2019 festival

[Sam Y]

5 hours ago, JSmurphy said:

I'm pretty sure the audience seeing Foos for the first time would have absolutely loved it, but with this my 4th time in a few years 

It was my first time seeing them and I got a little bored in the middle

[thewayiam]

12 minutes ago, Jericode said:

Kawala: Easy listening start but I'd forgotten them by the end of the day.

IDKHow: I always liked Dallon Weekes from his Panic days, enjoyed seeing his new project for the first time.

Twin Atlantic: I have a lot of love for Twin Atlantic, new song sounded good and can't wait for more new music from them. Excellent set.

Patent Pending: Great fun in the tent to get out of the sun for a bit. Saw them last year with Waterparks and been hoping to see them again.

The Sherlocks: Only saw the first half because we had nothing better to do, looked fun enough but they've never excited me.

YMAS: Other than what I thought was an odd choice of ending song, quite enjoyed it.

Wombats: Good setlist, not actually seen them live before so thought it was good fun.

Royal Blood: Only saw these in Newport a week or two ago but was happy to see them again, the pair of them are fucking stars. I'd bank on them headlining next album cycle.

1975: Set of the weekend, absolutely outstanding. Won't lie I found the 20 minutes after the first hour a bit dull, but the first hour and the end run were sensational stuff.

Alma: Only caught the last song waiting for Against the Current, thought they were dull.

ATC: Decent setlist, but was brief. Will get tickets to their December tour for a better fix because I do quite like them.

The Hunna: After the shit they went through with their previous label I'm quite glad they're bouncing back, thought their set was great.

Larkins: My girlfriend apparently saw them a few years ago in uni so wanted to see them again, I actually thought they were quite good. Would see them again quite happily.

Night Riots: Loved it, great setlist and good fun throughout.

Twenty One Pilots: Brilliant setlist, in retrospect they could have headlined outright, it was bloody great. Had to watch from the screens further back because I couldn't get close for want of trying.

Vistas: Packed the tent out well for a Sunday morning slot, they'll be back in a bigger slot next year for sure.

The Faim: Fantastic, love these guys and can't wait for the debut album.

The Story So Far: Honestly thought they were rubbish, I honestly don't think I'll ever get why they're so popular.

Bullet for My Valentine: Great surprise given all the rumours we had beforehand, great blast through the hits. If they get Slipknot to headline I could see these third down.

Frank Carter: Long overdue seeing him, missed him on the Foos tour last year because I was watching the end of Iceland vs Nigeria. Worth the wait, thought he was brilliant. Need to check out his albums since I've never gotten around to it.

A Day to Remember: Setlist highlighted to me how few of their songs I actually know, but the ones I recognised were great. The two newer songs they played are an interesting change of direction, making a mainstream push for headline status potentially? Will have to see how it works out.

Foo Fighters: Honestly seemed largely the same as when I saw them last year, but still thought it was bloody brilliant. Fucking Rick Astley on the Reading main stage in 2019, man. Great way to end the weekend.

 

10/10 weekend, would do it again.

B4MV 3rd down on a Slipknot day?, they were only 4th down when there was still any relevance to them. Played on the 3rd biggest stage at Slam Dunk in a tent this year which is probably 5th down at very best.

TSSF were only ever if I could be bothered, they are no big deal in the pop punk world if that's what they refer to for me.

[Jericode]

I mean BFMV subbed Download ahead of a decidedly middling album at best, but the crowd absolutely loved it yesterday from what I saw so it wouldn't shock me. Not saying it would be a good idea.

[thewayiam]

13 minutes ago, Jericode said:

I mean BFMV subbed Download ahead of a decidedly middling album at best, but the crowd absolutely loved it yesterday from what I saw so it wouldn't shock me. Not saying it would be a good idea.

I'm not saying they won't play but 3rd down, then again what was Frank Carter doing there. I'm sure their last tour was box standard too and I find that acts when secrets set usually generate a bit more buzz, the lockup tent is also small and if they played a normal set on main I don't think it would generate a huge amount more interest, it didn't last time they played. 

[Dangerbreaks]

Few thoughts from a brilliant weekend at Leeds. 

All the headliners smashed it and we're a lot better than I was expecting in some cases. I just wish Matty Healey wasn't so unlikeable really didn't come across well imo. 

Frank Carter was by far the best non-headline set, incredible stuff. 

ADTR, SWMRS, Shikari and Himalayas were all great on Friday. Wasn't too keen on Milk Teeth. 

Royal Blood have improved massively live and Joji was great on the Radio 1 with a much bigger crowd than I'd expected. Sea Girls also had a decent crowd and were very good. The Wombats also put on a show and were a bit of good fun. 

Slowthai's show was mental as per usual. Boston Manor were exceptional (better than on record for me) and Dinosaur Pile Up tore up the pit they were quality. 

Water situation was horrific we ended up taking it in turns to fill each others drinks up and accepting the 30 minute / hour wait. This was the only really bad thing we came across. 

M1 was clear coming back too so a good weekend all round for us. 

 

[robillustrates]

I was feeling sad about missing out on the festival but the Foo's set last night was fairly similar to London last year which helped then my friend reminded me because I completely forgot that I saw the Distillers 15 years ago at Reading in 2004. So now feeling pretty good

The only act which made me wish I was actually there this year was 21 pilots, thought their performance was excellent.

[WFD]

Pretty solid three days for me (at Leeds), packed a lot in.  In particular the Friday was a great run of acts from the Shikari main stage set onwards - barely wasted a minute.  Saturday fairly full too, only dip was Sunday where I just wasn't interested in Post Malone so went for food while it was quiet, and out of curiosity wandered through the tents where Mura Masa and Andy C were playing, both quiet (particularly Mura Masa).  Watched the last half hour of Post Malone but not my thing really.

The headliners have been covered enough and while I saw bits of each I didn't see any in full, 21P was the one I watched longest and enjoyed most.

Highlights/surprises further down the bill - Poppy was brilliantly entertaining (still not sure what went on there, but it was entertaining), liked the Distillers set (although it was so hot at the time), Pvris were a lot better in the tent than when they played main stage a couple of years ago (on another hot afternoon) when they seemed a bit lost, Bleached gave it a good go to an initially mostly empty tent (they clashed with Billie Eilish) and enjoyed Peace in FR to an appreciative crowd.  The Shikari set in the Pit was like a furnace and went down a storm.  Wandered to Bowling for Soup thinking I'd walk straight in and was surprised how busy it was (though you could actually get a space if you persevered).  The Mysterines were great closing the Introducing stage on Friday, though not many there to see it - though a lot were going past on the way to Foo Fighters.

Away from the music however - the set-up at Leeds really does struggle with big crowds and seemed they were overwhelmed yesterday.  Queues for water are well documented elsewhere (the trick was just to go to the front of a smaller stage and be polite - it was inconsistent but some would fill bottles, others would only give cups).  Queues for food were ridiculous at peak times, and made getting around the arena difficult in places.  I wasn't drinking yesterday but the bar queues looked bad too - for the number of people they really should have more bar capacity, the servers look absolutely knackered in the heat.

We packed up yesterday morning and took everything to the car in the late morning / early afternoon and helping the others out meant I had to go through re-entry twice and it was chaos.  They had two people searching everyone with a bag or container, meaning everyone was funnelling through a narrow gap - with people stacked with their stuff coming through the same narrow gap.  The first time we came through we followed some others who spotted a gap and went through the middle unhindered, the second time it looked chaotic with a lot of pushing and shouting so we ended up going round to Rake's Gate to get back in.

Also saw a lot of complaints on Twitter of the delays getting in by car on the Sunday, guessing the demographic of day ticket buyers on Sunday meant there were a lot more going through the drop off than they are used to.  Saying that we left after the headliner last night and got out with little problem - through there seemed to be queues around the place so maybe getting back in for pick-up was bad too.

Still, great weekend overall.

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by WFD

[Sam Y]

Did anyone else see YUNGBLUD I found him quite good and exciting

[MIchael_scarn]

What a weekend, personally thought Postie smashed his performance and sounded much better than I thought he would. Great way to sign off. I'll post some more thoughts on who I saw after I've had a kip to get over this hangover.

[she bangs the drums]

https://mobile.twitter.com/rocksound/status/1165704442013999110

This was a great festival moment. Please tell me it only happened at Leeds for once?

Leeds also got Dave Grohl daughter singing Best of You with her Dad too which was great moment too

[robillustrates]

7 minutes ago, she bangs the drums said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/rocksound/status/1165704442013999110

This was a great festival moment. Please tell me it only happened at Leeds for once?

Leeds also got Dave Grohl daughter singing Best of You with her Dad too which was great moment too

Reading didn't get that, Reading got Rick Astley with the Foo Fighters though.

[Stuielooie]

Did anyone see that idiot that climbed the sound tower during Foos yesterday? What a knob, started doing some parkour swinging shit on the way down too.

[Stuielooie]

43 minutes ago, she bangs the drums said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/rocksound/status/1165704442013999110

This was a great festival moment. Please tell me it only happened at Leeds for once?

Leeds also got Dave Grohl daughter singing Best of You with her Dad too which was great moment too

The person that said "who even is that?" hahahha

[Chavmeisterdeluxe]

1 hour ago, she bangs the drums said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/rocksound/status/1165704442013999110

This was a great festival moment. Please tell me it only happened at Leeds for once?

Leeds also got Dave Grohl daughter singing Best of You with her Dad too which was great moment too

They did the cover, not with Post Malone though

[Jericode]

22 minutes ago, Stuielooie said:

Did anyone see that idiot that climbed the sound tower during Foos yesterday? What a knob, started doing some parkour swinging shit on the way down too.

Yeah, absolute lunatic. Reckless behaviour, could have ended far worse.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Jericode

[VCK]

Did anyone catch The Chats? How did those c**ts get on?

[rivalschools.price]

8 minutes ago, VCK said:

Did anyone catch The Chats? How did those c**ts get on?

Absolutely fantastic.  

Tent was packed full of people with huge smiles on their faces

[jonnyisRFC]

13 minutes ago, VCK said:

Did anyone catch The Chats? How did those c**ts get on?

Yeah they were great! Half the tent left after they played “smoko” though ?

[rivalschools.price]

21 minutes ago, jonnyisRFC said:

Yeah they were great! Half the tent left after they played “smoko” though ?

TBF that was near the end as Bowling for Soup were starting.

Bowling for Soup were awesome by the way, tent was rammed with about 5 rows outside unable to get in

Edited August 26, 2019 by rivalschools.price

[manchestermusicreview]

Did anyone catch Georgia? 

[Daniels312]

15 minutes ago, manchestermusicreview said:

Did anyone catch Georgia? 

I did and she was bloody brilliant tbh never heard of her but went in there for some shade and will be listening more to her.

[R Shah]

What an amazing festival, absolutely shattered from the amount of time I spent at music but was incredible value for money.

Mini Mansions: Quality set, Mikey's style is great and got really into it in the heavier songs.

The Night Cafe: They looked bored, I got bored halfway through and left but crowd were loving it. 

You Me At Six: Josh's iffy vocals are cancelled out by his stage presence, loved every second of that set. Great setlist too

The Wombats: Solid festival band, can play that setlist over and over again and I wouldn't mind it.

Royal Blood: Holy shit. Blew it out of the park. APE next year or something surely

The 1975: Production was out of this world, what a bold move opening with People.

Boston Manor: One of the highlights of my weekend, great energy and drew a pretty massive crowd. One of the few bands in pop-punk with a cutting edge.

Slowthai: Crowd was absolutely nuts, he'll be absolutely massive soon.

Dinosaur Pile-Up: Great last minute booking, vocalist has improved a lot. Drew a surprisingly big crowd too.

Billie Eilish: All my (basic) mates are obsessed with her and I was very intrigued and excited, but the performance felt dry other than the first and last songs. Sound wasn't great either.

SWMRS: As always, they absolutely smashed it. Guitars sounded awesome and setlist choice was nice and refreshed from Community Fest.

Stand Atlantic: Solid band, great sized crowd and really enjoyed the set.

Bullet For My Valentine: One of the best sets of the weekend, sound was phenomenal. Drew such a big crowd and their mashup of Tears Don't Fall with All My Life was superb.

Frank Carter: Incredible energy as always, loved his stage setup. Defo grabbing a ticket for Ally Pally

ADTR: Bit disappointed, crowd wasn't the best and Jeremy's vocals always seemed half a second behind the band. Not a fan of the new direction they're going and I no longer feel they can headline DL next year. Setlist was nice though.

Foo Fighters: By far the set of the weekend, was 2 rows back and every song was incredible. Compared to their gig at the Olympic Stadium, songs actually felt less dragged out than usual and a pretty perfect length. Rick Astley moment was class as usual, my band steal that mashup and do it at our shows! What a way to close the festival.

[thewayiam]

2 minutes ago, R Shah said:

ADTR: Bit disappointed, crowd wasn't the best and Jeremy's vocals always seemed half a second behind the band. Not a fan of the new direction they're going and I no longer feel they can headline DL next year. Setlist was nice though.

yup, I think if you have a band like them with their original known style, a 55 minute set and they choose to put both of their new poppy songs in then that is telling. Degenerates was awful...literally something from any shit new pop rock wannabe band with a lead singer that's done heavy songs. At least just play one and leave the other for a tour...or just leave it haha.

[SemiSweet]

1975 continue to destroy. Foo's still absolutely effortlessly at the top. Was too fucked to see 21p and Post (sun and beer got to me) so ended my festival on Poppy, fcking bonkers.

Charli XCX gets a special mention, she was a ton of fun.

[rivalschools.price]

On 8/21/2019 at 10:15 PM, Andre91 said:

I think Stop The Clocks is great  each to their own, evidently. 

Update on our conversation last week, I managed to hear ‘Stop the clocks’ in both their acoustic and their main stage set, still not a fan haha.

Luckily they spared me in the Pit set.

Shikari were great for all three sets though so I’ll let them off.