I’d never attended ‘Live At Leeds’ before and didn’t know what to expect but I soon became aware of how alive with energy the city was as I went to collect my wristband. So many acts to see and so many venues!
The first band on our list were Chew Lips at a venue called Mine. Their high-energy performance of up beat electro pop set the level for the rest of the day.
We watched and listened to some amazing bands at ‘A Nation Of Shopkeepers’ and ‘Holy Trinity Church’. Root beers went down well with Pale Seas, whose soft drumbeats and guitars played songs that made you long for summer. The sultry relaxed atmosphere filtered through the crowd to the busy bar, all the way to the back and even outside. A happy mix of band and venue, the first time being at A Nation Of Shopkeepers for me and the first time I had listened to Pale Seas; these are two things that I’d happily do again.
We wandered down to Holy Trinity Church a place where we were soon to spend the rest of the day. We had been down earlier to see Cave birds but left soon after entering as the music seemed too loud for the space. This time we came to listen to the acoustic tones of Karima Francis, Rae Morris and Lucy rose. The powerful voice of Karima Francis dominated the space filling every corner of the church and Rae Morris haunted us with her smokey voiced love stories. Lucy Rose seemed full of excitement as she stepped up against the mumble of the crowd. She played us our favourites such as ‘Scar’ and ‘Middle Of The Bed’ and finished the night with ‘Red Face’ which I have had on repeat ever since!
As the evening was drawing to a close we decided to stay at Holy Trinity to catch Alt-J; a band who originally formed in Leeds before moving down to Cambridge. The church was packed due to the band’s recent surge in popularity. There was lots of dancing and jumping happening during “Matilda” and other songs from their ‘Breezeblocks’ EP. Both the crowd and the band seemed happy that they were back playing their bizarre, artistic folk rock back in the city.
This is a festival that brings you music covering many genres. It showcases the best of the new up and coming bands and is something that cannot be missed if you live in the north of England! Live At Leeds, thank you for creating my playlist for summer 2012.
Words: Jenny Birch
Photos: Hannah Cordingly
