Funeral for a Friend

Standing on a darkened stage, the crowd can’t see Funeral for a Friend’s front-man Matt Davies rubbing his hands together nervously as the lights start to raise he cracks his knuckles and the most energetic set of this weekend’s festival starts.

You can see why Matt looks nervous before the lights raise – his band are competing for a crowd over The White Stripes, some of the hottest property in rock, yet they’ve managed to fill the whole of the Radio One stage and caused people to spew out to the damp rainy fields outside.

Originally coming from South Wales, Funeral for a Friend have come miles since their formation in early 2002. They’ve played shows with follow emo stars Finch and Welsh nu-metallers lostprophets. It’s taken time but they’ve now got the respect and fan base that they truly deserve.

Out of every set this weekend, this one is the most intense. Green Day may have pulled the performance of a career out of their asses but Funeral for a Friend have the added intensity that a second stage brings. From the beginning of their set – person after person is passed out of the crowd, surfing their way over the barrier in to the arms of security guards. One security guard is knocked to the floor and stunned by a member of the crowd but this just fuels the band’s performance even further. Glancing along the front-row reveals faces in ecstacy, hands in the air and fans that can scream louder than you could imagine. It takes something special to generate the range of emotion that FFAF can.

With vocals that seem to pick me up and carry me through the Radio One tent, I can’t help but suddenly fall in love with what Funeral for a Friend have done for emo – they have saved it from a teary, emo-green, tie-wearing fate that was lurking just around the corner. They let you know that there’s more to music than that.

With the band fitting together like a five-thousand piece jigsaw, the intricacies that make FFAF complete also bring a depth of sound that floods its way through the tent. As Ryan, Kris, Gareth, Darran and Matt work their way through the set even the photo-pit has gone crazy with photographers jumping on top of others to get the best photo of Matt’s screaming face.

You want to know what music is all about? What Leeds is all about? What live performing is all about? It’s about the intensity that is Funeral for a Friend.

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