Kid iD @ Leeds Festival 2008
By Sam Saunders
A smiling six piece band with trumpet, trombone, drums, percussion, bass, guitar and vocals, all played with serious pro skills can hardly go wrong in the festival sunshine. Kid iD made the most of their Sunday morning slot, romping through an entertaining feel-good set. Avoiding the old trap of telling their audience to have a good time, they relaxed, played their light ska pop with unostentatious style, and doubled everyone's pleasure as a result. I was especially impressed with a lightly played trumpet/trombone introduction to one song (title unknown, sorry!). The subtlety of this short section expressed a commitment to good music and a genuine affection for the popular style the band have adopted. Excellent stuff.
Ian Dudfield and Pete Mycroft (the top quality horn section in question) also provided nutty boy antics to magnify the spectacle of fun. Ralph Pelleymounter provided a strong and distinctive lead on vocals and acoustic guitar, with bass (excellent) and a percussion section that were absolutely on the ball. Kid iD don't innovate or thrill, but they entertained in their own voice and they did it in a way that satisfied all musically sensitive ears. In today's sunshine they also drew a very large and appreciative crowd from passers by - my guess putting it into four figures. Only Razmataz Lorry Excitement (a similarly crowd-pleasing and proficient act) gathered a bigger crowd over the rest of the day. With Eureka Machines opening the Leeds onslaught of 13 out of the 34 acts on this stage and Kid iD closing it, the City's musical productivity looks as strong as ever.
