Was supposed to meet Lorah for this gig, but due to illness she couldn’t make it 🙁
I met Jim at the station. The hotel that I had booked is called “The Clayton Hotel”. Stayed there a few times over the years. It’s approx 15mins walk to there. Nice classy hotel. After we’d dropped bags of at hotel, we went in search of food. There’s a multitude of Wetherspoons in Leeds, but I chose “The Cuthbert Brodrick”. As always, it was rammed. Went upstairs & found a decent table.
After that, I think we went to the venue. Soon got in. Can’t remember if we saw all the soundcheck, but either way, eventually went up to the balcony. Chose the right side (Looking towards the stage) Pretty decent spot.
Again, I’m not going to do a full review of the gig, as Aerosmith would say “Let The Music Do The Talking” 🙂 (+photos)
They started with “Charlie Big Potato”,followed by “Because Of You”. (The majority of this tour they played the same setlist)
I thought “Weak” sounded as good as ever (Even though skin might disagree)
You can always tell they’re going to play “Hedonism” because “someone” gets into the light.
We then get a NEW song (to some of the crowd). Apparently they’ve not recorded it yet, hmm, “This Means War”. They finish with “Political” & “Tear The Place Up”
During the first encore they play “Secretly”, “What You Do for Love”, AC/DC cover & “The Skank Heads”
Of course, everyone wants more! So they do a 2nd encore of “You’ll Follow Me down” (Beautiful) & finish with “Little Baby Swastikkka”
What another great night it’s been !
Walked back to hotel & once there I was out like a light 🙂 The following morning, we go our separate ways on different trains…
After the recent problems with trains, I decided to take an earlier departure from Boston. Left at 09.42 (1 min late)
Arrived Grantham, where I needed to change trains. Fortunately, the train going from Grantham was slightly delayed, so managed the change over.(There was originally a 10 min change). Upon arrival in Leeds, as I’d not been there for a while, I dropped off my bag at Clayton Hotel. (Couldn’t checkin till 2pm). I then walked to the venue & timed how long the walk was 😉 I was surprised to see a guy putting out barriers so early. There was also some work going on at the venue; pretty much all of the front was enclosed by scaffolding etc. Had a short chat to the guy, to check where I need to queue up. Once that was sorted, I went to get food 🙂 The Cuthbert Brodrick was the closest to the venue. After the grub, I made my way back to the hotel.
Forgot to say, somewhere on Neville Street, there were a group of protesters. The road was closed off to traffic & there was a high police presence. Once back at hotel, I could now check in. Decided to stay there & relax 😉
When I got back to the venue, there was still only a small queue. Someone said “Hello Simon”. It was Jonathan. Had a short chat, then he went back in the queue.
Getting in the venue was quite funny. Security had wands. I took my camera out of my pocket, then was wanded again. It beeped. I had a torch in my pocket. Wanded again, it beeped. Wanded again, it beeped. I had a small packet of mints in my pocket!
Wanded again! Finally I could go in ! I was took up to the balcony, couldn’t have expected it, but the front was reserved for disabled guests! I chose to go on left side & the lass said “Why don’t you go centre?” That was because there’s glass there on front row 😉 The Garbage set was pretty much the same as normal, opening with “Control”, followed by “#1 Crush” & the always present “Stupid Girl”. Just 3 songs in & the crowd is VERY LOUD ! Shirley says “Whoah ! Leeds this is so crazy ! Thank you so much.” She that talks about the last time they were here. Gestures to Steve & said they were talking backstage about the last time they we here was ’95 or ’96 ? Thanks to Radio 1, I can confirm it was in 1996. There are multiple bootleg versions of the gig at Leeds Metropolitan University from ’96.
Here’s a couple of scans of the boot CDs : They then play “Temptation Waits”
After that, we get the funky “Wicked Ways”. Then the more serious “No Horses”. Followed by “Dumb”. Whilst Shirley is having a problem with her in-ears, she takes the piss out of the guy trying to put them back in. She then has a little whiskey (Here’s hoping that this is not the start of messing thing up 😉 )
They then play “Special”. For those that are observant,towards the end,Shirley adds a few lines from The Pretenders song “Kid”.
Next up it’s “Blood For Poppies”(oof) followed by “On Fire”.
During “Empty”, Shirley REALLY sings it out
Next we get an old clasic,”Vow”. Next up is “Bleed Like Me”. Must confess, it’s not one of my favourite G songs.
Thankfully, it’s followed by an oldie but goodie “(I Think I’m) Paranoid” 🙂
Seems like we’re getting towards the end of the show now & they play a song that is timeless to me, “Push It”.
It gets the crowd up & jumping
They the play the early song “Only Happy When It Rains”. Looking down on the crowd, everybody seems to be going for it!
We’re then brought back to (the sad) reality of “Even Though Our Love Is Doomed”. I can certainly relate to this one 😉
They then walk off stage, during which, Duke gives a little wave to the balcony. But hey, don’t be sad & gloomy, there’s more to come !! What better song to finish the night with than “When I Grow Up”
So that’s it. Thought it was a great gig. Now I’ve got the 15minute walk, out in the cold, to my hotel. Btw, I’m not into Garbage as much as I used to be & was thinking “If this gig goes tits up, I doubt I’ll go see them again”. This gig semi-restored my faith in them 😉
The songs that 26-5-18are crossed out on the set list couldn’t be played due to time constraints. (They were “Mirrors” , “Smoke” & “Holy” )
Again, i’d been really looking forward to this gig, for a couple of reasons : 1. Seeing PVRIS playing on a bigger stage. 2. The bonus of seeing Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes again. The only “downside” was that this gig would probably end up being the last one i can attend for a LONG time 🙁 (In the end, even though i shouldn’t have, i DID go to Ginger Wildheart + The Levellers at the Gliderdrome, Boston. There was no way i could miss that. So after that gig, it will be a long time before i can get to another)
Athula & Alice picked me up in the morning (on time 😉 ) & we drove to Grantham to catch the train there. Made good time getting there. Whilst in the waiting room, i saw a chap i often see at Boston train station. Poor lad, he’s obviously got some issues : He wears lots of thin clothes & all you can see is his eyes & his bare feet. When i point him out to Alice, she says that she knows him & doesn’t live far away from their place. It’s a small world….
For this festival, i’d bought one ticket & Alice would get the complimentary helper ticket for free. I’d also been liasing with Lisa B (PVRIS T.M. this time) about hopefully meeting PVRIS when we’re up there. I’d booked a different hotel to where i usually stay,partly due to cost being higher than usual. Once in Leeds, we checked where our hotel was & then went to get the wristbands/tickets/passes. Had prearranged to collect everything at the “Disabled Window” at the Leeds arena. Asked a security chap where said window was & he said “I don’t know. I’ll ask my manager” (Yup, we’re off to a great start). Eventually, i see the head of security & he’s also a bit unsure! When i finally get the wristbands & had gone back to Alice, i realised they didn’t give us the passes we need to meet PVRIS ! So once again, the head of security goes to the window to ask about those. By now, as it’s pretty warm & the last few nights i’d not had much sleep, i’m already feeling knackered & annoyed by all the tomfoolery going on. Guess what ? The passes were at the other collection point, back near the hotel !
As we were back down that end, i thought it might be a good idea to see if we could check in early (official time was 3pm). As luck would have it, we managed to get checked in around 14.10 🙂 We had a decent enough room, but i noticed a couple of things that were not right. Firstly, the TV could only get one channel ! Second, the toilet seat was broken ! Whilst we were there, Alice somehow watched “The Dangerous Summer” on her phone. I guess they must have been streaming it live.
We then decide to go try to get some food. I know a few Wetherspoons in Leeds. The first one, Beckets Bank, was absolutely rammed. No worries, theres a couple more 🙂 We end up at The Hedley Verity. Whilst there, i get a txt from Garry. I say “Come to here to meet us. We’re just about to have food”. A few minutes later he arrives. He decides to just have a beer & no food. The food i had was pretty rubbish tbh. Even with a steak knife, the chicken was hard work to cut! Ended up leaving most of it. After that, we all went to the “Rocksound Breakout Stage” as Alice wanted to see “Dream Straight”. What a joke that room was ! It was a really small room which was rammed. We see there’s a small balcony, which is about 6 steps up.It was pitch black trying to get up those stairs! If it wasn’t for Garry waving his mobile phone, i wouldn’t have a clue where he was! If fact, it was so damn dark you couldn’t even see where you were putting your feet! I certainly don’t think there was a Health & Safety issue there LOL. After that wonderful experience, we went to the underground carpark ! What ? Yes, you ready correctly! This was where a load of merchandise was being sold & throughout the day, some of the bands would be there. Alice wanted to meet “Dangerous Summer”. I didn’t realise that she was so into them. She showed them a tattoo she has on her ankle to do with the band. They seemed quite impressed about that. After that, Garry left us to go get himself some food. We decide to go back to the hotel to have a little rest & also to collect the PVRIS photos. We hung there for a while. Later we went to the underground car park again ! This time it was because Alice wanted to meet “Dream State”. Again, i took some photos for Alice We then go back into the arena (Jagermeister Stage) to watch Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. During “Wild Flowers”, he certainly didn’t get as many girls on stage as in Nottingham 😉
Once again, they finished with “I Hate You” (But unlike Nottingham, he didn’t direct his Hate towards anyone )
As PVRIS are the next band, we stay there. Tonight there set is shorter than it should have been. I think it was due to time constraints, that they had to miss playing three songs. They start off with “Heaven”
Next up is “St Patrick”. Again, they skip a song, so next it’s “Half”. That’s closely followed by “You & I “. The rest of the set comprises of “What’s Wrong”, “Winter”, “Anyone Else”, “No Mercy”
And they finish with a rowdy version of “My House”. Whilst it was a short set, it was still great 🙂 When they’ve finished, we go outside the venue. I see I’ve had a missed call from Lisa B (PVRIS tour manager). Also i got at txt saying “Please call me”. Then a txt saying ” security was very very tight, so i’ll come meet you to take you back to the bands room”. As we’d already checked out where the backstage entrance was, i thought lets see how far we can get. Just showed our wristbands at a table outside, then walked inside! There was no one around, so we just looked for a sign as to where PVRIS dressing room was. Found it easy. I knock on the door & Lisa comes. I think she’s probably a bit shocked that we got in so easily 😉 There’s quite a few people in the dressing room & Lisa kindly asks them to leave as we’re going to have a wee meet & greet with PVRIS.
We all say our hellos & have hugs etc. They ask me how i’m doing as regards health wise. I ask Brian if the proposed big London show which was meant to be at the end of the year, is still on. He replies “No, we’ve decided to leave it for a while & instead take some time to start writing for the next album”. This is also the first time I’ve met the drummer Justin. (Previous times we’ve met them he’s never been there). We have a bit of a chat & he soon leaves the room. But not before we get a full group photo or two 😉 I quickly take a selfie with Lynn Then i show them the photos (Smallest one is Norwich UEA 2-4-16 when myself & Alice did the M&G) The bigger one is when i went on my own to see them in Birmigham 23-11-17 And boy did that gig lift my spirits! Never expected what would happen at that one 😉 & finally a photo from Brixton 30-11-17 where both myself & Alice went to & the band paid for our trains & hotel!
I suggest to them that we get another photo,of a photo of a photo , to carry on the tradition 🙂 Lynn, Alice & Alex hold the photos whilst Lisa (or was it someone else?) takes the photo Our time with the guys seemed to fly by. Eventually we said our goodbyes & off we were going to see what was still happening. Unfortunately though, Alice had forgot to take the photos with her ! So i quickly send a txt to Lisa to ask if she could bring us the photos & we make our way back to the backstage entrance. As we’re going there,who should we bump into, but Alex ! I tell him that Alice forgot to take the photos with her, which i think he found amusing 🙂 Whilst we’re waiting for Lisa, we get a quick selfie with him
I then notice Lisa running towards us with the photos in hand. Once again, thank you Lisa 🙂
By now it was around 10pm. We go to the Signature stage to watch a bit of “As It Is”. I think that the singer sounds a bit like Brian Molko. I took a couple of photos & filmed one song :
The last band of the night we see is Jimmy Eat World. Again, i filmed one song.
After that, we made our way back to the hotel. Along the way, we had a look to see if any place like Tesco was still open as Alice was hungry.
I think it was around 11pm & was surprised to see a few places we closed. Carried on to the hotel. I reckon that even though Alice looked sleepy, she was as high as a kite after this day. Myself, i was knackered ! Alice then had the bright idea of ordering some food via room service. I thought it was quite expensive tbh. But she managed to change my mind 🙂
Early next morning, Alice got a txt to say she needed to be somewhere in town, earlier than had previously been arranged. She phoned Athula to ask him to bring some clothes/make up as time wise, it would be cutting things quite short. I could see she was getting wound up. Made sure we got to the train station early & Alice decided she needed to have a coffee so i waited opposite the shop. After a while i thought “Where is she? She’s not in the shop still”. I assumed she’d gone to the platform where i train was leaving from, so i made my way there. Once i got on the train, she wasn’t there. So i txt her to see where she was. It was only about 5 mins till departure! Fortunately, she gets there quickly. Hell it would have been a mess if she’d missed the train as would have had to buy another ticket! I think it was down to lack of communication that we didn’t get to the train at the same time. But it didn’t matter, as we both made it on time & were soon on the way back home 🙂 Athula picked us up at Grantham & drove us from there to Boston. A few days earlier, i’d ordered some new speakers for my PC & they could be collected on this day. So i asked Athula if once we’ve dropped off Alice, he could take me back to Tescos to pick up the speakers. No problem. Alice then said “But that means he has to go into town & then back to Tescos. Think we should stop at Tescos before dropping me off”. I said no to that as she needed to be at the meeting on time. Also it’s not as if it would cause any problems for Athula. Most certainly, i didn’t want to be blamed for her arriving late (especially as she had been wound up since the morning!) It was the logical thing to do dropping Alice off and then going back to Tescos 🙂
Finally, fate was not on my side today. When i got the speakers home, setting them up, i thought the bass sub sounds too weak. Upon inspection, i found it had a bad wire connection, so i had to return them ! Hilarious eh ?
When I booked train tix for this one,I thought it was a strange route they were sending me on. Expected it to be Boston, Grantham, Leeds . Instead it was Boston , Sleaford, Lincoln, Retford , Leeds ! (I later found out ,due to engineering works,trains were not stopping at Grantham). If only ever been through Retford before ,never changed there. It was a strange station as to get to the main line, had to go under the tracks, then walk quite a way, then round the corner to the 2nd part of the station. My train arrives in Leeds on time, so quickly walked to my hotel, the Clayton. I remembered the route & short cut even though hadn’t stayed there for a few years ☺ Checked in ok & they gave me a free room upgrade. Sent a msg to Lorah about where we’d meet up & was soon in way back into city. It was very busy. Millennium square had some kind of fun fair going on. The Cuthbert Roderick was rammed so waited outside for Lorah. We then went to the Hedley Verity. Still busy, but got a table ok. Ordered food then had a good old catch up. ( Sorry Lorah if I went on a bit !) Eventually we went to the Academy & I had a chat with security about disabled access & the complimentary companion ticket). Had a bit of a laugh with security guy, (how many pockets in your bag Lorah?!?), He wondered what the “big thing near my pocket” was….It was a portable phone charger lol Then he started telling us about ” Wish “, a website similar to Ebay. A decent geezer unlike some jumped up power hungry security 😉 He got a lass to take us up in the lift to balcony. Poor girl, it was her first day & she hadn’t used the lift before so was a bit uncomfortable lol. Once up on balcony could pretty much go where we wanted. Chose the left side . There were already a bunch of people up there (dunno how they got there before us) but still got a nice view.
Once again “Superfood” opened & again I wasn’t very impressed (same for Lorah). But the crowd seemed to like em.
Next it was “Sunflower Bean” . Came out with the same lines as in Nottingham ” We’re Sunflower Bean from New York ” 😀. Once again I enjoyed their set.
Wolf Alice played the same set as they did at rock city. The crowd were well up for it from the off. There were quite a few circle pits with the kids down there 😉
If anything, I’d say the crowd sing a longs were louder than R.C.
Once again, I loved the show & couldn’t help but make a few video clips 😉
Lorah seemed to have enjoyed the gig & for myself it was nice to spend some time with an old friend instead of being there on me tod.
Man it was cold afterwards ! Lorah was catching a bus home from near train station so we walked there & said out goodbyes. She took a quick selfie before leaving. I got back to hotel even quicker than when I arrived in Leeds….must been cos was so fooking cold ! Didn’t have the best nights sleep as a couple of times noisey peeps walked by.
Next stop is Nottingham to see H.E.A.T…..on the train at midday ! Loving life at the moment ☺
My train got into Leeds at around 15.30. Nom & Liz picked me up (i was staying at their place tonight) & on the way there, Nom stopped off at Brudenell so we could have a quick look at the new “Community room”. As we were parking up, i noticed Becca was just going into the venue. Once we were inside, saw that Becca was doing some kind of interview & one of the guys from Marmozets was goofing around behind the camera…i guess trying to put her off 🙂
This place is an extension to the Brudenell. It was only completed recently. Yet strangely, the floor already feels sticky ! It’s a decent size room. Perfectly suited for Marmozets. After a while, we continued our journey to Noms place. Always amazes me how he gets his Jeep into such a narrow driveway ! We have a bit of a catch up & then decide to go over to The Original Oak pub for some grub. Whilst it’s only a short walk,it’s raining quite a bit. (How different the weather was last time i was here…sunny day & even sat outside ! ) Eventually we decide to take a cab to the venue. There’s not much of a queue. I’d arranged to get a seat & it all went smoothly.
However, after a while a couple of people in wheelchairs came in & we had to move down a step (That’s not a problem). I did feel sorry for those behind me as even though they were slightly higher than me, i doubt they got a very good view of the stage. The room did take a while to get busy (incidentally, there was another gig in the other room at Brudenell, namely, “Sham 69” ).
Marmozets started their show with the new song “Play” (like they did in Hull a few days earlier). Next up was “Move,Shake,Hide “. Thinking about it, just realised they played same set as in Hull. So it was a 13 song set, which included 5 new songs “Play”, “Suffocation”, “Meant To Be”, “Major System Error” & “Habits”. The rest of the songs were the old classics. I won’t get in-depth with this write-up as it was all pretty much the same as the show in Hull. Though i will say, i prefered the sound in Hull. Also, of the 3 recent shows i’ve been to, Sheffield had the loudest crowd to me.
Nom seemed to have liked his first experience of seeing Marmozets, whilst Liz wasn’t really that impressed. After the gig we hung around for a while. Nom met a lot of his mates & was chatting away for a while. I noticed a chap nearby had got a copy of the setlist so asked if i could take a photo.
I noticed a couple of Marmozets came out & Nom said “Do you want to get photos with them?”. It’s strange as i felt very “stand-off-ish”. In fact, Nom said “I’ve never seen you so shy!” Haha. Well we went over & got a couple of photos. Both goofy & straight photos 😉
As Becca walked away, she said to me “aww you’re so sweet”. Unsure if she thought i was Noms son or something…i mean, i do look young haha , no offence Nom! Chatting with Jack, I found out what the plans are for next year…did someone mention Rock City ? Or maybe even Brixton Academy ? Lets see how 2018 goes for them 😉
We eventually got a taxi back to Noms place. Must confess, i was pretty tired by now. So it was pretty much straight to bed for me ! Following day Nom gave me a lift to the train station. Everything was running on time until i got nearer to Grantham. I was thinking “I hope i don’t miss my connection again !”. Made sure i was near the exit when we pulled in to Grantham. Literally had to leg it down the platform, over the footbridge, then onto the other platform. The guard was ready to close the doors & i just made it ! Phew ! If i wasn’t tired before, i most certainly was now ! I just had to endure the “people” on the train journey who were going to Skeggy 😉 Once back in Bostonia i trudged back over the other side of town where my home is. Once inside i went straight to bed for a while !
Overall, it was a great time away. Nice to see Nom & Liz again. They’re true rock n rollers 🙂
P.S. Another thing about tonights show ; i did record a couple of the new songs, but won’t upload them. Why? Because when i uploaded the new stuff from Sheffield gig, i got a “copyright strike”. I really should have realised i shouldn’t have upped songs that are yet to be released. More importantly, for me, is if i get more copyright strikes Youtube will close my account 🙁 I’ve got over a thousand video clips on YT & if they were took down, this blog page wouldn’t be half as good as it is without the clips.
Got to Leeds in good time. Found the cheap car park easily. Top tip; it’s Trafalgar street car park. Only £6 all day (cheaper if have Leeds Arena ticket). So much better than the rip off “The Light” etc prices. Went to the pub, had some grub.I was falling asleep in the pub,so thought a bit of fresh air would help, went to venue about 4pm. Typically, i was first person there. Had a lass ask where the box office was. She came back & said it was closed. So i suggested looking for a phone number or going round back of venue & trying to have a word with the scurity to see if they could help. She then said ” Oh! Do you not work here?”. (Damn, it’s been a while since thats happened lol.In the past i’ve even had people wanting to give their tickets to me for entry!) Me: ” No luv, i’m here for the gig myself & i’m just a nice person who likes to try help”. Girl : ” Oh thank you very much. That’s real nice of you!” *Job done, my good deed for the day!*
During the time in the queue i also saw : A very understated Mr McCarthy going into town. The lovely Katharine taking photos of the venue. She wasn’t quite so happy on her return when it was pissing it down…even under cover, the rain conspired against her when she sat to have a quick fag ; “What?! fuck you !” 😉 Oh yes, the RAIN. It wasn’t for long, but it totally chucked it down. Yup, i got a bit drenched. Amazingly, i was the ONLY person in the O2 priority queue tonight. That was funny in itself. Still, i got the spot on front row that i’d put the effort into to get 🙂
Miles had been plugging “The Lottery Winners” & quite a few made the effort to get in early to see them. They were great. Some great pop/rock. The main guy,Thomas Rylance, was a very funny chap(in a nice way). I dunno if it’s because of where they come from,but, he kind of reminded me of Johnny Vegas or Peter Kay. Brilliant when he posed for the face book photos as well. Was also great to see Digby side stage singing along to all their songs. Miles even came onstage to present them with champagne 🙂I love the way The Wedding Present start their show : Katharine playing the great bass intro,very heavily, to “You Should Always Keep in Touch With Your Friends”. She rocks! It’s strange, but somehow “back in the day” i totally missed TWP. It was at the “Indie Daze”festival in 2015 that i first saw them live. I was surprised how many of their songs i knew. So tonight is a nice bonus. There’s a bunch of classics with a couple of new songs for good measure. I particularly liked the newbie “Rachel”. The crowd loved them & when they finished off with “Brassneck” it just erupted. Bloody loved the show.
Finally the Stuffies. To think they’ve been on the go for 30 ‘kin years! Well done for keeping it together through the think n thin. I guess it’s suitably apt they kicked off with “30 years in the Bathroom”. The intro was extended with various audio snippets from their history over the years. Slow & brooding build up before the audience is full on rockin out. Only first song in & all the smiles & dancin (both off & on stage) are so inspirational. I dunno if it’s because i’d not listened to it for ages or what,but, next song “Play” i’d almost describe as a heavy metal version! It just seemed so fast! The hits just keep on coming with “On The Ropes” followed by the early days classic “Red Berry Joy Town”. Inevitably, there’s the “…words the audience are not looking forward too…time for a NEW song…”. But hey, when it’s this good as “For The Broken Hearted”, it just fits in greatly. I’m not gonna list all the songs,but, you can be sure so many of the classics were played. Something like a 25 (?) song set, your faves are gonna be in there!
I honestly don’t think there’s another band ive seen over the years where i’m always happy at their gigs jumping around etc. From first seeing them open a couple of times for “Zodiac Mindwarp” (& blowing them off stage) i just knew they’d go far. Reminiscing about it all, so many great memories came back to me during this gig. In fact, it got so damn emotional i got a bit teary…i don’t care, i just felt it all. I reckon that this is the definitive line up of The Wonder Stuff. It’s so obvious that everyone is on the same page & just bloody enjoying themselves up there. As for the audience? Not many acts can get so many 40+ year olds to dance around for a full show like The Stuffies always manage to. Roll on the next gig i’ll see in Norwich 🙂
I’ve really being looking forward to seeing Wolf Alice. I’m a little late getting into them, but, i just love the album so decided to see them live a few times. Nowadays i’m trying to go more gigs on weekends as we’re only in March & already i’ve used a lot of holidays! My journey was very smooth & i found car park easily.Then searched out another car park i’d seen online (as it’s WAY cheaper than where i was staying). Went to the “usual”, the “Cuthbert Broderick” for lunch. Then later met Lorah back there. It was 3 years since we’d had that crazy drunken night after Skunk Anansie gig there. Next there was a freaky coincidence at the gig : As ever, i got talking to the chap next to me. Cannot imagine our surprise when we both realised we’d traveled from Boston & kind of knew each other ! (We’d never previously met) So we had a bit of a laugh. The first band ” Bloody Knees” really try hard. Think Nirvana & that’s a pretty good description. They are full of energy & they get a great reaction from the crowd. Seen it all before, but, good on them for making a fist of things.
Next up it’s ” Swim Deep “. These are different & interesting. During the first song the singer managed to make his ear bleed & he couldn’t seem to understand how. I loved the freaky little keyboards & the main keyboardist was so funny. I say that in a nice way. He was very entertaining. I think in some ways i enjoyed SD more than BK, but, i enjoyed both acts. They did what was intended; warming up the crowd for the main event.
As soon as Wolf Alice came on stage, the audience went crazy. All around, people were jumping around & pushing. Singing the songs & generally having a great time. Was quite funny seeing the security getting annoyed at the members of the crowd on friends shoulders. No sooner had they told someone to get down than someone else was up! It seems that WA have played the same set every night on this tour,but, it’s one hell of a show! Everything comes over great live. Joff is a great visual guitarist. Damn, can he play!
They had a nice light show which complemented the sounds. Particularly loved it when they slowed things down & Joel (drums) sang ” Swallowtail”. Just beautiful. Talking of beauty, yes, of course Ellie is great. She’s a natural. She did seem a little withdrawn at times, but, it was all good.
If there was one thing i’d criticize about the show, it would be the lack of interaction with the crowd.Maybe they are a “heads down & rocking” sort of act & they just let the music do the talking? For me personally, i think what really draws me to WA is their balance of pop & rock. An old indie style which rocks out big time. On this tour they’re doing 4 nights at Londons Forum & most of the other dates are selling out. That’s an indication of how their popularity is growing. I really hope they can keep things together & progress well without the pressures ruining them. I’m already interested to think where they will go with the next album release !
Saturday was a day/night of hanging around Leeds, up pubs, buying pyjamas!, a curry with Nomis & then a guided tour of various boozers.
Sunday myself & Cat set off for the festival hoping to catch Babymetals set, but unfortunately we missed them by a few minutes.Whilst walking around the site we bumped into Jason & Kristy 🙂 .We made sure we were in a prime position for Marmozets, down the front on the left 😉 Typically, Marmozets were just excellent as always.
After their set, Rob & Kristina found us…again they know where to be lol. ( “Always on the left side” )
We all then hung at the BBC Introducing Stage, where we saw ; Area 52, Crosa Rosa, Ducking Punches etc.
I hadn’t seen Royal Blood before, so was looking forward to their set. They had great sound & it was a very solid performance. In fact, it was way better than i expected it would be.I still have my doubts about how much is live though… I’ve got to see them do their own headline show now 😉
I was expecting the crowd to go mental for Bring Me The Horizon,but, it just got silly really. Yeah, it’s kinda nice to see the pits etc,but, do any of these kids actually watch/listen to ANY of the show? BMTH also had the honour of having the worst sound of the day. It was just a mess. Hell, even Oliver commented from onstage about it. When it gets to the point that it’s just not enjoyable on any level, might as well leave, so we did ! Went & saw a couple of songs by Ghost then back again to main stage for Metallica.
Now don’t get me wrong, i love Metallica,have done since the beginning, they always can be relied upon for a great gig. But the venue/crowd can make a big difference. I’m not a fan of festivals, pretty much hate them tbh. Not just because of the weather, but the crowd. Nowadays they attract so many chavs. Today was one of those days. There’s always so many idiots just geting pissed up & not interested in watching the bands. Even though Metallica started the set with some classics, Fuel, Bellz, Blackened, King, i just couldn’t fully get into it because of the dickheads near me. Eventually i warmed to things & started to enjoy it (as much as i could given the situation). There’s no denying it was a great set list, maybe one of the best set lists ever, with many of the old classics including “Frayed Ends Of Sanity” (which i don’t think had been played before in the UK?), but still, it’s nowhere near as good as seeing them indoors.
All in all a good weekend spent with various friends. But i’m still in no rush to go to any festivals next year…
Brudenell Social Club is a great little venue ! I’d love to go back there sometime. Nearby, it was like being transported back in time (or something similar to Coronation Street lol) as we noticed they had washing lines between the opposite houses. Pretty rare to see that nowadays.
Well, whatever, The Temperance Movement were their usual classy selves . Another great night from them 🙂
but either way, eventually went up to the balcony. Chose the right side (Looking towards the stage) Pretty decent spot.
I thought “Weak” sounded as good as ever (Even though skin might disagree)
We then get a NEW song (to some of the crowd). Apparently they’ve not recorded it yet, hmm, “This Means War”. They finish with “Political” & “Tear The Place Up”
