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THE LEEDS CARLING WEEKEND 2003.
BRAMHAM PARK, LEEDS. 22ND - 24TH AUGUST 2003.

Nearly two hours were spent stuck in traffic before we finally arrived on site for the Leeds Festival 2003 at it�s new home of Bramham Park on Thursday night. In previous years there has been several campsites. This year there was one massive campsite which was split into different sections. After setting up our tents and getting something to eat we went to have our first proper look around. I was surprised that another site of this size could be found so close to Temple Newsam.
Unlike previous years, this year entertainment was provided on the first night. It was a great way to start the weekend and get people in the mood for the coming days. FLETCHER and MOWER provided the music. Fletcher are a poppy punk kind of band. Not really my sort of thing but I stayed to watch them anyway. They were playing to a big crowd and there was a really good atmosphere. The band encouraged people to form the first circle pit of the weekend.
This opening party thing took place in the Comedy Tent. Because of this the safety barrier at the front wasn�t able to cope with the few hundred fans watching the band. About 25 minutes into the Fletcher set, organisers halted the performance so that the safety barrier could be made more secure. This took half an hour. Fletcher used the time to flog some albums before returning to the stage for three more songs.
MOWER opened with a slow laid back acoustic based track. It couldn�t have been more different from the Fletcher material. Not sure what was going on with the line up of the band tonight. Last time I saw them there was a cute girlie called Nash on bass. For this set she had been replaced by some bloke. Strange. Very strange.
Single �After Dark� was performed just before a cover of a track originally a hit for The Beastie Boys. One of my favourite Mower tracks, �Then The Drugs Came Out To Play� was absent from the set.
Soon after they had finished I returned to my tent. I was hoping to get lots of sleep. In the end I got none at all despite taking carpet to lie on, a sleeping bag, a blanket and two pillows. But at least I was warm and comfortable.
The next morning saw the official start of the festival. Not sure who came up with the idea to have just one entrance to the arena but they were clearly drunk at the time. Having one entrance for 50,000 people is just stupid. It was taking people around an hour to get pass security and into the arena. I ended up missing the first band of the day but did just make it in time for the political grungers known as KINESIS.
I would have been well annoyed if I had missed them. They were fantastic, even better than the last time I saw them. So full of energy. They raced through tracks including next single �One Way Mirror�, �And The Obey�, �Billboard Beauty� and �Everything Destroys Itself� amongst others. There seemed to be lots of dedicated fans in attendance who were singing along throughout the 30 minute set.
SERAFIN were rather disappointing. I hadn�t heard much by them before seeing them though so maybe that is why I didn�t enjoy their set as much as some of the people stood near me. At first I thought they were pretty crap but as their set progressed I did start to like them more. Their catchy guitar pop grew on me. I�d quite like to hear their album.
When I saw THE RAVEONETTES support Supergrass earlier this year I wasn�t too keen on them. After seeing them again at Leeds I�m still not too keen on them. They were really boring to watch, their vocals aren�t very clear and every song sounded similar to the one before. It�s hard to tell what is actually been performed live due to the amount of samples they use.
From the Radio One Stage I headed for The Carling Stage in time to catch the last few tracks by Montreal four piece THE STILLS. They are a typical indie/rock band, nothing special or amazing.
WINNEBAGO DEAL are two men from Oxford. They have been hyped up by the likes of NME way too much. They are good yeah but not amazing. It takes a lot to excite me. They failed to do so. They are yet another band whose vocals you can barely hear. That really annoys me.
Considering there is only two of them, they made shit loads of noise. Some of their tracks were too heavy for my liking but they did have some really good �rock out� moments.
INSTRUCTION however did/do excite me. If you ain�t seem them before make sure you do. You won�t be disappointed. They opened up with �Pissed Me Off Again� before performing other tracks such as �Great�, �Are You Happy� and �Your Punk Sucks�. Too right. Our punk does suck.
Instruction definitely do not suck. They are everything a rock band should me. They were energetic, the crowd were energetic, the security people were not existant.
I�ve never seen anything like it. There was lots of crowd surfing going on but only two security staff to help people over the barrier at the front. The two security people in question must have been deaf, blind and incredibly stupid.
Rather then do their job and help the crowd surfing crowd surfers over the barrier etc, they stood there and watched them fall to the ground. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was obvious that the security people, both of them, could see the crowd surfers surfing over the crowd but rather then help them over the barrier they just stood there and actually let them fall to the floor. It is a wonder nobody died. I have never seen such useless security staff in my life. Twats.
Anyway, afterwards Yeah Yeah Yeahs were due in the signing tent. I went over to wait patiently in the queue so that I could meet them. After wasting a full hour standing around, we were then told that the band had cancelled their signing tent appearance because they were stuck in traffic. I was not amused. If I knew they couldn�t be assed to turn up I would have gone over to watch the amazing Longview. Ah well.
I wandered back to the Radio One tent in time for HOT HOT HEAT. What the fuck was that all about? They were rubbish, probably the worst band I saw all weekend. I did quite like their two singles, �Bandages� and the other one, but even those two tracks sucked live. All their other songs were rubbish. The lead singer guy said he was happy to be playing there etc but failed to smile once. Hmmmmmmm.
We left their set early and went to get drinks. �2 for a little bottle of Coke which you can get in Woolies for 75p. What was that all about? Festival prices suck. That�s why I took all my own food and drink with me. I bought nothing at all at the festival. There was no way I was going to pay their rip of prices. �3 for an ice cream. �2 for a tray of chips. I say tray of chips. What I really mean is a tray that had about 3 chips on it. 3 cold soggy chips. Mmmmmmmmmmm. All I ate all weekend was Bakewell Tart, about 3 packets of crisps and a packet of Haribo Starmix. What more do you need? All I drank all weekend was Coke I brought with me from home.
GRANDADDY weren�t quite as good as I was expecting but they were still certainly worth watching. I wasn�t familiar with many of the tracks that were performed apart from the singles including �The Crystal Lake�, �Now It�s Gone� and new single �El Caminos In The West�. Most bands playing over the weekend seemed to have a new single or album to promote.
The lead singer from Grandaddy kept making comments about all the punk rock bands playing over on the main stage and kept taking the piss out of them. It was funny.
What was going on with the line up on the main stage though? The All American Rejects, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Bowling For Soup, Blink 182, The Streets, Junior Senior etc all suck yet all got on the main stage. I avoided the main stage nearly all weekend. The line up for it was the worst I have ever seen.
I personally can�t stand Metallica but I can understand why they were headlining. What I can�t understand though is how so many bands got on the main stage after releasing just one or two singles. It�s pathetic. Oh, did The All American Rejects actually perform live? They mimed on several Television shows while promoting their first, last and only single �Swing Swing�. Haha.
While Grandaddy were playing the Radio One stage, System Of A down were playing the main stage. Three tracks in they stopped their set to prevent the crowd getting crushed. 22 people suffered minor injuries, with three people hospitalised. The front of stage barrier moved approximately half a metre. This resulted in a young girl trapping her foot.
YEAH YEAH YEAHS cancelled their signing tent appearance but did make it in time to play. They turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. The tent was packed out. I got crushed but it was worth it. Karen O is an amazing front woman. She is already an icon to teenage girls around the world. Her sexy poses, her unique dress sense, her attitude. Everything about her is amazing. Karen O is the new Courtney Love. Tracks performed tonight included �Pin�, �Down Boy�, �Maps�, �Rockers To Swallow� and �Date With The Night�.
MILLION DEAD didn�t play Reading but were on hand to provide some late night entertainment here at Leeds over in the Comedy Tent. Sadly though few people seemed to be watching. I felt really sorry for them but I guess that is what happens when you play at the same time as Metallica and The Music.
Million Dead are quite like bands such as Hundred Reasons but better. Lead singer Frank looks quite like the guy from Hundred Reasons actually. Their album �A Song To Ruin� is out soon. Go buy it. It really is good. If some random guy gave you a flyer advertising it, well it was probably me.
I ended the night back at the Carling Stage watching BRITISH SEA POWER. Spotted walking through said tent was Bobby from Primal Scream. I was going to go talk to him but he was with a gang of female groupies. Also in attendance were The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster. They remained for a majority of the British Sea Power set.
Brighton based British Sea Power were as good as ever. The stage was covered in trees and twigs and looked all pretty. Tracks performed included recent single �Carrion�, �The Spirit Of St. Louis� and next single �Remember Me�. Their set ended in utter chaos. Was truly fantastic to watch. The band even handed out own brand Kendal Mint Cake. Nice.
I was totally knackered by the time I got back to my tent so went straight to bed. Managed to get 3 hours sleep. Those 3 hours did me the world of good and got me prepared for the following day. Once again it took around an hour to get into the arena. I began the day by watching a local band play in the Comedy Tent. I�m pretty sure they were called THE LONGSHOTS but I�m not totally certain. Whatever they are or aren�t called, one thing is for sure, these guys rock. They aren�t a typical rock n roll band, nor are they a average punk pop group. There are something different, a mixture of everything. Considering they were probably the least famous band of the weekend, playing the smallest stage and playing in the first slot of the day, they had a massive crowd watching them and everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves.
COLOUR OF FIRE are going from strength to strength. Their sound is one of anthemic alt-rock with a pop edge. Live they are fantastic. They formed in 2002 in York, when Owen and Stuart decided to write some songs together with the hope of forming a band. Here enters Matt Lunn (Drums) and Thom Craigen (Bass).
They opened their set with �Second Class Citizen� before slowing things down with the amazing �The Exile�. First single �Decisions Decisions� was not performed but new single �Cut It� closed their 25 minute set in style. The band would like fans to buy the single from independent record stores rather than line the pockets further of the high street chain stores.
Local boys THE BLUESKINS were up next. Their debut single �User Friendly� received air play on BBC radio on it�s release earlier this year. I would describe them as been a blues-rock band. A little boring to watch but overall they went down well with the crowd.
After they had finished I went for a wander and just sat around for awhile as there was nobody in particular I wanted to see. I did hear a few tracks by LESS THAN JAKE, BILLY TALENT and local band CATYLYST though. I wasn�t particularly impressed by any of them.
FRANZ FERDINAND did impress me though. Remember the name. These four young men from Glasgow are set to cause quite a stir over the forthcoming months.
The art rockers are about to release their debut single 'Darts Of Pleasure'. It is set to become a classic and is currently record of the week on The Mark And Lard Show on Radio One. These guys dress smart and have posh voices. They looked kind of out of place here but I really enjoyed their set. They will be huge. Can�t wait to see them again.
I saw ROCKET SCIENCE support The Music back in May but I wasn�t too impressed by them then. There was nobody else I wanted to see at the time so I thought I would watch them here too. Although they did seem better this time round, they still didn�t excite me. Most of their tracks sounded similar. I got quite bored during their set. The guy from Mower and members of Franz Ferdinand were spotted in the crowd.
Afterwards I went for another wander and found myself over at the main stage watching part of the STAIND set. They were truly terrible. I always thought they were some nu-metal band. It turned out that a lot of their tracks were really slow, boringly slow in fact.
THE HISS had a different line up from the one I saw a few months back. Not that it made any difference to their performance. They were still just as good. They are a four piece rock band from Atlanta and have supported bands such as Oasis and The White Stripes. Tracks performed included �Triumph�, �Back On The Radio� and �Street Research�.
And so over to the main stage for one of only two full sets I could be bothered to watch there, the set by PLACEBO. There were amazing. The whole band were on top form, especially mister Brian Molko who regularly spoke to the crowd. Not quite as much as at their proper gigs in April but they only had 50 minutes tonight and so they had to get on with things quickly.
The set ran in the same order as the April tour but without all the slower songs. They were cut out to leave just the faster, more lively rock tracks. Tracks such as �The Bitter End�, �Every You, Every Me� and �Special K�. Apart from a few tracks, including �Plasticine� and the fantastic �Black Eyed�, every track performed tonight was a single. �Slave To The Wage�, �Taste In men�, and �This Picture� were amongst those performed.
Many in the crowd weren�t too familiar with a lot of what was been performed but nearly everyone around me did sing along to �Pure Morning�. The set was concluded with a cover of �Where Is My Mind�, originally a hit for The Pixies. It was really nice to see Placebo perform to that many people knowing I�ve met them and spent 20 minutes talking to Brian. He is so lovely.
I was stood near the back for SPARTA so didn�t see much of what was happening on stage but what I heard sounded pretty good but not as good as At The Drive In. A couple of members from At The Drive In are now in Sparta. Not sure which members though.
After they had finished my friend stayed to watch Evan Dando. I headed for the Radio One stage to watch THE POLYPHONIC SPREE. Didn�t have a great view but they were just as good, if not better than when I saw them at the same time last year when they headlined the Carling Stage.
They were a great choice for headliner. Everyone watching left smiling. Their music is so uplifting and the whole band are always so happy. We need more bands like them.
After seeing them I felt so alive and awake. I ended up staying up while 3.30am the following morning. The night was spent calling random people Steve and spreading a rumour that Busted would replace The Darkness the following day. Most people we told that to actually believed us.
Oh, hi to Sarah who I met on the way to the toilet! We never swapped numbers so I doubt I�ll ever see her again but anyway. While we are on the subject of toilets, what was that all about? I have never seen such disgusting toilets! They were like cattle sheds or something. No locks on the doors, little privacy and nothing but a hole in the ground to shit in to.
I awoke the next morning to be told by my brother that we would be leaving that night and would not be staying to the following morning like we normally do.
I was very pissed off by this but did not let it spoil my day. As we had to pack up our tent etc I ended up missing the first songs by THE FUTUREHEADS but what I did see was fantastic. I made it in time for the track �A Picture Of Dorian Gray�. Their energetic guitar pop was a great way to start the day.
STELLASTARR were much more laid back than The Futureheads. Tracks such as �Stay Entertained� and new single �Jenny� seemed to go down well with the crowd. Classic indie/rock me thinks but done really well.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is a big fan of MY MORNING JACKET apparently. Their �rock out� moments were good to watch but overall I found them to be quite boring. They aren�t the type of band I would go see at a proper gig.
JET are though. They were one of the most hyped bands of the weekend and it is easy to see why. They have big rock anthems, the oasis style swagger and attitude and already seem to have quite a big following. New single �Are You Gonna Be My Girl?� has received lots of airplay. Everyone watching the band seemed to recognise the track when it was performed. It will hopefully do well in the chart. It certainly deserves to.
After watching a few bands on the Radio One stage I went over to watch a few on the Carling Stage. The first of which were THE REVS. Oh my god. How much do these guys rock? They are so amazing. This was only the second time I had seen them but they are fast becoming one of my favorite bands. They are so happy and full of energy. It�s so obvious they were enjoying themselves. They really deserve to be huge and by this time next year I think they probably will be. They are already massive in Ireland. One of the highlights of the set was their drum solo when all 3 band members took to the drum kit and beat the shit out of it. They concluded with the single �Rock The DJ�.
IMA ROBOT provided some much needed electro-pop. They are a teeny bit like The Faint but much, much, much, much better. These guys were truly amazing and one of the best bands of the entire weekend. I hadn�t heard anything by them before seeing them. They have just signed to Virgin in the US so hopefully we�ll be hearing much more from this band in the not so distant future. Their frontman was one of the best I have ever seen. Genius.
Due to play next were The Sons. The Sons had been advertised to play everywhere but apparently it was all a big mix up. The Sons were never due to play. It was THE VACATION playing in that slot. I�m very glad they were too. At first I wasn�t particularly impressed but they quickly grew on me and ended up been another of the weekends highlights. Jet were amongst those watching along with that bloke from Mower. I know nothing about The Vacation. I had never heard of them. One thing is for certain though; they will be massive one day.
They are another band with a fantastic frontman. He regularly jumped from the stage into the pit thing separating us from them, them from us. He climbed the lightning rigs; crowd surfed and spent a song actually in the crowd.
I was ment to see THE SIGHTS back in February but they postponed their gig until July. They then postponed that gig until next month. So anyway, 6 months later than planned I finally got to see them. They did not disappoint. They weren�t as good as many of the other bands I had seen earlier in the day but they were still really, really good. Their 60�s garage went down well. Phil from The Datsuns watched the entire set from the side of the stage and sang along with many of the tracks included during the 30 minute set. He even re-strung the lead singers guitar for him after he broke a string 3 songs into the set.
I had a wander over to see THE MARS VOLTA afterwards. I wasn�t impressed. I left after one song and headed for the main stage to catch BECK end his set. I saw him perform �The Devils Haircut�. He was on top form as usual. Just wish I got to see more of his set.
Ah well. At least I saw all of THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE. Not seen them in about two years, since before they were famous in fact, so it was great to see them again. They opened with former set closer �Panzer Attack�. The crowd went wild. It was followed straight away by new single �Promises Promises� which in my opinion is one of their best tracks to date. A number of new songs were performed. They sounded good but I�ll need to hear them a few more times for me to like really like them. They concluded with �Lets Kill Music�.
I then had a bit of free time so headed over to the Carling Stage to catch the last 15 minutes of THE BANDITS. Some of their tracks are really quite boring to watch live but good to listen to while chilling out at home. Not sure if you will agree but The Bandits sound very, very similar to The Coral. The Bandits aren�t quite as good live though.
And so back to the main stage for the final band of the weekend, BLUR. I had never seen them before but had been a fan for many years so I was really excited about seeing them.
They opened with �Ambulance�, taken from the new album �Think Tank�. It isn�t exactly the most exciting track to start a set with but �Beetlebum� soon followed so that made up for it.
I couldn�t believe just how much new material we were subjected to during their set. Obviously, Blur had an album to promote and that would be fine if it was at one of their own gigs. But this was a festival. Festival crowds only expect to hear singles from headline acts such as Blur.
We did get a number of older tracks though, just not as many as I was hoping for. One of the set highlights was �Girls & Boys�. It still sounds sooooooooo good even after all these years. Other tracks performed included �Tender�, �Song 2�, �The Universal�, �Trimm Trabb� and �To The End�.
Damon has started wearing suits for gigs like James from Manic Street Preachers. He was clearly enjoying himself and left the stage to meet fans down the front on three separate occasions. Phil Daniels was invited on stage to perform another new track �White Noise�. What was that all about? It turned out to be the worst track of the set. Daniels also provided vocals on an acoustic version of �Parklife�. Not as good as the original version but it was better than nothing I suppose.
�This Is A Low� concluded the near two hour set. Was a nice way to end.
While I was watching Blur, over at the Carling Stage Meg White appeared on stage with Brendan Benson. The White Stripes drummer played drums during his last track of the night. Two members of The Datsuns and the Soledad Brothers also joined Benson on stage. I really wish I had seen that. I�m really jealous of anyone that did.
We left for home soon after Blur had finished so I don�t know if there was any trouble on the campsite like in previous years but I doubt very much that there would have been. And that was that, Leeds was another for another year. See you next time.

BY MR MARTYN. AUGUST 2003.

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