Sunday 29th August 2022
It’s been five long years since I last marched triumphantly through the entrance at Bramham Park to attend Leeds Festival. In that time Leeds Fest has moved further and further away from its rock/indie/alternative roots and has now morphed into a festival that exists solely to extract as much money as possible from teenagers and their parents. While it has always been a festival that attempts to cater to the youth (and rightly so), a cursory glance at the line up from the 1990s and early 2000s compared to what the festival has now become is a lesson in decline and diminishing returns. So, I hear you ask, what has tempted me back? Ladies and gentlemen, Alexander David Turner…
The day begins with the sinking realisation that despite being probably the second biggest UK festival after Glastonbury, the only pints available on the entire site are Carlsberg and Somersby Cider. This is indicative of the fact that Festival Republic see their audience as a cash cow and nothing else. If smaller festivals (such as Tramlines, Green Man and Bingley) can employ on site beer festivals and real ale tents, a behemoth like Leeds Fest should absolutely be able to do the same. Anyway, I digress.
The Sherlocks kick things off on the Main Stage East with a rousing and spirited set that helps the weekend campers shake off the cobwebs and the new arrivals (like myself) to get in the festival mood. Newer tracks such as ‘City Lights’ are complimented by old favourites like ‘Chasing Shadows’, and by the time frontman Kiaran Crook happily proclaims that his band have moved from the Festival Republic stage, to the Radio 1 tent and now to the Main Stage in their short time together, it is clear that the Sheffield band have got everyone on side.
It’s over to the Main Stage West next for Dayglow, a band I knew precious little about going into the festival, but who end up providing one of the best sets of the day. The Texan band are the brainchild of frontman Sloan Struble, and as the relentless sun beats down, the band’s summer anthems go down a storm with ‘Hot Rod’ and ‘Can I Call You Tonight?’ particularly effective before a cover of Tears Fears ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ morphs into their own song ‘Run the World!!!’. An almost perfect festival set.
We take a chance on De’Wayne next and while his cover of Iggy Pop and the Stooges ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ is definitely vivacious, the fact that he is singing over a backing track of himself is too distracting, and so, it is time for a burrito instead. No regrets.
Wigan heroes The Lathums attract the first really big crowd of the day, and while they make the baffling decision to play their three best songs first (‘I See Your Ghost’, ‘Fight On’ and ‘The Great Escape’) they have enough solid songs in their oeuvre to ensure that the set is well received by the adoring West Yorkshire crowd. By the time ‘Wicker Man’ and ‘Artificial Screens’ close out the set, it is clear that Alex Moore and his band are perfectly at home on the biggest stages.
I have written extensively before about Fontaines D.C. but they are a victim of the adolescent crowd here. Everyone clears out of the Main Stage following the conclusion of AJ Tracey’s dirge like set leading to an inevitable air of anti climax when Grian Chatten and co. finally do take the stage. That being said, the Dublin band battle on gamely and tracks like ‘Sha Sha Sha’ and ‘Televised Mind’ sound great belting out of the impressive sound set up (which admittedly sounds fantastic throughout the whole event).
The band’s trademark intensity is perhaps the wrong mood for a sunny Sunday afternoon, but there is no denying the visceral power of ‘Nabokov’ or a 100mph version of ‘Boys in the Better Land’, and their rendition of ‘I Love You’ here is as good as the band have ever sounded. Absolutely massive.
Wolf Alice are a band I have tried and tried to love, but they just don’t do it for me in the studio. Their inability to write a memorable and melodic chorus is a barrier that I can’t break through, but, and I don’t say this lightly, they are a sensational live band. From the opening notes of ‘Smile’ through to a celebratory run through of closing track ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’, Ellie Roswell has Leeds Festival eating out of the palm of her hand, her enchanting voice and natural charisma sounding completely at home on a festival main stage. ‘Formidable Cool’ and ‘Play the Greatest Hits’ have the crowd in raptures and it’s hard to shake the nagging feeling that this band have a great album in them somewhere – they just haven’t delivered it yet.
And so, to the main event. After what feels like hours, it’s time for Arctic Monkeys. And what an entrance. Matt Helders’ imperious opening drum beat kicks things off, before the unmistakable riff of ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ has the whole crowd singing along. It is striking how much of a better reception the tracks from fifth album AM receive when compared to some of the older material, but again, this seems a reflection of the average age of the audience.
That being said, ‘Brianstorm’ and ‘Crying Lightning’ are greeted like old friends, and both sound bruising and formidable here, as does ‘Teddy Picker’ and ‘The View from the Afternoon’. Just as the closing bars of ‘Cornerstone’ sees the entirety of the crowd united as one, the band embark on a misguided run of songs that saps all the momentum from the setlist. Suck It and See deep cut ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’ has absolutely no place in an Arctic Monkeys set in 2022, ditto ‘Pretty Visitors’. The title track from latest record Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino fares better, but a low energy delivery of ‘Why You’d Only Call Me When You’re High’ followed by the not-quite-there new song ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’ marks a low point in a set that sees a band too often playing as if they have fallen out of love with their own music.
Thankfully, they pull it together for an incredible version of ‘Do Me A Favour’ – one of their very best songs – before ‘From the Ritz to the Rubble’ reminds everyone of what made this band so damn vital in the first place. A perfunctory version of ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ precedes possibly the best moment of the whole set, an emotional and prescient ‘505’ – the first real ‘I was there’ moment of the entire day.
The encore sees Turner lose his train of thought during ‘One Point Perspective’, before ‘Arabella’ signs off with a few bars from Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’. Traditional set closer ‘R U Mine?’ signs things off nicely, but there is an air of missed opportunity about this Arctic Monkeys set. What could have been one for the ages, ends up being merely very good. There is a lot riding on their upcoming album The Car. Here’s hoping they haven’t lost their fire.