RBC Leon: An awesome end to a fantastic Leeds Festival!
Yesterday was the third and final day at Leeds Festival. I was prepared for almost everything, rain and wind were not going to get in my way! The plastic human condoms were ditched for thick winter coats and wellies – accompanied by sunglasses for that very short burst of sunlight!
Our first band of the day was Billy Talent on the Main Stage. The perfect way to start the day… until someone’s girlfriend (above) got in my way. Billy Talent are a brilliant crowd pleaser playing a selection of both new and old tunes!
Next we watched NOFX. After squeezing our way to the front of the audience, we discovered we’d landed in between two mosh pits – but what’s NOFX without a good mosh? That plus all the classic tunes Mike and the band were blasting out meant I found myself rekindling my youth. Their jokes were incredibly laugh out loud funny, even if they did feel totally staged!
Biffy Clyro put on a really captivating show and I knew all but one or two of their songs. Simon Neil (lead singer) is an energetic performer and can work a large stage. I’m a little disappointed that there was little to no audience interaction but their set got the crowd moving so, I guess not all is bad!
Hatebreed were up next in the Lockup Tent. I knew these guys by reputation only so I was interested to see what they had to offer. First impressions… well, what dare you say about a bunch of muscled, angry-looking men dancing around the stage? Hmm… Never-the-less, they seemed really tight and heavy as all good hardcore bands should be so, I may have to check them out!
Queens of the Stone Age opened on the Main Stage with “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” – perfect timing as the last of the day’s sun started peering through the clouds! Josh Homme looked appropriately wrapped for the cold weather. QOTSA have quite a large reputation to live up to as a live band; as impressive as they are live, they have potential but didn’t do it for me this time – I will just have to see them again soon!
It’s a little unfortunate that Against Me! were performing during QOTSA; whilst the latter is fuelled by reputation, Against Me! are the real deal when it comes to enthusiasm and live performance and it’s a shame that not many people got to experience that. They played old tracks like “TSR”, “Don’t Lose Touch” and more recent “Thrash Unreal”, “I Was a Teenage Anarchist” and “White Crosses” with sing-a-longs from most of their audience. It was a brilliant performance and the perfect wind-down to Leeds Festival.
The closing act of the night did not, I am proud to say, come from a whining “rock star” called Axl Rose. Instead, Alkaline Trio received my full attention. This was the first time I’d seen them live… I’d heard the stories that their live shows can be a little hit-or-miss however, it seems that last night they were in their element. The crowd were really getting into their set and having a fun time which is all that matters – the Trio guys left everyone on a high, just how a festival should end!!
