Very quiet

[gary1979666]

Hi there,

Went to Leeds yesterday (Sat) for the day and was amazed how quiet it was - compared to previous years, there was hardly anyone round the main stage. As an old fogie (31) I loiter at the back and initially very very dead - but it's early and wet, so fair enough. But having stayed at the main stage all day, it only filled up slightly and the was for 30STM.

What did everyone else think? Was it just the main stage that was empty or had everyone gone to the tents. Reminded me of the Pixies headline set, but for the whole day!! Had FR got the balance of acts wrong and put the less popular stuff on the stage or was it like that all weekend?

As for the bands - have to say Rise Against, Deftones and Offspring were absolutely fantastic! Leto was out of tune for the first half of his set!

[Vacant0]

Thought the same at Reading yesterday. The arena seemed emptier than usual.

Caught a bit of Glassjaw from the edge of the tent which was hardly packed and then wandered over to see The National play to an absolutely tiny crowd so I've no idea who the hell everybody was actually watching.

[mrtourette]

Less ticket sales + dodgy weather = fewer people around.

[Spiky Mike]

Less ticket sales + dodgy weather = fewer people around.

[staggerlee]

Was pretty quiet, but am certianly not complaining. Nice to be able to get fairly close to bands and have space to breath and indeed dance. Madness had a huge crowd. I've barely heard of The National and nor it seemed had anyone else. For a band 3rd from top, that was the most embarrassingly small crowd I have ever seen.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

Was pretty quiet, but am certianly not complaining. Nice to be able to get fairly close to bands and have space to breath and indeed dance. Madness had a huge crowd. I've barely heard of The National and nor it seemed had anyone else. For a band 3rd from top, that was the most embarrassingly small crowd I have ever seen.

[DJL]

It was strangely quiet at reading - particularly on the Sunday. We went from Interpol on the main straight to dfa 1979 at nme and neither were busy. The strokes and muse were rammed up front but plenty of space further back and when we went to 2manydjs there were loads of gaps in front of the barrier.

Unfortunately for some bands this meant if they didn't quite fit entirely with the rest of the line-up or taste of much of the crowd it was disappointingly quiet - as it was for the national. Great band but they didn't really seem appreciated or known by that many people, as the vocalist acknowledged when (if i heard correctly) he dedicated a song to the owner of an inflatable alligator but joked they probably wouldn't get the relevance. I would have preferred them to play at Glastonbury where I think they would get a much bigger crowd... but those that were were up front appreciated the set. The PA didn't help either.

[Dermot]

Because the majority of saturday's main stage acts didn't suit Leeds' general audience. I only saw the Offspring, saw bands in the tents the rest of the time.

[RDCL]

the national clashed with bombay, and the tent was rammed. it was a shame to miss the national but bombay were the best band of the weekend for me.

[she bangs the drums]

It was pretty quiet most of the weekend at Leeds, loads of space on the camp sites.

We walked up for Muse 10 mins before they came on the main stage on Friday and walked straight in front of the barrier to the middle of the stage.

I really felt for Deftones who basically played to me and my mate! They didn't seem too impressed by the lack of interest in them.

Madness and 30STM seemed to get the biggest main stage crowd.

There was hardly anyone there to watch Glassjaw in the NME Stage yesterday and I walked over near the end of Pulp to catch the end of Mighty Mighty Bosstones expecting it to be packed to find a half empty Lock-Up Stage.

No way that Leeds sold out, must have been thousands of tickets left.

Anyone know if they are selling them again this week for next year?

[rockinthecasbah]

Unfortunately for some bands this meant if they didn't quite fit entirely with the rest of the line-up or taste of much of the crowd it was disappointingly quiet - as it was for the national. Great band but they didn't really seem appreciated or known by that many people, as the vocalist acknowledged when (if i heard correctly) he dedicated a song to the owner of an inflatable alligator but joked they probably wouldn't get the relevance. I would have preferred them to play at Glastonbury where I think they would get a much bigger crowd... but those that were were up front appreciated the set. The PA didn't help either.

[Bisque]

The crowd Enter Shikari pulled this year was nothing in comparison to the crowd surfing record breaker of '09 on the main or even last year in the smaller NME tent. I liked that it was less busy... was easier to walk around, I could catch more bands & get a drink whilst still being able to join my friends.

[Benj]

Thought the same at Reading yesterday. The arena seemed emptier than usual.

Caught a bit of Glassjaw from the edge of the tent which was hardly packed and then wandered over to see The National play to an absolutely tiny crowd so I've no idea who the hell everybody was actually watching.

[Banana Co]

Thought the same at Reading yesterday. The arena seemed emptier than usual.

Caught a bit of Glassjaw from the edge of the tent which was hardly packed and then wandered over to see The National play to an absolutely tiny crowd so I've no idea who the hell everybody was actually watching.

Edited August 31, 2011 by Banana Co