Reviews >Reviews 2007 > Leeds Festival

Trent Reznor - Well you didn't expect him to be wearing pink did you?

After a summer of pretty dreadful weather following us along the UK'S motorways to most of our chosen summer festival destinations, the gods of sunshine decided to pay us a long awaited visit. No rain whatsoever fell over the course of the bash, and sitting around in tee shirts (remember them?) became the order of things. Add in the facts that the traffic didn't seem too bad this year, little trouble around the site, even on the last night, and a lack of our nemesis liquid mud, and surely we would be set for one of the most memorable of Carling Weekends.

However things got off to a slow start. Indeed so poor was the early line up on all stages, that it was not until about two o clock on the Friday that I made my way in and across the site looking for entertainment. Seeing a bit of Billy Talent proving that perhaps they should have inserted 'lack of' as possible middle names for the band and a couple of truly awful yet truly entertaining efforts from punter's bands in the excellent 'Rock up and play' tent. It was time for some real action. Leed's own Sunshine Underground perform to a packed Radio One Stage and even though I am on the fringes its hot in here. The crowd bounces around the choice cuts from debut album 'Raise the Alarm'. 'Wake up' and 'Commercial Breakdown' are pretty ace, but it is a long way from so called new rave and more like guitar indie pop, a lot heavier than the like of the Klaxons, in places they remind me of vintage era P.I.L. And respect is due to the guitarist for keeping his hoodie on in the sweltering heat for the whole set. On the main stage is is no less hot but at least its outside. Funeral for a Friend have got a pretty good new album out and play a bit of it now to a laid back crowd. Rumours abound it is up there with 'American Idiot' and certainly bits of the show hint at a major effort to crack things stateside. The best of their back catalogue such as 'She drove me to daytime TV' keeps the crowd attentive and for a mid afternoon slot it's a pretty good show. They also look cool in matching 'Never mind Reading here's Leeds' yellow tee shirts, a' la Sex Pistols style.

Love 'em or hate 'em you can't really deny that Dwarves are not entertaining. Such a statement in the real world would get one hung drawn and quartered by the PC brigade so be thankful that we are talking Dwarves the band here. Indeed when the guitarist arrives on stage bollock naked except for a bright yellow gimp mask you know you are not at a Keane show. At least he has no outfit problems, and you can just see the fashion dilema backstage, "Mmm what shall I wear for the gig today, the blue mask or the yellow one?" I can't tell you what they played as I was horribly distracted by him and his little fellow, and its one of those things, like a car crash scenario, where you know you shouldn't look at his knob, but you find yourself drawn to it, in a non homosexual kind of way of course. The best bit (the show not his willy) is at the (ahem) end where they run through loads of 1 minute hardcore classics, all i'm sure with ludicrous subject matter. I probably won't see them again or buy their records but my oh my they do for an entertaining half hour. Its probably harder to come up with a greater contrast with Dwarves than king of the soon to be crowned 'New hippy' movement Devendra Banhart (or Braveheart as I overheard someone gloriously remark). Here beards are mandatory on stage as are guitar solos and lots of musings about nothing much. Its very laid back and towards the end a fan is invited up to sing one of his own songs using the band's equipment. A bit different this show and no bad thing for the festival. As Jamie T is on next a quick getaway is called for and I head for the farthest possible point on the site bar the enormous bank of portaloos, the Carling Stage. I was keen to see one of my favourite rock chicks Carlotte Hatherley and to see how she is getting on since her split from Ash. With two solo albums under her belt she has plenty of material to choose from. The stuff is excellently performed but she seems a bit nervous and a lack of stage presence and in between song banter is perhaps something she will have to develop in future. The songs are much more poppy than her previous stuff, and tellingly no Ash tunes are aired.

There is no question that I was looking forward to the performance of Nine Inch Nails more than any other at this festival. So far metal Friday has really been outshone by the new rave and indie dance stuff in the Radio One but all that is about to change. The band strut on all dressed in black with black instruments and a black backdrop and proceed to play music to match the surroundings. There is virtually none of the new album which is good as it is very experimental and not really suited to live work. Instead the band play a greatest hits set, 'March of the Pigs', 'Closer', 'The Fragile' and 'Head like a Hole' are all played, the latter going down a storm. Visually its pretty impressive too with the band playing mid set behind a funky projection screen which has the effect of animating them. Trent Reznor is in good form too, lots of smiling and chat and far from the dour moody bloke his image portrays him as. As with all great gigs they save the best 'till last - a solo rendition of the classic tune 'Hurt' that sends a genuine shiver down the spine. Such was the intensity of the 'Nails' show that everyone relaxes somewhat for the Smashing Pumpkins. Now I know its not the real pumpkins, just Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain and hired hands but don't let that put you off. Like the previous act they run through songs from all phases of their career including several from decent new effort 'Zeitgeist'. Corgan looks menacing centre stage with guitar strapped on for most of the show as he churns out a never ending stream of grunge meets epic rock meets heavy metal riffage. Highlights are a slowed down version of '1979', the quiet loud quiet loud changes of 'Bullet with butterfly Wings', the mellow pop of 'Tonight Tonight' and 'Today' and the simple message of fan's favourite 'Disarm'. However there is too much to mention in this short review, simple to say that they were very very good, the only critisisms would be more off 'Mellon Collie' and something from 'Gish' next time please. And lets hope that sometime in the future the classic line up might get back together, after all Pink Floyd managed it so should be a piece of cake for this lot.

Day Two dawned gloriously. I know this because some twat with the world's biggest gob shouted a wake up call across the site (and he was at least 2 fields away) at about half five, forcing me out of the tent for a wee with huge hangover. The majesty of the dawn had me feeling better and on return to the tent I slept like a baby until at least ten, when I woke minus a hangover. Result! So I was hoping this good start to the day would continue as I headed in fairly early to catch Little Man Tate. I saw this lot last year in the Carling and tipped them for great things. After a decent album and a few minor hits they find themselves promoted to the main stage, albeit second band on. They make a decent fist of it and the glorious weather definitely helps the crowd appreciate their Arctic Monkeys style observational pop tunes. 'Sexy in Latin' and 'European Lover' are particularly good. It ends too soon which is always a sign of a good performance and everyone seems happy. Continuing the theme of Sheffield bands, The Long Blondes baffle me by being pretty boring. This after being very good under leaden skies at Glastonbury a couple of months earlier with practically the same set. Perhaps the majority of the songs from the debut album are just a bit average. They missed out best song 'Separated by Motorways' but at least 'Once and never Again' is still ace. Come back next year with a great second album and we will take it from there or you could seriously disappear off the radar.

Long Blondes - The thinking man's Elton John?

I opt to miss the gypsy punk of Gogol Bordello as I have seen them a couple of times before and head for the Radio One to see a dreadful set from Aiden though they challenge to punters to get past security onto the stage (5 nutters managed this, 3 more than Reading apparently) is mildly entertaining. Shame about the rest. I was there mainly to see The Horrors who put on the usual goth and garage rock show. Frontman Faris Rotter has the best name in rock and is a proper dervish putting everything into his half hour. In truth they were a bit hyped on emergence and are losing a bit of popularity but in no way are as bad as made out to be in some quarters and have some half decent riff fueled tunes. However it is the next act I am most excited about today. Previously I had only ever seen Jimmy Eat World from the back of a very packed tent at the old Temple Newsam site about five years ago, and being a bit of a fan that is way not good enough. So I am down the front when they bound on and go straight into fan's favourite, the full on assault of 'Salt sweat Sugar' (Originally called 'Bleed American', but changed pretty sharpish post 9/11). Whilst starting out as a bit of an emo outfit the eponymous 2001 album saw them break off these shackles and away into something much bigger. For anyone who hasn't heard it, it is a bit of a classic and as such deserves to be heard by you. They play a bit from it today including ballad 'Hear you Me' and set closer 'The Middle' one of those perfect power pop tunes. In between they play some new stuff which sounds ok on first listen as well as a chunk of 'Futures' the very underrated previous album, including hit single 'Pain'. Just about every song has a great combination of a memorable tune with a bit of oomph behind it. Overall its a great set that deserves a bigger audience and I was most interested to hear they were playing in the Lock Up later on. More of this in due course.

We are getting towards the business end of the day now and there is a great run of bands coming up on the main stage, most unusual for Saturday at Leeds. Those good old north east boys Maximo Park kick us off. The set is pretty much the same one they have been touring for a year or so so it suffices to say they were pretty good as usual. Now there was a bit of doubt about whether Interpol would actually play as earlier in the week bassist Carlos was taken to hospital. Whether he had a miraculous recovery or whether he is a grade A drama queen is still out for debate but none of that really matters as they turned up band on time. Like Nine inch Nails the previous night they are dressed in black though judging by the suits, ties and shirts on display they must have been on Saville Row whilst over here. Singer Paul Banks is commendably dressed like a road sweeper however and he gets things going with the pedestrian throb (and I mean this in a nice way) of new album opener, the very epic 'Pioneer to the Falls'. His voice is excellent throughout but comes into its own for this track, one of the best things they have done. I think they should go in for more tunes of this king in the future. Next up is a complete contrast as the machine gun riff heralds first album biggie, 'Obstacle1' it still sounds fantastic. The rest of the set is drawn from new album 'Our love to Admire' and 'Antics' and its all amazingly big sounding and gloomy as ever. They say as expected very little and smile even less, but cracking bad jokes and jumping down onto the audience is not their style. All too quickly 'Not even Jail' ends things, they bugger off with barely a wave, and I go away to get my breath back. A great show one of the best of the weekend. Kings of Leon are pretty good too and they perform in a similar way with little rapport with the audience. However their stuff lacks the heavy intensity on Interpol in the main and it does get a little boring. 'Four kicks' livens up proceedings as does the Pixies like 'Charmer' but the best by far is the seven minute new album opener 'Knocked Up'. Its the best thing they have done and makes an average show a good one. In truth although I have seen them loads of times they are a band I prefer to listen to on album rather than see live. Perhaps they need a naked guitarist.

The run of main stage excellence definitely ceases before Razorlight come on and I make a sharp exit up the hill to a seriously packed Carling tent where Reverend and the Makers are making their Leeds debuts. Set wise its pretty much the same as Glastonbury but seems more intense here (well it would in a jam packed small tent). The majority of the debut album is aired interspersed with some street poetry from main man Jon McClure. Musically its dancy indie stuff with a Sheffield accent but with enough of a difference to make them interesting. They seemed to go down well with the large audience sheltering from Razorlight and McClure gets extra marks for calling Jonny Borrell a bell end. Well that was almost it for day two but I finish off by going to see the second set of the day from Jimmy Eat World in the lock up. And good decision it turns out to be as they play a totally different set ('Pain' is the only track played at both sets), including some stuff from early album 'Clarity', and the rest of the eponymous album they missed earlier including a sublime 'A praise Chorus'. Needless to say the place is totally packed a'la the makers. Bloody hell there must be no one watching Razorlight.

Brakes - Pineapples just out of shot

One new feature of the festival this year was the conscious effort to have more entertainment on the campsites. This included more communal areas, the focus of which was a sound system and DJs, so it was seen as rude not to indulge a bit on the way back on Saturday evening. Thus it was that I started slowly on the Sunday, but a breakfast baguette and coffee soon had me anticipating the first beer of the day, as well as a few bands. In fact it was an early start as I wanted to see Radio One openers Brakes. Now when you go to see a band fronted by an ex member of British Sea Power, you know you are going to get something a little bit different. This lot didn't do that, instead they did things a lot differently. Most of the songs are 2 minute thrashes about totally random subjects like bad drivers and telephones ('Pick up the phone' lasts for 26 seconds), and they crack through things at Ramones speed. then just as quickly they drop into doing normalish pop songs, some with a distinct country edge, and very good they are too. 'Hold me in the River' lasts almost 2 minutes. The second album 'Beautific Visions' is well worth a listen and the best songs come from this including signiture tune 'Porcupine or Pineapple' during which several pineapples are tossed into the crowd. One of these is commendably used as a missile later on during Panic at the Disco's set. A good crowd enjoys their set very much and its one of the weekend's highlights. Oh and their shortest song clocks in at 5 seconds. Also on good form and drawing the size of crowd they deserve are Noisettes who run through the same set as Godiva a month earlier and its good to see them getting some decent recognition at last. Anyone who likes the Yeah Yeah Yeahs should check them out.

One of the most anticipated comebacks of the weekend were Nine Black Alps up next. Now I am getting a bit sick of lazy reviews which always make a few puns on their name (mountain to climb etc etc.) and its not really on. So setting up base camp near the front I was hoping to hear a bit of stuff from upcoming album Love/Hate but in the event they played only one or two, the rest of the set being old favourites from the excellent debut. They go down well enough though summit told me they will get better when more new stuff, reputedly excellent, is put into their set. Then maybe we will see them peak. Crikey its the opposite of the day before and all the best acts are on in the Radio One Tent this afternoon. This year's most hyped, the Young Knives are up next. I have seen this lot several times now and I can't really see what the fuss is about. Both musically and visually they really resemble the Futureheads, without the tunes. For every original band we seem to get a host of imitators and this lot can be bracketed in the latter set unless they come up with some decent tunes soon. Me I dozed off I'm afraid. I was soon awoken by the sound of all the rest of the festival turning up to see the Pigeon Detectives. Its a good show though not as manic as on the previous times I have seen them. Singer Matt does not even end up in the crowd. Maybe they were under orders due to the massive crowd. This does not stop them running through the belting pop tunes found on the debut album 'Wait for me' and its still a really good show. It ends as usual with the mass singalong to 'I'm not sorry' and it takes ages to emerge from the tent into daylight again. By way of comparison the tent is less than half full for Dinosaur Jr, but those that went elsewhere missed a great show, full of tasteful grunge and sub metal guitar work. They even announce they are going to play a song from 1975 though it turns out to be 'Freakscene' released around 1988. Rock star memories tend to be clouded somewhat, though the aforementioned track is still a cracker. And here's another great album to put on your 'download' list - 'Bug'. Set of the day no question.

Interpol - Singer Paul after a hard day sweeping streets.

Food and drinks breaks all done and its out into the open for Arcade Fire. A big crowd assembles and its hard to fit any more in really - and that's just on the stage. Yes with ten members and a myriad of strange instruments, they certainly do stand out from other bands today. (By the way I want to see a band with a barrel organ on stage very soon, you know it would make sense). Set wise its the same stuff they have been doing all year with stand outs 'No Cars Go' and 'Crown of Love' However its the biggies from album number one that get the best reception. The neighbourhood stuff, especially 'Power Out' goes down a storm. However its definately not as good as the show at Glastonbury which was really special. Finale 'Wake Up' got the usual sing along but was not as intense as previously. Still even a half hearted Aracde Fire show is better than watching a lot of other bands.

Well that's about it for 2007 then. I saw a bit of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but the whole thing was spoilt by endless jamming and fucking around. When they do play something its pretty good, but again not much from pre Californication, only 'Give it Away' which admittedly is ace. I also sloped off to see Hot Hot Heat mid Chillis, but found out that sadly their time appears to have come and gone as only a small crowd were in attendance, and the stuff from 'Make up the Breakdown' is still easily the best stuff they have done. On my return I think the Chillis were still doing the same jam as when I left, and thus it was time to go. So on the whole a good festival, great weather, no trouble, toilets good, queues smallish and once again driving straight out on the Sunday night. Musically it was fine, though I was disappointed with the line up in the Carling tent this year, but maybe its been a bit of a slack year for emerging bands. Also we perhaps lacked a big established or iconic headliner for the Saturday night. On that subject I hear Rage against the Machine are back together...

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