Foo Fighters @ Leeds Festival 2005
By Luke Ramsden
Sunday started like any other day. Apart from this Sunday I happened to wake up in a field with 30 odd thousand other bear soaked, bleary eyed, unwashed, desperate bladder controlling festival revellers. It would end in fire, explosions and unruly security forces with glowsticks. But between now and then we've got 12 hours of bands that make up the final day of Leeds Festival 2005, including a much anticipated appearance from nicest bloke in rock ™ Dave Grohl and his merry band of Foo Fighters. Roll out. Roll on.
Emerging at around noon Editors [7/10] are just finishing up their run through of superb debut album 'The Back Room'. Their slow atmospheric numbers not quite sitting well in this outdoor setting but their ace cards, namely tracks of the dark wave-indie majesty of 'Munich' and 'Blood' hit home and spark some early morning life into a strangely sparsely populated arena. Sunday at Leeds translates as Punk day for some as The Lock-Up (formerly Concrete Jungle) Stage arrives in town to replace the Dance tent. My first foray in there this year is to witness Senses Fail [7/10] and their cretin of a front man. If he's not advocating drugs one minute he's insulting the crowd for not making enough noise in the direction of his bands barely above average take on screa-emo the next. Which is harsh because they do get actually receive a decent reception, especially when signature tunes 'Steven' & '147' are unleashed. It's up to The Explosion [8/10] to inject some initial life into the day with a set rammed full of breezy pop-punk with a hint of rebellion and meaning thrown in for good measure. Tracks like 'Mothers Cry' and 'Here I Am' getting the crowd singing in unison and geared up for the forthcoming day while still standing out by themselves as being a great band, having a great time and producing a great atmosphere.
On the NME stage - the healthy turnout granted for British rock Nirvana-lite hopefuls Nine Black Alps [7/10] signals how much potential these disenfranchised youths possess. Every song peeking negatively upon modern life yet still rocking like a motherfudda. Unfortunately the problem with NBA is their great songs ('Not Everyone', 'Unsatisfied') sound absolutely awesome live but their fair to middling album tracks sound downright dull today. Chances are they'll grow into the shell they've created for themselves come album number two.
Back in Lock-Up territory it's time for immense UK rock supremos Million Dead [9/10] to finally teach the Carling festivals a thing or two about face-rocking. A dazzling set consisting of the heaviest of the Million Dead arsenal is spat out at a ferocious , yet still seems to come to its conclusion all too fast for the substantial amount of fans down the front. Following the release of excellent sophomore album 'Harmony No Harmony', Million Dead have created a streamlined set with not a weak song in sight and that even includes completely omitting the singles 'After The Rush Hour', 'Living The Dream' and even 'Smiling At Strangers On Trains'. The sing-a-long 'Father, My Father' and next censored single 'To Whom It May Concern' provide the highlights but a Million Dead show wouldn't be a Million Dead show without 'Breaking The Back' bringing down the curtain and the festival circuit is no different. The fact they're finally getting appreciated to such an extent makes the chorus all the more sweeter. Hands wear I can see them and put your knives away please because what I'm about to say may annoy those of you of a sensitive nature. The Arctic Monkeys [6/10] really aren't that good. Just because the vocalist has some kind of weird Yorkshire twang in his voice and 'Fake Tales Of San Francisco' is a fantastic tune, it doesn't mean either a/ the rest of their tracks follow suit nor b/ the music's any different to what The Bravery can produce on a good day. The Carling Tent is INSANELY packed for the new buzz band of the hour. So much so I have no idea what any of the band members look like as I was stood so far outside the perimeter. Tellingly many leave after 2-3 tracks but still (at least for a month or two) the press and fans will literally wet themselves over these guys. They're honestly not any better than anything else doing the rounds though I'm afraid to say. "Where you there when...?" moment? More like a "Where you there when... the Arctic Monkeys proved they're not the saviours of music after all?" 40 minutes.
Has a bomb threat just been called in? Loser rock entrepreneurs Dogs [8/10] impress in front of a sparse crowd. Especially in the early stages their rabble rousing rock mini-anthems are amiable and entertaining if not life changing. The set dips for around 3 tracks before 'Tuned To A Different Station' picks up the pace and Dogs sprint to the finish line for the bronze medal. It might not seem it when you're there but in retrospect Dogs are actually really good. The Kills [4/10] then kill some time on the NME stage before the final portion of Sunday really begins with a hideously boring set of recycled tunes that aren't fit to line Franz Ferdinand's litter tray. The highest compliment that could be afforded is that at least the sun was shining and they provided a half decent assortment of background music. Now this is more like it. You may not have fathomed it a few years ago but Hot Hot Heat [9/10] have transpired to be somewhat of a marvellous little band. Their second release 'Elevator' was a real ear opener to the fact frontman Steve Bays is actually a really talented lyricist and can provide both mature, heartfelt, creative lyrics as well as the insatiable poppy ones that everyone secretly loves to bits. Hot Hot Heat really put on a good show this evening. Mixing both albums together to promote the full spectrum of HHH brilliance. The band look far from embarrassed at their older more lively moments despite the obvious advancement that went on post-'Make Up The Breakdown'. A refreshing attitude to show for fans that warmly received their debut and would have been mighty miffed if 'Talk To Me, Dance With Me' and the unbeatable 'Bandages' hadn't turned up. An unlikely contender for band of the day. As are not quite underground, not quite mainstream, not quite punk, not quite pop - but definitely rock band Rise Against [9/10].
These guys are on top form today as well with unfortunately toned vocalist Tim Mcllrath ripping his throat to shreds to career through a brief summary of the substantial Rise Against back catalogue. The largest circle pit of the festival welcomes almost every number as the diehards go royally ape shit for 40 solid minutes of punk rock. Opener 'Life Less Frightening' and closer 'Give It All' are the highlights of an awesome Rise Against set. Only a tad of the Arcade Fire [7/10] is caught as much needed sustenance was required before the main event but the AF troupe look visually exciting even if the music doesn't quite lend itself to the festival ambiance. Concentration is needed to fully appreciate these guys but 'Neighbourbood #3 (Powerout)' and 'Rebellion (Lies) prove to be the obvious highlights.
Foo Fighters could not fail. Maybe doing a Nirvana cover or Grohl refusing to come on stage due to the wrong brand of bottled water being offered but the chances of damnation were slim. The Foo Fighters have reliably proved to cement their slot at the top of the rock pyramid and rightfully so, this band deserve to close Sunday, such is their appeal among every genre of music fan. It's a very difficult brand to dislike, no matter how hard you try and negate that fact. Just admit it, soak it up and sing 'Monkey Wrench' like there's no tomorrow. The Foo Fighters are the ultimate festival band right now. Foo-fuckin'-tastic. Not one bad track is relayed whatsoever, not surprising taking into account the sheer volume of quality material the Foo's have to fall back on. Highlights are impossible to pin down but there's always going to be the usual suspects of 'Learn To Fly', 'My Hero' and closer 'Monkey Wrench' but there's also a plethora of other strong candidates in the form of 'Times Like These', 'For All The Cows' and even the underutilised 'The One'. The list is endless. Notable by their absence are tracks from only just recently released album 'In Your Honor'. 'Best Of You' is played early on but is completely overshadowed by the driving guitar line of 'All My Life'. The one cut from the acoustic CD is a memorable one though. Picture the scene if you will. Leeds Festival, late Sunday night, Foo Fighters encore, Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins switch places! It's a gimmick for a cheap pop sure but it's a nice touch and Taylor does a more than competent job on the self penned 'Dark Day In The Sun'. The Light show is also worth a mention as green strobes illuminate the pitch black sky during the heavy hitting signature tunes including 'Everlong', which is incidentally where the one minor flaw reared it's head. They play it solely acoustically godamm it! Where's the big explosion at the end? Where's the heart wrenching blood thirsty screams of "Don't stop when I say when"? It's a chance missed if nothing else. To be fair to Dave Grohl he gurned and screamed his way through every other song so perhaps he required a breather. Overall it's an absolutely staggering set of great anthems provided by a very charismatic front man and also a very talented band behind him. No-one could have expected any more really unless you were going in looking to have a stab at the successes the band have obviously and fairly earned. This could have been the highpoint of the Foos career as age begins to take its tole, but without a doubt the Foo Fighters were the highlight of the festival. The perfect 10 band. [10/10].
Same time next year, yeah?
