Leeds Festival 2002

After attending one day of the 2001 festival, we decided to go and complete the full Monty of all three days of the 2002 event. As stated previously we have never actually camped at a festival and this time stayed at the Hilton in the city centre. This allowed us to swerve the unrest involving burning down the toilet blocks that occurred at the end of the festival, because of this incident it was the last event to take place at Temple Newsam before moving to its current home of Bramham Park.

Uncle George, Gill and I undertook the three days while John Dewhurst and his then partner attended Day 1 and Day 3 while Tony Dewhurst was at Day 2 and Day 3. After a couple of drinks, we headed out to the site on the Friday and despite it being a large site it was chaotically busy. We encountered School of Rock and his pals who were in residence at the Bacardi Tent.

The first band we focused on was Slipknot who were fourth on the bill on the main stage. We obtained a decent vantage point and as it was the first time I had witnessed them their full circus glory was abundantly fresh and their potty mouthed antics and the ascending rotating drum kit a sight to behold and they created a decent racket to boot. Following them we caught the Prodigy and the Snuff band wannabees the Offspring and their hit ’Pretty Fly for a White Guy’. On other stages we witnessed, And They Shall Know us by the Trail of Dead and Spiritualized.

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Leeds Festival 2002 Line Up. Image Credit pulpwiki.net

The overall headliners that day were Guns N Roses who were playing the Leeds site only. In their inimitable style they were over an hour late hitting the stage, no doubt inflicting migraines on the organisers in relation to time curfews. By this point we were heading for the bus but could hear their bombastic sound in the distance.     

On day 2, we arrived deliberately early for a 4.00pm main stage slot by my band of the weekend the White Stripes. I had missed an opportunity to see them at the tiny Manchester Roadhouse venue the previous year which was a regret so made doubly sure I was there this time and it turned out to be the only time I managed to witness them.

We spent 20 minutes wending our way through the huge crowd right from the top of the hill to about Row 10 in front of the stage. They did not disappoint and were a compelling spectacle and created such an almighty racket for a two-piece. Jack White’s voice was nothing less than astonishing and was reminiscent of a young Frank Black when I initially saw the Pixies at Manchester International 1 in 1988. As we headed away from the stage we heard Sports Report on a radio playing at a burger van which informed us that PNE had won, so all was well in the world, and it was time for another overpriced cool beer!     

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White Stripes on stage. Image Credit guitar.com

We also caught The Vines, Electric Soft Parade, Feeder, Weezer, Pulp, Jane’s Addiction and the first track of the Strokes set with Julian Casablancas hobbling on in a cast after an accident at a recent gig. I wanted to catch the Reindeer Section, a super group consisting of members of Snow Patrol, Mogwai and Arab Strap. However, when we reached the tent, it was evident that their set was cancelled, and we saw a screechy much inferior band called Vendetta Red instead. The numerous white robed members of Polyphonic Spree squeezing onto a very small stage were also an interesting spectacle.   

The following morning in the lounge area of the hotel we encountered Grant Nicholas, so it was a ‘breakfast with Feeder moment’ prior to them setting off to the Reading slot. Other bands I witnessed over the weekend were Dandy Warhols, Ash, Sum 41, Hives, Haven, Jimmy Eat World, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Cooper Temple Clause, Rival Schools, Easyworld, Bobby Conn, Princess Superstar, Span, International Noise Conspiracy, Ben Kweller, The Streets, Spunge, No Use For A Name, Face To Face, Lo-Fidelity Allstars and Sick Of It All.     

I saw about 20 minutes of Muse’s grandiose set whilst standing on the hill queuing up for some tea. I made one major discovery when I witnessed the sublime British Sea Power for the first time in one of the side tents. They were in their first World War garb and foliage stage of their career, and they were terrific live, and I have seen them many times since.

The weekend ended with us walking to the transport pick up point and the musical accompaniment en route was the headliners Foo Fighters playing their finest track ‘Monkey Wrench’.

Nottingham Venues 37 and 38

Many of the best venues are buried away down the city centre back streets, a case in point is the Chameleon Arts Café in Newcastle Chambers down Angel Row. It is a small eclectic place with a café downstairs with some quirky beers on sale and a 140-capacity venue upstairs. The venue is embraced by DIY promoters which presents the opportunity to catch some unusual and upcoming bands there.

My one criticism is the slightly cramped nature of the venue especially when busy caused by the small access to the venue but once you find your vantage point everything is ok again in the world! 

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The stage of the Nottingham Chameleon Arts Cafe. Image Credit YouTube

My debut visit on 29/09/12 was to see a roster of bands and the first I encountered was Standard Fare, a decent indie pop trio from Sheffield with a C86 aesthetic and the slightly wonky vocals of Emma Kupa. The second band was Milky Wimpshake, a lo-fi indie trio from Newcastle who first appeared in 1997 and remain on the circuit to this very day. Their original drummer had the terrific name of Ms Joey Ramone and they had a knowing charm about them.

The penultimate act was a five piece from Brighton called Shrag prior to the headliners Anguish Sandwich. The main act was a frenetic garage punk band from Northampton with high pitched vocals from Chris East and remaining in the C86 vein they reminded me of Stump, another band from that era.

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Anguish Sandwich. Image Credit blogspot.com

My second visit a couple of months later was to see the Nottingham stalwarts Grey Hairs for the third time. They were supported by an excellent energetic Spanish instrumental math rock three piece called Iepi. I would describe their sound as a more aggressive version of Leicester band Maybe She Will! Their 2014 album ‘New Wr’ is also well worth bending your ears around. They have supported Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and were the first Spanish band to play the post rock festival ArcTanGent held annually at Fernhill Farm in Somerset, which regretfully I have never yet attended.

My third and final appearance was on 24/10/15. Now I have never been a great fan of bands you might place in the Liverpool category of sound, though quite often having the jangly guitars, many bands from that area in my humble opinion sound too fey and lightweight.

However, that changed when I encountered Hooton Tennis Club in a live setting. I had heard some recorded output before and thought it sounded ok, but they were a revelation live with their diverse and inventive sound. The four-piece hailed from the Wirral and the name is taken from a local tennis court. Their debut album around the time was recorded by Bill Ryder Jones from the Coral and the band are currently on a hiatus.     

Continuing the Spanish theme, they were supported by the Parrots who are a duo from Madrid. Their rootsy wonky charm reminded me of their city counterparts the Hinds.

When my brother first moved to Nottingham, he had a flat off Mansfield Road in Sherwood. Just prior to Christmas in 2016 we took a sally out that way and encountered some non-descript pubs including the Robin Hood, a traditional Greene King hostelry. Whilst there we encountered a local cover band called Little Angels.