Leeds Festival 2012
Friday 24th to Sunday 26th August 2012Bramham Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS23 6ND, England MAP
£197.50 for a weekend ticket, £85 any day
Daily capacity: 79,999
The Sunday morning brings the news of Creamfields being cancelled due to flooding. There wasn't going to be a green day up north, so a blue sky day was all that was left. Starting the day on the main stage were Los Campesinos!. Very refreshing on a sunny Sunday morning – great for clearing the remenants of a hangover. Blood Red Shoes, a young and energetic Brighton duo take over on the main stage. The rhythm is simple and strong, but need a little more variation. They don't have the charisma of Jack White or the groove of The Black Keys so need to make up for it in other ways.
Had Cedric and Omar lost that buzz as more recent Mars Volta efforts getting more and more obscure and experimental. The introduction of Milo, XXX, the drummer's son gave the instant impression that these guys were not the band they were. More mature and taking things as they come. The songs still had their buzz, sounding as fresh as they were years ago but the anger that drove it wasn't. To hear something I missed at Reading in 2000 was special enough to leave with good memories. Dedicating 'One Armed Scissor' to Milo, and in spirit to the next generation of musicians, for them to pull something new out of the bag and stop the obsession with recycling the old - instantly making me regret not spending any time at the BBC Introducing stage. The gigs that inspire a generation didn't happen on the main stage in front of thousands, they happened in the small tent in front of hundreds.
review by: Anne Chiang / Chris Mathews
photos by: Chris Mathews / Rob Matheson
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