For the fourth year in a row, I made pilgrimage to the Live at Leeds Festival. The three day heading takes place over the May Bank Holiday weekend, showcasing local and national talent. The main attraction is the All-Day event on the Saturday which involves you being able to witness all kinds of music from 12:00 to 00:00 across the city in a variety of venues for around£20. This year the line-up exceeded anything from previous years with headliners including Peace, Alunageorge, Tribes, Rudimental, Everything Everything and Darwin Deez. But it’s not all about the big names, the day showcased up and coming hopefuls such as London Grammar, Wolf Alice, Splashh and Troumaca. While local bands were rich in force with the likes of Witch Hunt, Menace Beach, Sky Larkin and Leeds legends The Pigeon Detectives.
Schedule:
14:00 - After a ridiculously long queue to get wristbands, I eventually got down to Holy Trinity Church for where I saw the Bristol based singer-songwriter George Ezra. At first glance, the young, blonde, fresh-faced George seemed innocent enough, even so when he joked about how tired he was. But when the new Columbia Records signee started, it was instantly understandable to see why heads are turning. His deep, smokey yet fragile voice integrated beautifully with the sparse and wise guitar. The occasional echoing harmonies fit in well in the church as the crowd tried to sing along, but with only a few songs on Youtube it was hard to. The amplified angst and emotion of the songs ‘Did You Hear The Rain?’ and favourite ‘Angry Hill’ drew a deserved applause – even from Fosters reps simply there to promote and sample out their drinks. With 2 new songs involved (one called ‘Budapest’), it is clear to state he has a bright future.
15:00 - A long walk to The Faversham next, to see Swiss Lips – Manchester’s kooky hipsters who produce radio friendly electro/guitar dance tunes. Opener, ‘DANZ’ gets the gig off to a flyer as they hit the floor running, with many fans singing along. The band played out a pristine set of danceable and likeable songs including ‘Carolyn’ but sadly not including their respectable cover of Frank Ocean’s ‘Lost’. Their infectious stage energy and bigger sound (when live) make them a notable touring band. The only set back being a long technical hitch at the end of the set (hardly surprising with the amount of tech on stage), but the guys didn’t disappoint and left the crowd wanting more with a raucous rendition of single ‘U Got The Power’.
15:45 - The hotly tipped indie heroes Charlie Boyer & The Voyeurs were next at Leeds University Refectory. To my surprise the venue was emptier than I thought it would be, however this changed as the band blasted out their “primitive, sexy, glamorous rock ‘n roll” (as lead Charlie puts it). The simplistic and classic indie approach works for them in songs ‘Things We Be’ and ‘Be Glamorous’. The band were laidback and let the music do the talking whilst rocking swaying bobs – similar to friends and tour partners Toy, Temples and The Horrors. Recently described as ‘jagged proto-punk with a beaten heart’, the band flared raw power at the same time as maintaining technical brilliance – especially in last song ‘I Watch You’. The arriving debut album ‘Clarietta’ will certainly make them a known band in the indie/rock scene.
Walking back down south to Holy Trinity Church, I was lucky enough to bump into fellow 19 year old Archy Marshall a.k.a. King Krule who would be performing there at 6 o’clock. After we exchanged a quick chat, the Brit school dropout headed off to get sorted.
17:00 - Loved by many celebs, Benjamin Garrett a.k.a. Fryars produces piano lead, bass and effect driven music similar to the stripped back approach of James Blake. Thankfully I got right to the front in front of the speakers to experience the onslaught of rippling bass and intricacy of guitar. For others at the back it may have been slightly different not being able to see Ben as he perched behind his keyboard; however they could feel right in on Twitter as he tweeted frequently and slyly throughout the set. The smeary electronic pop of ‘Love So Cold’ and solitary minded ‘On Your Own’ stood out, as the heartfelt and soulful songs were performed to perfection with the guitarist working the pedals and effects like a genius. The near-drunk crowd members (myself included) swayed in unison with heads dipping as the vibrations from the bass and drums vibrating through the venues walls.
18:00 - Now, after a nervy wait in the queue, I found myself in Nation of Shopkeepers to witness one of the big up and coming guitar bands (in my opinion) – Skaters. As part of their UK tour, their appearance at the festival brought the full crew with merchandise in hand (mainly hats and t-shirts – which are advised to be bought a size too big). Despite having to battle the venue sound levels, the band performed in iconic fashion in raucous and made themselves sound loud even though they weren’t. The matching hipster venue suited them well with close contact with excited fans – chatting away about the Leeds ‘soccer’ score. Running through hotly tipped tunes ‘Armed’ and ‘I Wanna Dance (But I Don’t Know How)’ propped the set up brilliantly; until ending with a crazy finish of crowd pleaser ‘Schemers’. Their gig summed up by the tussle by fans to get their hands on the setlist.
A quick bite to eat and I ran to The Cockpit, but was unfortunately greeted by a huge queue outside the venue – this was probably down to the brilliant line-up organised for the evening. Queuing for over an hour and half I was unable to catch The 1975 at 19:00, only managing to hear from outside the remnants of new single ‘The City’.
20:00 - A one-in-one out system put a halt onto my plans but I managed to just get in for the start of “West Madlands” boys Swim Deep. The crammed venue swelled with excited girls and boisterous teen guys. Running through ‘Honey’ and ‘Beach Justice’ lead the crowd into a frenzy with many small moshpits (don’t ask me why) and crowd surfers appearing. Solos from Zachary, Austin and Higgy gave the gig an indescribable energy to which the band exploited, as shirts came off and bassist Cavan high fived front row members. Personal favourite and new single ‘She Changes The Weather’ brought the best moment of the gig as the band ran around stage but in complex concentration. With time up, the band “rebelled” against the system and played on with ‘King City’ which caused the audience to throw themselves up and around not caring who they fall into (or in some guy’s case, not caring if they get dropped in 3 crowd surf attempts). The band and majority of their crowd would hang around for fellow Birmingham boys Peace who headlined the venue and hyped about Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
21:00 - Despite only remaining in the hot, sweaty venue in fear of not getting back in due to the queue; I was an onlooker onto the weird but incredible set by Unknown Mortal Orchestra. In a way, Unknown Mortal Orchestra did to psych-rock what James Blake did to R&B. Both punched holes in well-trodden paths to clear space for new hybrids. But while the New Zealand trio’s studio strengths might highlight on their ability to bury hooks inside inconspicuous fuzz, in the flesh the band loads up to make war on the air. They stormed through songs like the powerful ‘From The Sun’ and runaway hit ‘Ffunny Ffriends’. They turned out to seem like a balls-out punk band and delivered a set which quickly drew back the crowds from the bar.
22:00 - No introduction is needed for new powerhouse Peace – they are what they are. After a wavy sound check, they came onstage half an hour later but that didn’t put the crowd off. Opening with ‘Delicious’, the young crowd followed in crazier fashion than that which was present for Swim Deep. Not even lead singer Harrison’s rather strange dress sense could put off the strong wave of girls grabbing at him at every opportunity. With an almost full representation of their debut album ‘In Love’ the band did not fault and seemed to thoroughly enjoy being a headliner. With a strong back catalogue the band played for over an hour, even bringing back the “long monster” ‘1998” from their acclaimed EP. Between songs members Harrison, Doug, Sam and Dom joked with the crowd and with the heat in the venue now at tropical levels, the band played a raw and scintillating version of ‘Wraith’ – in fact they played it so loud, many links were lost including Harry’s mic and guitar. While the tech staff chaotically tried to fix the problem we got a brief 30 second a cappella of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ (to which the band had finished their residency at Birthdays, London with a couple of days earlier). Back to full strength, they then bring the set to a close with the heroic sing-a-long ‘California Daze’ for which Harry explained “if you’re going to make out, now is the time”. And then post-curfew ‘Bloodshake’ where all members went ape shit, with Harry at the end climbing the relatively high speakers and was reluctant to get down.
Peace played:
Delicious
Follow Baby
Lovesick
Waste Of Paint
Float Forever
Higher Than The Sun
Toxic
Scumbag
Wraith
1998
California Dae
Bloodshake
Visit Live At Leeds. I recommend it.
Written by - Richard Maver
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