Overview: Live at Leeds 2016.
- Simon Harwood
- Jun 4, 2016
- 6 min read
This year on the 30th April, Live at Leeds festival celebrated it’s 10-year anniversary. The festival was initially put together to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the city. Since then the success has been growing and is now proudly one of the largest festival events in the UK. Showcasing mostly indie music, the festival strives to “showcase the very best new talent out there”. last year the festival showcased such bands as The Cribs, Palma Violets and Dry the River.
Take a look at what the line
-up looked like this time round...
The festival was spread over 20 venues, from big to small, which not only allows you to visit lots of unique venues but also gets you to explore Leeds as a city, and it only aims to get larger from here on out.
Live at Leeds 2016 is also dedicated in loving memory of Viola Beach and their manager Craig Tarry, as the band were set to play this year.
Who I Saw…
TRASH
A 12pm opening set for the Too Many Blogs stage over at the Oporto bar wasn’t expected to be a heavy one, but TRASH proved us all wrong. Just as the curtains opened, the fans heaved from one half of the bar into the other. The four lads modestly played their set while getting one audience member to claim the first crowd surf of the day. And for 12pm, lead-singer Dan said “must be a record”. It’s still early stages for the boys with the lead-guitarist, Evan, still working over the counter of his local Tesco, but with such a loyal fan-base ranks are going to be climbed.
My interview with TRASH
Why TRASH?
Dan: Two stories. Well the first story: We had the band Stay Happy and when it left, or when it ended, like… Trashy was sort of how we were feeling, cause we wanted like a successful band and we thought Stay Happy was the one but it wasn’t. And the second story… I had a rash… like jock-rash which is sorta like… in the groin region. And this was at a similar when to when we chose the name and I was like “shall we be called Rash?” and it was a bit too…
Evan: JASH for jock-rash, that also worked. Maybe that’s what we should be called, ‘JASH’.
Dan: We just thought ‘RASH’ wouldn’t go down well with a younger audience I don’t think. So we became TRASH, and that’s it.
Describe your band in three words.
Evan: Fat… Maccy’s is probably there
Dan: Fat McDonald’s
Evan: Fat Maccy’s Denim! Have you seen how many set of denim we’ve got going on here?
So what are you guys currently up to? You just released a single didn’t you.
Dan: Yeah, we released ‘Workout’ and then we did a video for that. And then at the same time we were recording ‘Workout’ we were recording another song called ‘Give Up’… Which is like… gonna be a free thing in-between now and the new EP. So that’s gonna go out and then we’re gonna record five tracks at Nave Studios with Alex Greaves from Forever Cult. So that’s what we’ve got coming up.
So how has Live at Leeds been so far?
Dan: Pretty surreal.
You filled out the room! And you got a crowd surfer so early in the day, 12:30pm I think it was?
Dan: That must be a record, like… I dunno we came thinkin there’s about to be like… twenty people here? And I walked out round the back and it was just like… Chock-A-Block. The whole bar. So… this was our first time here as well so it’s a big compliment! Even if it was just like “let’s check out that first band” instead there was a lot of fans there, which we really appreciate.
So what comes next for you guys?
Evan: EP we said that. That’s for the very close future.
Dan: We’re playing Evolution Festival in Newcastle, and we’ve got friends there, Plaza. They’re from around the area and they’re gonna show us round and that should be a good gig. They’re playin’ at The Cluny. I think that’s their main sort of venue. And then we’ve got Y Not festival. Tramlines will also be good in Sheffield.
Evan: Got a pizza coming very soon though, that’s all we’re thinkin about.
Over at The Leeds College of Music recital room, Xylaroo comprised of Coco and Holly Chant were set to serenade. I had never heard of them, in-fact the only reason I happened upon them is because I was lost, but once I walked in I did not want to walk out again. The Papua New Guinean sisters told stories of their childhood and Sri-Lanka while churning out solemn melodies with humbling messages. Their vocals never fell out of sync and Holly Chant’s harmonies were effortlessly flawless.
Even for acoustic music these guys have stripped it back to basics, but simplicity has never seemed so fresh.
Behind the doors of The Wardrobe, Will Joseph Cook and his band comprised warm tones of 80s funk and indie-electronica. His quivering vocals layered behind sunny melodies drew in wolf whistles and boogies alike.
He’s made my listen list.
If you found yourself at the Leeds Beckett Union Stage an hour or so before Blood Red Shoes were set to play, you probably had some time to kill. And with this venue so inconveniently far away from the other venues for Live at Leeds, you owed it to your aching feet to simply hang around, and that’s very likely the only reason you were watching 5-piece rock band, The Duke Spirit.
Just like their name, their music would suit quite nicely for a pub. It’s middle-aged and middle-of-the-road rock. The set just didn’t go anywhere interesting and as much as I hate hecklers, I couldn’t help but agree with the ones who shouted “Boring!”. If unnecessary showboat-singing and subpar musicianship helps you fall asleep as much as it does for me, play yourself some Duke Spirit next time you’re tossing and turning.
The alt/ garage rock duo Blood Red Shoes were found heating up the Leeds Becket Union Stage for Band of Skulls, and there was never a doubt that they were going to Light. It. Up. High octane vocals were tossed back and forth from both drummer, Steve Ansell and guitarist, Laura Carter as they initiated the bloodshed. Ansell knew what he doing when he jokingly asked “I’ve forgotten where we are, Laura. Yorkshire?” instantly provoking the crowd to chant back “Yorkshire! Yorkshire! Yorkshire!” as the hyped-up drummer beckoned the crowd in for more as Carter unleashed the opening riff to “Don’t Ask” on their sorry souls. Blood Red Shoes never disappoint.
10pm. At this point you were either party-thirsty or exhausted from the turmoil raised by bands earlier, and Dan Croll was the guy to visit for the latter. The Leeds College of Music main stage was a swanky auditorium with crisp acoustics and tiered seating. Croll even admitted it’s one of the weirdest places he’s ever played after jokingly treating his gig like it was a lecture and marking the evening as his big “Fuck you!” to the university as they rejected him some years back. Despite the musician’s apparently uncomfortable arrangement, it worked perfectly in his favour, providing an intimate atmosphere that allowed him to relax and have friendly banter with the audience.
The music? Tasty. All the songs from his 2014 debut ‘Sweet Disarray’ that you think you already know is now different, as he placed a creative new spin on the tracks. And as for all the music that you have in store for his next album, will be well worth the wait.
In Other News…
Dance-pop artist, Jess Glynne reportedly cancelled her live set for Live at Leeds due to “ill health and under doctors’ orders”. The singer stated in a Twitter update that she had a chest infection and she apologised accordingly: “I’m so sorry but I promise I will make it up to you Leeds!” and continued “I would never cancel unless it was that important and unfortunately it is and I need to get better. I hope you understand! I’ll be back!!”.
Ironically, punk band, MILK TEETH also ‘pulled out’ due to one of the members being summoned for an emergency dentist appointment.
Indie-rock artist, Hannah Lou Clarke arrived to her set at the Holy Trinity Church stage thirty minutes after the scheduled time. She apologised during the performance and reasoned “my car broke down and then all my gear broke”. Due to further technical issues during her first song, she had to pause playing to fix the issue, then only managed to play another two songs before she had a guitar string snap, convincing her to end the set. Despite the bad luck she still received good word from publication ‘The Student Playlist’: “Technical difficulties didn’t stop @Hannahlouclark from delivering a good, if short, set”
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