Ali's Leeds Festival 2011
A brilliant weekend of (mostly) great music... |
| 1 | Fighting Fiction
Up-and-coming punk band that delivered a solid set of shout-along athems. Ones to look out for. |
| 2 | Fucked Up
Thoroughly entertaining. Pink Eyes was in the crowd by the second song and didn't come back, eventually finding his way to the back of the 9,000 capacity tent. |
| 3 | Frank Turner
Very disappointing compared to the other two times I've seen him, where he was fantastic. Frank himself was good but the sound was poor and the bigger stage didn't really suit him. |
| 4 | Little Comets
A fantastic live show. They lost a bit of momentum with their slower numbers but more than made up for it with gems like Joanna, One Night In October and Dancing Song. |
| 5 | Chapel Club
Only caught a bit of their set, but it was like listening to wallpaper. |
| 6 | Warpaint
Again, I only heard some of them, but their music has far more life to it than that of Chapel Club. |
| 7 | Friendly Fires
A fun live show, even if songs like Hawaiaan Air and Jump In The Pool hardly fitted in with the torrential rain. |
| 8 | Interpol
Pretty much as I expected. A solid set of good songs, but lacking anything in the way of excitement or charisma. |
| 9 | Elbow
I can't make it through any of their albums without becoming bored, but they're a great festival band, and delivered an impressive best-of set. |
| 10 | Muse
Played Origin Of Symmetry in its entirity, plus an hour of the hits. Needless to say it was brilliant. Inevitably though there were some that looked bemused during Hyper Music and Micro Cuts but still went apeshit for dross like Uprising. |
| 11 | Pulled Apart By Horses
Solid local band who delivered a fun set. This was the third time I've seen them and was probably the best. Also, how can't you like a band who close with a song called 'I Punched A Lion In The Throat?' |
| 12 | Frankie & The Heartstrings
Excellent indie pop band whose debut LP is one of this years most underrated records. Their live performance was very good too, even if frontman Frankie Francis can make himself look like a bit of a prat sometimes. |
| 13 | The Computers
The fact that a fancy dress Yoda vs Darth Vader lightsaber battle in the crowd attracted more attention than their set says it all really. |
| 14 | New Found Glory
Never really been much of a fan, but they put on a pretty fun show. Included a clover of The Ramones' Blitzkrieg Bop. |
| 15 | The Minutes
New (ish) band from Dublin. Hardly the most original but their noisy brand of rock 'n' roll went down with those who watched. |
| 16 | Mona
Mona wrote songs for festival shows like this. Unfortunately, those songs simply aren't very good, so naturally the whole thing fell flat. |
| 17 | The Naked And The Famous
I'd place them under the same bracket as MGMT, in that they have three great songs but no one really seems to care about the rest. Their set was impressive, though, especially the songs that everyone knew. |
| 18 | Rise Against
A solid, if slightly one-dimensional - performance with plenty of energy. It was disappointing, though, to hear Tim McIlrath seemingly condone the UK riots. |
| 19 | Deftones
Definitely the biggest disappointment of the weekend. The wankers I was stood beside didn't help, but the sound was muddy and the band seemed to lack the energy they're known for. |
| 20 | The Offspring
Though they're far too old to still be spiking their hair up, The Offspring have a back catalogue that few pop punk bands can match. A solid if unspectacular greatest hits set. |
| 21 | Noah And The Whale
Band gets loads of hate here, but I'm a fan. Their live show was thoroughly enjoyable too, once we managed to escape the meatheads who had clogged up the tent ahead of Beady Eye's performance. |
| 22 | White Lies
Their new album was shit, but of the three times I've seen them this was without a doubt the best. Their songs sound brilliant when backed by thousands of voices. |
| 23 | The Horrors
Opted to watch The Horrors headline a smaller stage instead of My Chemical Romance or Beady Eye. Their performance was predictably noisy, and they managed to blow the sound two songs from the end. A thoroughly enjoyable set, though. |
| 24 | The Joy Formidable
This was my fourth time seeing them, and although they again delivered a good performance their set was hampered badly by the wind. |
| 25 | Yuck
Exactly the same live as on record, but that's fine because their album's great. You'll enjoy Yuck live so long as you don't expect anything different. |
| 26 | Letlive.
An unbelievably energetic performance. I'm not as into them as most people here, but I can truly say that you don't know Letlive. until you've seen them live. |
| 27 | Grouplove
Excellent up-and-coming indie pop band who delivered a truly fantastic performance. Their album's out next week, and is ace, but I was still surprised by just how good they sound live. |
| 28 | Madness
If you don't like Madness there's something wrong with you. Great fun and a perfect afternoon festival set. |
| 29 | Jimmy Eat World
A remarkably tight live band, it's only when you see them perform that you begin to appreciate what good musicians they are. Their set was really enjoyable, even if they omitted my personal favourite, Authority Song. |
| 30 | The National
Although The National are the best band in the world at the moment in my opinion, I wasn't expecting that much from them live. I was pleasantly surprised though, and the fact that they have such a strong back catalogue meant that the fact they didn't play many of my favourites hardly mattered. |
| 31 | The Strokes
I like The Strokes, but I aslo think they're one of the most overrated bands on the planet. Julien Casablancas' lack of charisma is infuriating at times - most see it as effortless coolness, I see it as being half-arsed. |
| 32 | Pulp
Pretty much the opposite to The Strokes in that they possess one of the greatest frontmen ever in the form of Jarvis Cocker. Their set was virtually flawless, meaning that the weekend's closing performance was also it's highlight. |
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