The mud was so deep on Saturday, August 27th at Leeds Festival that it sucked your feet into the ground, very harsh on the legs; everyone had to use extra force to drag their Wellingtons from the dirt. Getting worse by the hour, it seemed like it was on a mission to swallow everyone up; the rain and mud really did slow most people down at the festival. However, there were also a many that just thought, “Fuck it,” and decided to immerse themselves totally into the whole vibe, faces wet & sodden, even hair and clothes full of muck – people were rolling around on the urine-soaked ground and they loved it!
It wasn’t as bad as Reading, so Leeds festivalgoers were a lot luckier than they knew!…
The Blackout
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Security guards were busy to the left of the stage while The Blackout played at 12.50 in the afternoon, as all the young lads seemed to line up at the green barriers to pee up against them. Security did not look too happy about this.
The Welsh band seemed to gel well with the crowd. They had a huge stage presence and even told the audience that they were great and far better than the crowd at Reading – this compliment was gladly received. The group was very animated on stage; singer Sean Smith in particular had a lot of stage presence, wrapping mic leads around his neck and even inserting the whole microphone in to his mouth at one point.
Official Site for The Blackout
New Found Glory
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Colin Murray of BBC Radio one announced the next band, New Found Glory at 13.45 on the Main Stage. They went down very well with the crowd and security…
Official site for New Found Glory
Bring Me the Horizon
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At 14.50 Bring Me the Horizon , a metalcore band from Sheffield in Yorkshire, came on the Main Stage. Lead singer Oliver Sykes jumped off stage, into the pit, and towards the barriers to meet the crowd – almost had a close encounter with a lemonade bottle!
http://www.bringmethehorizon.co.uk/
Official Site for Bring Me the Horizon
Rise Against
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Chicago punk rock act Rise Against came on the Main Stage at 15.55. They were a particularly great band to shoot, with intense stage presence, including lots of leaping in to the air from Zach Blair on lead guitar!
Official Site for Rise Against
Deftones
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Alt-metal act Deftones from Sacramento started at 17.05 on the Main Stage. During Deftones, Thirty Seconds to Mars fans draw triads on their hands and excitedly waited in the front row for Thirty Seconds’ actor/singer Jared Leto – just three more hours for them to wait!
Official Site for Deftones
The Offspring
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Veteran Cali skate-punks The Offspring took the Main Stage at 18.15. Kevin John Wasserman, best known by his stage name Noodles, lead guitarist and backing vocalist had a great new prominent hair colour for the show.
Official site of The Offspring
Thirty Seconds to Mars
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Thirty Seconds to Mars was the great highlight of the evening for many in the crowd. The band has a huge, dedicated following, which were there for the group all day in the same spot at the front of the stage (see above).
The rain had finally stopped pouring as Jared Leto arrived on stage in a lengthy pure white robe, which wrapped around his small muscular frame with a white long sleeve top, skinny fit white jeans and black sunshades, creating a funky religious leader kind of vibe.
He had left the following pre-show note to fans via twitter:
@30SECONDSTOMARS – #LEEDS! Don’t forget your white #MARS Army Gear + ECHELON flags tonight!
Leto immediately began to interact with the crowd, something along the lines of,“Make some fucking noise and get a little fucking crazy!” He soon invited a young man from the crowd, whispered something in the young man’s ear, who smiled and then repeats the singer’s words. The band has a pattern of getting the crowd up on stage recently and they certainly did this at Leeds.
Some folks with Echelon flags at the front that had been waiting in the exact same spot for twelve hours for this moment!
It was a great show from Thirty Seconds to Mars, which will be cherished by their fans, as Leto explained that this was a special show, because they will not be back in the U.K. to play for a very long time.
http://thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/
Official site for Thirty Seconds to Mars
My Chemical Romance
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New Jersey’s My Chemical Romance came on next at 21.30, with another incredible show for the evening. Singer Gerard Way and the band stood before a fantastical visual display, consisting of bright yellow vibrant green and blue lights with bursts of fire illuminating the stage. The keyboard player wore a striking blue cartoon feline mask, while Way was in the forefront at the centre of the stage, wearing a tight black leather jacket with newly coloured vibrant red hair.
http://www.mychemicalromance.com/splash/
Official site for My Chemical Romance
Beady Eye
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Late on in to the night across the muddy darkened fields stood the NME Tent. Liam Gallagher’s post-Oasis, post-brother Noel Beady Eye began at their set 22.00.
Official site for Beady Eye
