Leeds Festival battles with the weather to curate a massive weekend encapsulating the genre spectrum.
Before the festivities could start in earnest, Leeds was utterly battered by gale force winds on Thursday evening: tents were flying, stages destroyed and some punters had no choice but to leave thanks to wrecked belongings. The Aux Stage and the BBC Radio 1 stage were closed indefinitely, and the second stage, the brand new Chevron Stage was closed for Friday as repairs were made.
Unfortunately, this meant that several acts on Friday had to be rescheduled or cancelled altogether. Nia Archives’ legendary junglist set was totally kiboshed, along with many others. Luckily, the Festival Republic Stage survived and Hak Baker’s set was a fantastic tonic for the windswept masses: his political and relatable rhymes about London life and love made for a brilliant kickoff to the weekend.
The headliner for the night was FORMER solo artist Liam Gallagher, playing a lengthy set of Definitely Maybe tunes to adoring fans: LG’s Leeds set was everything you could ever ask for, with fans on shoulders, bucket hats everywhere and a good bit of pyro action. Nothing quite sums up the festival experience like the smell of a flare filling your nostrils as the red smoke billows around to the sound of Supersonic. Quite fantastic.
The late entertainment comes in the form of a giant rave in the Orange campsite forest: it’s a gorgeous location, with banking grass sides and a lovely tree canopy above – it seems like it’s wasted being exclusively used for late-night raves. That being said, it makes the rave scene feel like DIY outdoor specials from the 90s, which is a massive treat in the small hours of the moring.
Saturday was a big day, but rescheduled shows from Friday meant clashes appeared where they hadn’t before. BIG SPECIAL were now up against Kneecap: I chose the latter, who played out a short set on the main stage. Massive 808 beats courtesy of DJ Próvaí (clad in a tricolour balaclava) and provocative lyrics about Irish reunification, their hatred of the British government and getting relentlessly fucked up from Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap. Their message is clear, and the band use graphics calling out the British government’s complicity in the butchery of Palestine. Kneecap put on one hell of a show, and make it clear that their quarrel is with the British establishment, rather than the people.
Lambrini Girls continue this message of politically charged tunes, taking aim at TERFs, the government, abusers in bands and plenty more. Their enduring message is one of love though, with their lyrics promoting queer liberty above all else. A series of massive tunes play out in the Festival Republic stage, with some serious moshpit action to boot. They treat us to a few unreleased tunes, all of which build on their raw punky roots: their new gear grows into muscular hard rock, reminiscent of Amyl and the Sniffers. They finish by hoisting a Palestinian flag high on the structural tent poles of the Festival Republic stage.
The alleged secret set is blown away in the wind of tent closures and rescheduling, but The Prodigy more than makes up for it on Saturday evening. The repaired Chevron Stage has an LED light ‘roof’ above, which displays psychedelic and Prodigy-themed graphics as the band lay down an intense set of their greatest hits. Massive moshpits open up amongst the ravers, and with a ginormous laser show adding to the experience, the whole thing is a perfect overstimulation of all the senses. It’s a festival highlight for sure.
Sunday is a rather more chilled affair, with a mega set from The Last Dinner Party over on the main stage: they are as perfect as ever, having honed their stagecraft over a huge summer of large-scale shows. Aurora Nishevci, keys and vocals, is presented with a birthday cake on stage: the show is their last festival appearance of the summer, and the whole affair feels like a giant party.
Fontaines DC take up the mantle next: their fourth studio record Romance landed just days before and they play a gigantic set of new and old songs. ‘Death Kink’ and ‘Modern World’ are undoubtedly highlights that they mix in with tunes from their previous three records with a deft touch. The crowd feels flat though, with the majority of the attendees being Lana Del Ray fans awaiting their heroine. Several of the Lana massive are sat on the floor throughout Fontaines, with some even watching shows on their phones while the band plays out in front of them – it’s madness, and it utterly kills the vibes for Fontaines. They’re a band with a huge pull at the peak of their powers, why not have them headline the other stage? The scheduling decision had one of the most exciting guitar bands of the last decade play to a crowd that was barely interested: there were pockets of fans, but this show should have been huige.
Lana and Fred Again finished the weekend off in a giant party atmosphere: the feelings around the festival were a little odd on Sunday, with the usual sight of unwashed masses replaced by pristine Lana queens. Truthfully, I’ve never felt so old.
Overall, the festival and organisers coped well with the weather to put on a cracking weekend of diverse music across the three days. People say Leeds fest isn’t what it was, and it’s not. But maybe that is no bad thing.
Words: Charlie Brock
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