26/08/22 – 28/08/22
After an absolutely horrendous journey with far too many accidents and roadworks a plenty on the motorway, I finally arrived at Branham Park Friday afternoon. I was looking forward to Leeds this year, despite the disappointing news that Maneskin and Rage Against the Machine had both pulled out.
I put the tent up and headed into the arena to see Pale Waves, the first of a long list of bands I wanted to catch over the weekend. I made it just in time and their set was brilliant, playing four songs from their latest album Unwanted, released earlier this month, the Pale Waves set was an early highlight for me, I particularly enjoyed closing song ‘Jealousy’ and ‘Television Romance’ from the bands debut album, My Mind Makes Noises. A great band to kick off my Leeds weekend!
Off to the alternative stage to catch Russell Howard next, something I was really looking forward to! It’s so wonderful and completely unsurprising to see him draw such a large crowd… And consequently very hard to see the man himself as I was watching from the back of a crowd that had spilled out of the entrances to the alternative stage. He has a great rapport with the audience and interacts with the crowds to whoops of appreciation. Sadly the end of the set was curtailed by a medical emergency in the audience, but he wasted no time in helping security get to the unfortunate punter in need.
Next up, a band that surprised me somewhat; I really enjoyed Bastille’s set! Not knowing much of Bastille beforehand, the band said they had a ‘bunch of depressing songs that don’t sound depressing’. Completely different to what I would normally listen to, but I certainly enjoyed it. I’ve got to give the drummer a mention too, who was fantastic behind the kit!
Following Bastille, it was off to grab a bite to eat, the wood fired pizza was amazing, and actually not too expensive either. Fed and watered, I caught a the back end of Beabadoobee, they have a bit of a smashing pumpkins vibe and a band I would love to see and hear more of! Another surprise for me on Friday night was Halsey, she absolutely blew me away! What a voice. And the show she put on was spectacular, complete with pyro too! Fantastic.
Rounding off Friday for me, I caught Stone, as recommended by my friends Revival Black – Stone played a great set and I’ll definitely be seeing them again in the not too distant future.
Friday night headliners The 1975 left me personally a little cold, for the people that bought tickets to see Rage headline, I thought it was a disappointing choice. I would have loved to see a band like Those Damn Crows, Muse or even Skindred take the Friday night slot, the 1975 just aren’t a like for like band!
That being said, they drew a huge crowd who all absolutely loved them, the crowd that were there were completely engaged and they went down great with the audience. I even spoke to some punters who were happy that Rage had been replaced and were more excited by The 1975! Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
Saturday morning kicked off with Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes! A great way to blow the hangover away. There’s something about Franks energy that is infectious, multiple circle pits were called for and he ensured that women could get in the pit and feel safe too! Both Frank and guitarist Dean Richardson got out into the crowd and were stood up, whilst two circle pits surrounded them! An amazing spectacle.
A nice surprise came in the form of Black Honey. A surfy, rocky, grunge band from Brighton, singer Izzy Baxter had a cheery Courtney Love vibe about her; in fact the whole band I think had echoes of Hole! Definitely an early festival highlight for me.
It was up to Main Stage West next to catch some Wallows, I loved the guitar work but I didn’t really enjoy the vocals, very poor intonation and I just couldn’t hear the lyrics! A quick bite to eat (another pizza) and I moved on to the Festival Republic stage to catch Kid Kapichi – a real treat. Real punk rock attitude and I loved the song dedicated to Boris Johnson and Number 10! These are a band I need to hear more of and I’m really looking forward to picking up their next album ‘Here’s what You Could Have Won’ when it’s released later this month.
Off to see Reg D Hunter who delivered a hilarious set and he had me absolutely wetting myself, he did a half hour routine which could have easily been extended into a much bigger headline show. I must keep my eyes open and catch him next time he tours!
I was really excited about All Time Low! I was a big fan back in the day and they didn’t disappoint. They played three songs from their 2009 album Nothing Personal album, but my favourite moment took me back to their debut album, it was the bands closing song, ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ and certainly the older fans like me loved it!! They played a healthy dose of the newer stuff too and also played a great cover version of The Weekend’s ‘Blinding Lights’. Another highlight!
It was back to the campsite to pick up some more wood fired pizza and have a little break, I’m told headliner Dave did a great show, but again, not really my thing. At midnight, I headed up and out of the main arena, I’d heard there was a silent disco somewhere – I was curious, I’d never been to one, so I thought I’d give it a go! When you venture out it’s only then you realise just how large the festival site is! It was huge. I eventually found it and made my way in! What a great night. There were two channels that the listener could switch between, on Saturday there was a rock and metal channel playing everything from Slipknot and Blink 182 and the other channel was a general singalong that played the likes of Oasis, Rihanna and even a bit of Tina Turner! It was a fantastic night and I absolutely loved it! I’m told it was about 5 A.M getting back to the campsite…. Rock ‘n’ Roll eh!
I dragged myself out of bed the next morning and had plenty of coffee! Sunday was going to be a busy day. The Sherlocks kicked the main stage off and they always deliver. They presented fantastic set. I saw them at the Isle of Wight a few years ago and they have improved tenfold in the last few years. Definitely an exciting band to watch, believe me, they are going places! It’s so exciting seeing how bands have grown over the years. I have to give the Skinner Brothers a mention too, who really surprised me, a great collective of musicians and their final song ‘Put Me Down as a Maybe’ had the crowd well and truly bouncing.
Another surprise came in the form of Wigan’s The Latham’s – a band that I wouldn’t have seen had it not been for my campsite neighbour and festival friends’ adoration of them. She loved them and I can see why. They were absolutely stunning. A mixture of indie rock with heavier and more classic rock undertones! Frontman and rhythm guitarist Alex Moore could give the likes of Ian Gillan and Ronnie Dio a run for their money! Staggeringly good vocals and guitarist Scott Concepcion, aside from having a dreamy collection of guitars (Rickenbacker’s, 335’s, Strats and Les Paul’s) was straight out of the Blackmore school of guitarists. In fact the solo that he played to close the set could have been played by Blackmore himself. Truly epic!
Fontaines DC were a band I was interested to see live. Musically I think they’re really interesting, they really do slap you in the face sonically! Everything was distorted, vocals, guitars, the whole thing!! It was unlike anything I’d ever heard. It took me a few songs to get used to them, but when I did, I enjoyed the bands set, the final few songs having slightly more melody than the opening songs! Wolf Alice were another band I was looking forward to. I’ve followed them for a few years and they played a great rocky set! They were on fire. ‘The Last Man on Earth’ from the bands latest album went down a real treat and I loved Bros from their first album, My Love is Cool!
Now a band I was really excited about. Bring Me The Horizon – full on metal, here we go! The crowd was smaller than I expected, I guess everyone was taking their places for the Arctic Monkey’s who were immediately following BMTH. The crowd that were there absolutely loved it and got a real treat! There were full on mosh pits, circle pits and horns a plenty. Opening with ‘Can You Feel My Heart’, the band grabbed us and didn’t let us go for their whole set. It was a full on metal assault! Five tracks from the bands latest album ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ and these featured in the main story arc of the set. A dystopian future where a virus contaminates the world, and the crowd is cleansed using the power of music! The band really do put a great show on. Singer Oliver Sykes invited Yungblud to join him for Obey, and the crowd went crazy! What followed was an electrifying performance from the pair. Finishing all to soon with Throne, this performance was my festival highlight, I absolutely loved it and I will be seeing Bring Me The Horizon again very soon.
The final performance of the weekend was the Arctic Monkeys. A huge crowd had gathered, the largest of the festival I think. It was absolutely rammed, I was looking forward to seeing these guys, having enjoyed them bback in the mid noughties and I was looking forward to hearing all of those early songs that would take me back to my teenage years. I’ll admit, I wasn’t really familiar with the vast back catalogue that the band had and wasn’t expecting the amazing show that we got.
The aesthetic was pure 70’s, from the low quality aspect ratio of the big screens, to the Top of The Pops style camera work and lighting, even down to Alex Turner’s microphone! The whole thing looked great. The band played a few hits, but the set was very album track heavy and actually I really liked that! There was something about Alex Turner’s performance that absolutely screamed David Bowie. His vocal phrasing, his demeanour on stage, in fact, even some of his songwriting was straight out of the Bowie songbook. Cornerstone I think was the first song that really screamed Bowie to me, in fact, if you’d have told me it was a Bowie song, I’d have believed you! New song ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’ is another that could have come straight from the David Bowie back catalogue, I really liked this new addition to the bands catalogue.
Another great moment in the set came during Arabella, hearing Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ riff running through the song and really tuning into it. I thought perhaps it was unintentional – there was no way the Arctic Monkeys could be Sabbath fans, right? Well, the end of the song proved me wrong as they played the closing chords of War Pigs! Even the Arctic Monkeys are a little bit metal!
I have found a new love for Arctic Monkeys, they are a fantastic live band, and I loved the whole 70s aesthetic. A really great show and I’d definitely see them live again with a new appreciation for them!
All in all, what a great weekend, I made some lovely friends and reconnected with some old ones. The weekend was sadly overshadowed by the tragic death of David Celino, this tragedy highlights the importance of us all looking out for one another! I personally had a lovely time and certainly wasn’t aware of any drug taking and I must commend the security staff on site who were all doing regular checks of bags as we were going in and out of the arena, I was even check upon my arrival at the campsite! The whole of the festival staff were doing an excellent job.
Roll on Leeds 2023!
