Leeds Festival
Bramham Park
Friday 26th August
Dananananaykyroyd are one of those bands that are great to get everyone moving and fit the same mould that Rolo Tomassi had last year. Playing to a packed out tent this must be one of the biggest crowds they have had, which may or may not had something to do with the rain outside but the fact they managed to have the crowd dancing and enjoying themselves is full credit to them.
Returning with the original members, Taking Back Sunday hit the stage and as vocalist Adam Lazzara introduces them as the “best band in the world” much to the crowds disgust. Despite this and a few mishaps throwing his microphone around they play their major hits as well as treating us to some off the recently released self titled album.
The much travelled Frank Turner has had a slow rise to fame and finally makes his much deserved appearance on the main stage. Despite the relentless touring, people still haven’t had enough and keep coming back for more and with the recent success of England Keep My Blues he is at the peak of his solo career.
After making the trip to the NME stage to catch whatever I can of Cage The Elephant’s set I was pleasantly surprised with the style of their music. After listening to them on record and never really getting into them because of their indie sound, I was happy to see that it was something they seem to have ditched live. They have added another dimension to their performance and without trying to draw to many comparisons to the legendary Nirvana they are actually quite similar.
Having seen Chuck Ragan play solo last year with The Gaslight Anthem, seeing him play with a reunited Hot Water Music was a must. Despite not being one of the household names of the festival they have gone onto influence so many bands that have graced the Lock Up stage since they first formed in 1993. After putting in one of the best performances of the day with songs like Remedy & Trusty Chords it seems finally my day has taken off.
After stumbling out of the Lock Up stage to catch the last half of Interpol’s set on the Main Stage they just seem to be a little bit boring and bland compared to what was happening elsewhere. The only song that really stood out to me during the set was ‘Barricade’ but even that couldn’t lift the atmosphere.
After catching Young Legionnaire at the recent Tramlines Festival in Sheffield I thought I’d catch them again but after a few songs I was kind of regretting it. But me and I imagine a fair few others know that the true gem of the festival was up next so getting here early was a must.
With all the airplay Ed Sheeran is getting on the radio it is no surprise to see that the Festival Republic tent is crammed full to the max with people pushing to get the slightest glimpse of him. It’s easy to see why he has suddenly become so popular he has massive potential as an artist and with hits like The A-Team it seems the sky is the limit for him.
With a lot of anticipation and expectation surrounding Muse and their set tonight its safe to say this could be one of their biggest gigs to date. Playing through the entire of Origin Of Symmetry in its entirety is a bold move especially when some songs haven’t even been played in years. But those nerves must have been quickly settled after crowd pleasers Bliss & New Born were played. After finishing Origin Of Symmetry they retreated off stage with very little crowd interaction it kind of felt like an abrupt ending to the first half of their set. It wasn’t until they returned playing more of a greatest hits set that their performance really took off and went to a new level. With an amazing flurry of fireworks to go with set closer Knights Of Cydonia it seemed quite a fitting way to bring a close to the first day of music at the festival.
