Leeds Festival 2011

Thursday 25th August

Going from the night time because I can’t be bothered to write about all the rigmarole of getting to the festival and then driving home and then coming back (and getting lost trying to find the arsing car park again). So when we rolled back up to the festival, in Jess’ legendary purple, P registered, Nissan Micra; we were at the back of Brown campsite parking. At least half a mile from our tent (which the others had pitched the day before). Rachelle and Jess had prudently decided to camp in the Green Campsite because apparently it was ‘safer’ and ‘quieter’. Well I can’t comment on the former because I haven’t been in any of the other campsites but I can assuredly say that the latter is a complete lie.

Anyway, we arrived back at about half past ten at night at night and considering I had gotten up at 5.45am and Jess had been at work for four hours, we decided to hit the sack. Normally this is said in a more figurative sense, when camping it is said literally. Sleeping bags + mismatched blankets all the way. We even had an air bed courtesy of Rachelle.

So, we walked all the way through Brown camping, me carrying a pillow and a bog roll, getting some interesting looks from fellow campers along the way, as if they were thinking that I was intending to camp with just those two things. Anyway we got back to the tent and found that people who had camped directly behind us had lit a fire not more than a metre from our tent. Now call me boring, but the self-preservationist in me told me that this was a little too close to be comfortable, also considering that all the people around the fire were drinking heavily. I voiced these fears to Jess and she told me not to worry and to just to trust that they were sensible enough. Due to the presence of the fire and also the fact that there was a DJ set little over 200m away, I didn’t get any sleep until about 3am. Nothing wrong with that though, I was in a field with a zillion other people after all.

Friday 26th August

Well this is when it all really started and due to the fact that we weren’t nursing hangovers from the night before, Jess and I got up nice and early to see the first band of the day on the main stage, namely We Are The Ocean, just before they came on however, it started to piss with rain. This was the beginning of what would be a day of persistent rain that would turn the festival ground from ‘oh, this is a little muddy but I can still do it in Etnies’ to ‘Oh my god, I’ve lost a welly because I’m knee deep in sticky/oozy mud’ – lovely.

We Are The Ocean were really good but they did seem to be a little drowned on the main stage. It was great to see them open it and they did manage to fill the space and get the crowd moving. I say they appeared a little swamped because their banner at the back was tiny compared to the others that would come a little later, I was near the front and I had to squint to read what it said. The lead singer had eons of energy and engaged with the crowd very well, I was impressed because it must be a pretty daunting task to open Leeds Festival. – 3½ /5

After WATO had finished an army of techies invaded the stage, previously I had been wondering how they managed to do the set changeovers so quickly, considering that there were tight timings and that during a normal gig there’s usually at least a forty minute wait between acts. Anyway, we didn’t have to wait long because soon afterwards Taking Back Sunday hit the stage. I was expecting somewhat great things from this band and I was disappointed. All Adam Lazzara seemed to be able to do was an excellent teapot impression and wrap the microphone cord around his neck until he almost went purple. The songs were okay but they failed to interact with the crowd, it was almost as if they had nothing to prove which, in the eyes of some fans, I’m sure they didn’t, but it just didn’t connect with me. I was waiting for the song MakeDamnSure which they played last, but even that failed to inspire a huge crowd singalong, so with regret it’s only a 1½/5 for Taking Back Sunday.

Then we were waiting for the guy we had really come to see on the main stage. By this point we were only one deep from the barrier and I was excited for the imminent singalong that I knew would happen when Frank Turner hit the stage. I was not disappointed. He opened with Eulogy and then went straight into Try This At Home, this immediately got the front four rows belting out the lyrics, which despite the rain made a huge feeling of excitement and happiness come over me. The setlist had some old and some new songs in it but the highlight has got to be when he played Substitute, I have loved this song ever since I first heard it and I used to sing it all the time at work (much to the chagrin of one of my fellow colleagues) but it is such a great song and just so easy to sing acapella. Another great part of the set was when, as he did when I first saw him when he supported Green Day at Wembley Stadium (a time when I had never heard of him), he taught the crowd some of the lyrics to Photosynthesis which got the whole crowd singing. It’s awesome the fact that when you’re singing out of tune and everyone else around you is singing out of tune, somehow it all comes together to create a great harmony of voices that just sounds epic... – 4½/5

After that we headed out of the main stage area to head back to the tent because we absolutely soaked through, it never having stopped raining since We Are The Ocean had been on stage. By that point Rachelle had text me telling me that she was coming in in the afternoon (she was meant to come back with us on Thursday night but had stayed at home because she felt ill). We told her to meet us at the tent and in the meantime Jess and I put on about six different layers of clothing and got in our sleeping bags in an attempt to warm up again. We also got soup from the Salvation Army van (£1 for a cup +roll!!), this was more just to hold than to actually drink.

After Rachelle arrived we headed back to the arena to go see Panic! At The Disco in the NME/Radio One tent. We were miles away from the front and could see nothing of the actual stage so we were forced to watch the screens either side of it. Panic! were quite good, and songs such The Ballad Of The Mona Lisa, Nine In The Afternoon and I Write Sins Not Tragedies got the crowd going, but being so far from the front it was difficult to get sucked into the atmosphere so I can afford them no more than a 3/5.

Then we headed down the arena to the Lock Up Stage, but before we went in there we sat on the grass and listened to a bit of Interpol. I can’t comment on these guys because we were so far away we might as well have been listening to them on a stereo, we were just enjoying a sit down and the (surprisingly it had stopped pissing with rain for more than ten seconds). Unfortunately we were sat about 10m away from a large green wall about nine foot in height that marked the edge of the arena, upon which many guys at different times, decided would be good to take a wee up against. The blokes toilets were little over 300m away in front of us, why do it there?!?

Anyway, we then headed to the Lock Up Stage and arrived in the middle of Face to Face’s set, it was almost obtrusively loud when we stepped inside. Now I love loud music but somehow this seemed to be louder than everything I had heard thus far that day. They were good and the lead singer was trying really hard to incite good reaction (which he was getting from the middle) but by that point I don’t think the crowd were really his, everyone was waiting to see Frank Turner for the second time that day. So Face to Face finished and in the movement after that set, the three of us darted for the front and the middle (quite easily done oddly) and Jess ended up on the barrier with Shell and I just behind her. Also, we weren’t quite as packed as sardines yet either, which is always good when you’re that close to the front.

So Frank Turner came onto the stage for the second time that day, how he keeps his voice I will never know, and he immediately started with The Real Damage, the lyrics of which; “I was longing for a shower, and for clean sheets, and a charger for my phone” would seem particularly apt and would only become more so over the rest of the weekend. I was glad that he played a different set to when we had seen him earlier but it was no less amazing. I especially like Long Live The Queen because even though he had played this earlier, it was a different version, and one that I had not heard before so it made it a new experience. Highlights were Love, Ire & Song and Glory Hallelujah. The cover of Somebody To Love by Queen was also something special and there was something uplifting about hearing however many people were in that tent sing “Find me somebody to love” over and over again at an increasing crescendo until the song ended. Definitely a 5/5.

Then we went back into the rain and tried to find a good spot to see Muse but we were miles away and the three of us, having an average height of about 5”2’ it seemed to be a wasted effort. We tried to watch the big screens but even those were mostly obscured. Jess ended up getting really pissed off and my back hurt so we gave it up as a bad job because we simply couldn’t see a thing. We’re definitely going to go see them on one of their own tours so I can see them properly (Jess and Shell have already seen them), I just want to see Matt Bellamy’s mad piano skills up close. Also, getting out of the crowd, I have never had to fight my way through so many people in order to get through something, it was ridiculous.

Saturday 27th August

This was our last day because we’d already decided that we wanted to go home on Saturday night, because there was nobody who we really wanted to see, other than Jane’s Addiction (which in hindsight, seeing as they cancelled, would have been disappointed anyway). So we got up relatively early on Saturday and packed up our tent and all our stuff and took it back to the car (parked miles away!!) and then headed back to the arena. We went to the Festival Republic stage first to see Cherri Bomb, a band hailing from Los Angeles and with an average age (according to Kerrang! of 14). I bought their EP ‘Stark’ a couple of weeks and was suitably impressed. So they came on an immediately the cries of “you’re hot!” started, which made me roll my eyes slightly considering that the cries seemed to come from lads who, by the sound of their voices were at least in their late teens, I vaguely wondered whether they’d shout the same thing if they knew their ages. Anyway, they were really good and I was really impressed with their stage presence and the fact that they were really talented! The lead singer/rhythm guitarist Julia(?) could actually shred! Also the bassist’s hair was amazing. I know this shouldn’t affect how I viewed them but, come on, she had a full head of dreadlocks in an assortment of colours – it was awesome. It was the kind of hairstyle that my mother would make me shave off if I even attempted to create. There were a few moments where the crowd/band relationship petered off but I was unperturbed and put it down to their ages/inexperience. These guys are definitely a band to watch for the future. – 3½/5

Then we headed down to the main stage and watched the Architects. Meh. That is pretty much all I have to say of these guys. I like screaming music as much as the next person but I don’t know, it just didn’t do a fat lot for me, so I’m only giving these guys a 1½/5. I’m sure to some people they mean the world and they do seem to have exploded in popularity lately but I just didn’t get it yesterday morning.

Typically as we waited after Architects had gone off, it started to rain again, just in time for The Blackout to pelt out onto stage with their backdrop proclaiming ‘FUCK! The Blackout’. They started with I’m A Riot? You’re A Fucking Riot! and literally, the first bar must have been played when Sean and Gavin (the singers) leapt off the stage, no mean feat considering it must have been at least 5ft from the thing underneath, and came to stand on the security guards plinth in front of the crowd. Their energy was infectious and soon they had the whole crowd bouncing and several circle pits opened. They also played one of my favourite songs of all time It’s High Tide Baby, I don’t know why, I just adore this song and it sounds freaking epic live. The rest of the set flew by in dancing, jumping and singing along. It was funny during Save Our Selves (The Warning) because at every concert they get the crowd to sit down during this song, having seen them three times already we knew this so when it got to the bridge and we started to sit down the people around us were like WTF, but then the band said it about five seconds later and we were able to be smug bastards. It was hilarious as everyone tried to sit down, it’s more that you end up sitting on the knees of the person behind you. The band also have such good banter with the crowd and feel no qualms at insulting us all. They did, however, say that we were better than Reading (hell yeah!). It was definitely good to wake up properly after the Architects and The Blackout definitely deserve 4½/5.

We headed out the crowd then and went to get food and to pull a patch of dry(ish) mud to sit on. We sat there for the whole of New Found Glory’s set and then headed to the toilets (YUCK!) because we knew that once we went back into the main arena we were going to be there for the rest of the day. We caught the end of Bring Me The Horizon’s set, which was fucking insane. Oli Sykes must have opened up two walls of death, innumerable circle pits and all sorts of other things, I didn’t know any of the words but they get 3/5 just for making me mosh when I was intending to merely stand at the side and be a spectator. Sykes also got off the stage at one point and told people to crowd surf towards him; he almost got killed as a pile of lads ended up on top of him. It was quite funny really.

Then in the changeover between sets we headed down towards the front and ended up about four rows back from the barrier. It was then Rise Against’s turn and once again I was expecting great things. Their music rocked as ever but I couldn’t really hear them properly, I don’t know why, maybe the sound guy was a bit crap or something but I was straining to hear the vocals and some of the songs were a little bit throwaway, for that reason I can only give them 2½/5, which is a shame because I really like their music and wish I could have been able to participate a bit more.

This problem only got worse for the Deftones, I could not hear anything except bass guitar. Literally the lead singer was screaming into his microphone and he might as well have been whispering. I won’t rate these guys because it would be unfair, I genuinely have no idea what their like but I felt myself falling asleep during their songs because I had nothing but the throb of the bass filling my ears. During this set a tiny gap opened up on the barrier and I put my hand around it before spending the next twenty minutes working my way into it, trying not to piss off the people either side of the gap – I didn’t want them to hurt me! The same thing occurred for The Offspring couldn’t hear a thing other than bass and this was a disappointment because I was looking forward to them, I could see perfectly but I just couldn’t hear much (other than the one acoustic number they did). I was hoping that it wasn’t going to be like that for the last two acts!

Anyway they went off and they started to build the next set. The triad went up at the back and an enormous drum set was wheeled on for Shannon to use. It took a while for the techies and roadies to set up the stage because there was so much stuff, including a makeshift catwalk thing with stairs. Then the lights went off and everyone waited for 30 Seconds To Mars. The set started with Shannon coming on on his own and started pounding out a drum beat with another guy beside him, then Tomo came on and I was just waiting for Jared to do something pretentious to come on (sorry! But the dude does like to be the centre of attention). I wasn’t let down – in a flash of smoke he appeared through the floor in front of the triad wearing something that resembled a bed sheet. The show was amazing with lots of visuals and a lot of crowd interaction. They played Attack which I was really happy about, I love that song. This was the set where the crushing began to get really intense and I started to feel a bit like I couldn’t breathe. But hey ho, that’s what you get on the barrier so I dealt. My favourite moments were when Jared played Hurricane acoustically (also, they played that video whilst the techies were setting up the stage – a little pornographic for a screen that 50,000 people could see?), but it was a really good moment and then they played The Kill (Bury Me). At some point Jared got people to get on other people’s shoulders. This resulted in the cameras zooming in on insipidly pretty girls that they could see, these girls then invariably showed their tits which resulted in catcalls from the guys. I think I saw more pairs of tits last night than I have seen in my lifetime thus far. One of the best moments of the set, for the echelon certainly, was when Jared got about fifty people up on the stage for the set closer Kings and Queens. There was something awesome about this song because the sun was just setting and the soaring noise of people singing the chorus to the song was just so uplifting. It’s moments like that where I realise why I love live music so much. Then they went off with the promise that that was their last UK set for a very long time, something that caused many people to burst into tears. - 4½ / 5

I was a little nervous after that because whilst I was using my elbows to push back from the barrier slightly so I could breathe, I was wondering how My Chem were going to follow 30stm’s set; I was actually nervous for them! The stage set up was quite small and a complete opposite to 30stm. I needn’t have worried. The set started with a Japanese woman speaking from the big screens and then a countdown from ten as My Chemical Romance came on and went into Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) and the band immediately ripped the crowd a new one. The crushing increased tenfold but I didn’t care I was in heaven because the music was just so good. They segued into I’m Not Okay (I’m Promise) with vigour and there was no let up, the energy just never stopped. Gerard had such good interactions with the crowd, something that I hadn’t really seen up to that point, but they rose to the challenge so well. Frank had so much energy it was incredible! How can he possibly keep going that much? Also, I swear that man gets more attractive every time I see him (:P). Planetary (GO!), The Only Hope For Me Is You and DESTROYA came in quick succession, never allowing a dip in energy for one second. Planetary was insane as it always is and pits opened which was awesome to see.

My legs were in so much pain at this point because they weren’t bent but they weren’t really straight either and I couldn’t move them at all so they were stuck in an awkward position which was making my thighs scream at me. They played House of Wolves after Mama and SING which was awesome, I’ve been wanting to hear that for so long and they finally played it. The line “and the blood runs down the walls” sounded so good live as everyone hollered it at the band. So good. Then they played Our Lady of Sorrows which was unexpected but completely awesome. So many people got pulled out (mostly over my head) during this song. One of my favourite lyrics ever is in this song, the line “Oh how wrong we were to think that immortality meant never dying” I don’t know why, but it just sounds so good. Famous Last Words was another high point, as it always is, and not just in this song but Ray’s guitar solos were amazing, that man is so talented. Also, Mikey Way’s silver bass guitar fuck wow – enough said. At this point I was seriously debating getting pulled out because I genuinely thought my legs were going to give way (not that I had anywhere to fall) it would just be an even more uncomfortable. I glanced at the watch of the girl next to me which said half ten, they only had half an hour of playing left, so I decided to man up and stick it out. They then played Teenagers, Dead! (walking bass line and ‘la la la la’s fucking epic!), S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W and Helena before disappearing offstage. There was the immediate chant of ‘MCR MCR MCR’ and ‘WE WANT MORE’ etc... after what seemed like ages James Dewees came back on and played the intro to Cancer. Gerard came back on, red hair dye dripping down his neck due to sweat (the man kept his leather jacket on the entire time!) and sang the song alone. The singing around me was epic and it filled the space with thousands of voices, something that was so good and spine tingling. Then the whole band came back on for Welcome To The Black Parade which was a hymn sung to the skies and a rabble rousing anthem all wrapped into one. Fireworks went off and confetti cannons shot out black and white paper during this song. I caught fistfuls of the stuff because I was right at the front as we sung the song, as if it were the last song we were ever going to sing. My throat was raw, my knees and thighs were killing me, I had no boobs left, but I didn’t care. I was going to sing that song as loud as physically possible. Then they left the stage to rapturous cheers and screams. I needn’t have worried about them, I knew they could do it, and last night they proved why they were headlining the main stage at Leeds Festival. Because they’re that damn good. Definitely 5/5

After a few moments people started to move away and I peeled myself from the barrier. We had to stay there for a while just in an attempt to get our legs working again before making our way, very painfully and slowly, back up the hill towards the village. At one point at the back of the huge sound tower in the middle of the field we stopped for a moment and two drunk guys came over and started asking what we’d lost (we were bent double so I guess if you were drunk, you’d have thought we’d have dropped something) so I told them I’d dropped a pound coin (yes I’m an evil bastard), just to see whether they’d get down on their hands and knees in the mud to look for it. We didn’t stick around to find out but headed back towards the exit. It took us an hour to get back to the car because traders alley and gypsy lane were so muddy you could barely walk and there were so many people that at times the crowd just came to a standstill as people tried to move.

Then we drove home and I crashed to bed at about half one into a soft pillow and a mattress. It’s now nearly twenty four hours after 30stm/mcr’s sets and I still can’t walk properly and have bruises (some showing, some not) everywhere.

It was worth it though.

B
XO