Another year, another Live at Leeds, and I’m proud to say it was the best thus far. With a number of cancellations causing chaos to festival goers plans- Marina and the Diamonds, Two Wounded Birds and Money among others – many had to reorganise their day’s strategy. However, there was plenty on offer to fill the gaps left by these acts.
After a quick trip to the wristband exchange we headed straight into the city to a bar called Milo for our first band and beer. Leeds based Soulmates Never Die opened proceedings downstairs at the venue and provided a gritty acoustic solo set; unfortunately the crowd were speaking so loudly that it was difficult even at the front to hear what he was singing and saying to the packed audience. Please check out his recently released Ep ‘Honeymoon on Ice’. Wondering whether this would be a problem at the venue throughout the day (bands downstairs in the venue played on the floor at crowd level) we jumped in a taxi and headed for the Brudenell.
Once there, we settled ourselves comfortably into seats for Norwegian’s Team Me (think happy indie pop with elements derived from everything from Arcade Fire to Little Comets). They are a group that were high on my list for the weekend after I very tardily jumped on the bandwagon of their outstanding track, ‘Show Me’. Their set was energetic, full of attention grabbing drums and some fantastic vocal harmonies. It is great to find an act where five of its members can sing well and so perfectly in unison. Their performance was made more enjoyable by the band’s brilliant stage presence; at the end of their last track the guitarist brought his standing drum to the audience floor, where with their lead singer they proceeded to play as well as sing to the end of the track, right into the faces of a group of giggling girls to the side of the stage. It was an absolutely brilliant set and I would suggestion to all to go and catch them live.
After a failed attempt to get anywhere near the stage in Nation of Shopkeepers for Broken Hands (who I am told were superb), we gave up and wandered over to the O2 Academy to catch I Like Trains. We were lucky enough to grab a few seats on the balcony, a well-earned rest after the walk from the Brudenell, and the band offered a mix of eerie guitar picks and subtle synth riffs, while power drums complemented the daunting sounds of lead singer David Martin. The busy crowd lapped up the atmospheric if not a little gloomy set. We then headed back to the Brudenell for Being There, who I’d been promised were worth a watch. I was greatly underwhelmed by their average set of predictable, unrelenting guitar heavy summery indie-pop. I felt it was immediately forgettable and at the very least divided us in opinion.
After a little break we muscled our way back into the O2 for guitar music revivalists (if not saviours) Spector. They were a must-see act of the day, well known for their impressive live sets and the great audience repartee that comes from front man Fred Macpherson. The venue was packed; throughout the set the centre of the crowd became a surprising mess of crowd surfers and mosh pits. While playing all their well-known tracks to the adoration of the audience, Macpherson promised that the album would be available before they next returned to the area for Leeds Festival, a sigh of relief for those who have been waiting for so long.
Once we had finally managed to get through the crowds that were filling the maze that is the 02 we head to Leeds Met’s back room for Yuck alternatives The History of Apple Pie. After waiting for ten minutes for a crowd of any kind to appear and the band’s sound check to be completed, they began to play to a small audience. I assumed the sound man had disappeared, as for the majority of the first track there were no vocals at all and the sound of all the instruments just melded into one single drone. After a couple of tracks we left disappointed and headed across to Leeds University Union for Peace. It was a good performance of loud scuzzy math-rock (with fur coats included), but few had turned up at the beginning, with the crowd clearly building for the next act Brooklyn based Friends. They played an absolutely outstanding set of eighties inspired minimalist funk-pop, with lead singer Samantha Urbani providing a dominant and striking performance, coolly stealing caps from members of the audience, explaining why drugs were better than beer and dancing throughout. Check out their single – ‘Friend Crush’.
After that impressive performance, we had to finally select the headliner that we wanted to see. The choice was hard, with The Subways, Los Campesinos! Dog is Dead and Ghostpoet all up for offer. Despite these, we selected Lianne la Havas, who had been bumped up to Leeds Met from the Holy Trinity Church (which would have unfortunately been an incredible venue in which to see her) after Marina and the Diamonds dropped out. It was a good choice; she provided a fantastic soul-inspired set to an increasingly building audience, with hits such as ‘Forget’ going down phenomenally with the crowd. She is an impressive multi-instrumentalist and a frankly stunning vocalist and her performance carried all the attributes of an artist still overwhelmed by her fans support. Listen to her ‘Forget EP’ to get a good idea of her sound.
It had been a long day and was about to get longer, as a number of venues across the city put on an array of after parties including the O2, Cockpit, Nation of Shopkeepers and Wire
