Leeds Festival 2012 Saturday

 

:: Top - Topshop::

:: Waistcoat - eBay ::

: Belt - Charity Shop::

:: Wellies - Hunter c/o Zalando ::

:: Headband - c/o Rock N Rose ::

:: Silver Wrap Bracelet - c/o Dainty Damsel ::

Yesterday I awoke to Andy cooking a rather delightful concoction of  Heniz beans & sausage just outside the tent. The air was foggy but warm and I ventured out in my onesie to grab the tasty moresol before trying to make myself look half decent. I swear the country life is where I will always belong - having grown up in Cumbria there is something so soul comforting about fresh air, rolling grassy nols, mud and the tingly of damp on the skin - if it wasnt for my aching back, bad skin and grey eye bags I swear I could stay here forever.

I can think of many worse ways to start my day off than by joining the Nu Rave clang at the Hadoukentent - Hadouken remind me of my uni days "that boys a Hoxton hero" and all that - when I used to wear my retro 'Just Relax' t-shirts and Topshop was filled with 'Made in the 80's' tees - however after expecting to see acres of neon in the crowd I was pleasantly disappointed, & the lads knocked out a set that left nearly everyone leaving the tent the sweatiest I have seen anyone all weekend - sign of an insane gig. Hadouken's set times collided with Cancer Bats so unfortunately the latter lost out, but after the raving mosh at the NME stage I was ready for You Me At Six's set at the Main stage later on. I grabbed some of Bombay Bicycle's Club set whilst sitting in the Press tent charging up my damn iPhone & then it was back out into the arena.

I think You Me At Six are one of those bands that a lot of people may think they are not a fan of but once they hear a few of their songs, realise that they often have a sing along when it comes on on Radio 1. The band started around 5-ish and got the crowd going like I'd never seen so far this weekend, after belting out their latest hits such as Stay With Me & The Consequence , they then encouraged the crowd to crowd surf, whilst the camera men picked out female members of the crowd who were waiting for their moment on the big screen to flash what god-gave them ( and what they should probably have kept hidden ) - seriously though- is it just me that doesnt see the thrill of sitting on some poor buggers shoulders, in waiting for my mush to appear on the side screen so that I can not only lift up my top and bra, but also give away the goods for free to thousands, not to mention loose my dignity ? I dont think I need to add that despite me loving the music and totally getting caught up in the enegery that front-man Josh Franceschi had, my dignity remained intact.

As if these ladies were not willing enough already to bare all without any encouragement, once Josh asked all the crowd members to remove one item of clothing and hold it above their heads - it become an orgy of the flesh, a musical orgy.  Thankfully having a camera in one hand and a drink in the other I liked to think I was exempt from this activity but I enjoyed the amusing sights non-the-less.

The guys finished with 'Bite My Tongue' with Josh filling in for missing Oli Sykes - but they had started a trend- and the sea of flesh and boob-flashing competition continued right through the evening.

Next we ran across to catch a little bit of Passion Pit at the NME stage, before grabbing a fantastic 'non-festival grub' tea of sausage & mash in a giant yorkshire pudding and 'popping a squat' on the grass for some crowd watching.

Paramore were next up on the Main Stage - there has always been a bit of a love for this band - Hayley Williams is one of those frontwomen that gives an incredibly strong carefree performance full of gritty lyrics and emotion but who seems like such a gentle and lovely person when she speaks. She gave quite an emotional speech halfway through, thanking everyone for sticking with her despite the band having 'more problems that most', 'being quite angry at times' and 'having issues' - this was her baring her soul on stage and it was one of those humane moments when you see the people, not just 'the band'. 

They knocked out hits such as Brick By Boring Brick, before finishing with my favourite Misery Business, Hayley even pulled a member of the audience up to song with her - which resulted in them both rocking out.

The day had been fair pretty much all day with a slight shower that lasted all of 10 minutes - its been one of those weekends when bringing wellies seems almost a waste, yet layers are essential for when that nip hits around 8pm - as people started with grab their coats, it was almost time for the Headliners - The Cure. I had only one hope - please play 'Love Song'.

The set was very varied with lots of their older hits which I felt were lost on the 17 year old Paramore-loving crowd - but with hits such as Boys Don't Cry, Sleep When I'm Dead and finally Love Song - it was a set that allowed the more 'mature' members of the audience to really showcase their vocal chords.  

Before the end of the set, we rushed back over to the NME tent to see Foster The People hit off their set with Dont Stop - the tent packed so full that the rest of the fans stood outside watching on big screens. We ended the night with a ride on the ferris wheel, taking in the whole of the festival from the top of the wheel - seeing the lights from the main stage scurry, flick and fire across the black canvas of a sky as The Cure finished their final song, and watching the hoards of people below running from one tent to another, & as we came down to the ground, the final bassline of The Cure's Boys Dont Cry could be herd from across the festival.