for all of those who had the good taste not to go and see the Darkness.

Sunday we were mostly at the main stage. I just loved the 5,6,7,8 s - who started the day - three Japanese ladies who look Like the Supremes and sound like Hamburg era Beatles - irresistable - "Herro, Reeds !!! Konichiwa !!!". The Ordinary Boys have got the right attitude and were exciting, but I didn't think their songs really stood up. Those they've released as singles really stood out. 80s Matchbox B Line Disaster - bonkers. Razorlight - very impressive I've got to say - Stadium rockers in the making. Franz Ferdinand? - wank.

Sunday evening was on paper my dream gig. Libertines, Morrissey and the White Stripes. All of them were disappointing for one reason or another but equally they were great as well. The Libertines without Pete Doherty - great band for sure, but it didn't seem to work without him. The fun wasn't there and (not surprisingly I suppose) they all just looked so sad. Morrissey's a bit of an old crooner these days and it did feel a little like going through the motions, but when he kicked into "There is a Light ...", I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Finally the White Stripes were I'm sure as brilliant as usual, but by then I think my body was starting to object to festival life and I'd developed a nasty headache, so retired about half way through.

As for the organisational issues - those Mean Fiddler people are a bunch of disorganised knobs. On leaving on Monday morning, we left nice and early (we thought) at 8.15. We got to within about a hundred yards of the one and only exit to the site and then stopped - subsequently we hardly moved for six hours. The stewards were few and didn't know what they were doing, by about 9.30 they had managed to gridlock the entire field and having made an unmanagebale mess, decided that it wasn't manageable any more and left at about 10 So for the rest of the day tens of thousands of cars had to work out how to get through one gate with no stewards. After 6 hours we finally made it out.

 

Went on sunday, and had a great day. Got there about 1.30 and headed to the main arena. Heard Thursday and to be honest was a little non-plussed. Enjoyed Razorlight, and loved the New York Dolls, they were one of the days highlights for me. The Roots really impressed me in to the extent I'm going to get some of their albums. Real get down and dance hip-hop/garage but with real instruments and boy can they play.Franz Ferdinand were ok, but overhyped to my mind. The Libertines were awesome even without Pete, but they didn't really interact with the crowd. Then Morrissey. This was without a doubt my highlight, there were blokes all around us getting very emotional. Then the White stripes, imho I thought they were good but I got a little bored after about an hour. They didn't excite me like I expected, so when they finished at about 10.45 we went not waiting for the encores. We were out of the carparks by 11.30 and back at Summit towers by 12.30. Not bad at all

 

Aha. You saw the Roots. Was going to go and see them, but Auntie Ants is decidedly anti Hip Hop and we went to see something over in the Radio1 tent instead (can't remember what, but probably the Ordinary Boys).

I think part of my problem with Sundays stuff at the Main stage is that I don't think I really like big outdoor gigs all that much - just too much distance between band and crowd for any real interaction. Frankly its one of those ironic things that some bands really aren't made for big outdoor festival stages and unfortunately they happen to be the kind of bands I like. I suspect in part its one of the reasons why the Libs have turned into a bit of a musical train crash.

 

Yes the surprising thing about the Roots is that Mrs Summit is decidedly anti hip hop, but she enjoyed them as well. the only other act she has confessed to liking in the same vein was Miss Dynamite!
Will be getting some of their albums on Thursday I hope

 

Glad to see people enjoyed Razorlight! Their album is pretty good, probably the best of this year for me so far. Did Morrissey pull out any surprises? He did How Soon Is Now? at Reading.

 

I am angry now I wish I had gone. I thought Morrissey's set would be same as Move but it seems to have been different as he didn't sing How Soon is Now but he did sing There is a light that never goes out.

Were the crowd all dancing up and down and chanting the lyrics out really loud? I am guessing the gig may not have been as good because at Move it was many full of Mancs and Morrissey is simply huge in Manchester (he was voted the best manc off all time in etc).

I found at Move the New York Dolls were a slight disapointed, what did you think of them at Leeds?

 

NYD were fantastic, Morrissey got a great reception and everyone round me was singing out loud. The Smiths and Mozzer are more than just a Manchester band AT

 

Sounds like I really should have been there then. I just couldn't really afford to go and it was a big party for me here in Manchester because of my birthday so I was out anyway. By the time I paid for hotel costs and everything Leeds would have been to expensive. Hopefully I can see Morrissey again some time.

I am seeing the Other Smiths in Novermeber but I doubt that counts

 

At Leeds, Smiths wise, he did "There is a Light ..." and "Shoplifters of the World" and something else, which for now escapes me ... I may have been getting tired and emotional by then.

 

How soon is now? That is if my memory serves my right.
I thought his everyday is like sunday was the very best bit of the show

 

The last time the Dolls played in Britain, at the Move festival, their bass player, Arthur Killer Kane, died a couple of days later. David Johansen should watch out...

If they play London, I'll definitely go and see them.

-- Ian

 

How Soon is Now, yes definitely. Every Day is Like Sunday was without doubt one of the highlights, everyone singing along and the sun setting behind the storm clouds in the distance ... ah ...

 

In case anyone interested didn't know, there's a DVD coming out of their performance at the Meltdown festival which Morrissey curated.

 

There was a chap in burberry jacket, flatcap and sunglassesjust a few feet in front of me who got very tired and emotional during the morrissey set, whether this was due to the overwhelming nature of the morrissey performance or a rather large intake of beer I'm not sure, but it caused a falling over incident a short way into the slightly overated imho white stripes

 

Sounds just like when he did EDILS at Glastonbury Wish he'd done HSIN as well

Ah well - you can't win them all! At least the guy in the microlight who flew in managed to get a nice free evening of the Glasters spirit

 

I am not quite sute how Morrisey manages to what he does. I know at Move he kept telling local yokes (as he used to live 300 yards from the stadium) and thewhole performance was just very funny. Then when he started singing stuff like Everyday is like Sunday (this was a cloudy and grey sunday as well!) my hiars raised and it was just magic. 10,000 singing along to the lyrics.

Half way through that song Morrissey broke down and stopped singing for a few lines, he said "you erven know the words its incredable" and wiped some tears of his eyes.

The audience reaction to first of the gang to die was amazing too since the song wasn't even released at the time.

 

Its because he is a Weather God but he just doesn't know it.

Its because its an absolutely corking tune (and probably no one in any of these audiences hasn't heard You Are The Quarry ) Reaction at Leeds was pretty much the same.

 

Did someone fly into Glasto on a microlight? Cool or what? Now why didn't I think of that? Maybe next year I'll paraglide in It'll save me spending a day on the phone to get a ticket (a trauma I couldn't face this year). Still given the amount of queuing to get in and out of Leeds, thanks to the Mean Fiddler (never was an organisation more aptly named) - I'd have actually saved time overall by spending all that time waiting on the phone and going to Glastonbury instead

 

Very slightly off topic but I have just bought the "Rank" ablum on 12" for £5. It sounds brilliant and brings me back memories of hearing some of those songs at Move.

 

This'll make you jealous AT but I've got a mint Rank on two 10 inchers. Don't know if it's worth anything but it's certainly an object of beauty to both look at and listen to!