Reading may receive all the plaudits for being one of the UK’s premier music festivals, but it’s younger sibling Leeds is developing just as fine a reputation, if not more so. The two share identical lineups, and although all the media coverage comes from the south, Leeds has it’s own benefits including a better site and generally more active crowds. Since it’s inception in 1999, the festival has attracted some of music’s biggest names, and this year provided yet another stellar lineup, with a range of established faces alongside fresh acts looking to follow in their footsteps. It all promised for another fabulous weekend of music fit to round off anyones summer. FRIDAY (26/08/2011)
Of course, it wouldn’t be a British summer without torrential rain, and right on cue the heavens opened as the first day commenced. This duly turned the entire site into a quagmire and caused most punters to head to the tents for shelter. No one seemed to choose the Lock Up Stage, though, where we got our festival off to a low-key start by watching up-and-coming punk band Fighting Fiction along with about 50 others. The Brighton quartet overcame the lack of an audience, though, to deliver a solid set of impassioned punk anthems which by and large went down well. Their debut album is out next month, and if the bulk of it can match up to the singles 'Rock And Roll Is Dead And It's Corpse Is For Sale' and 'We Will Not Forget,' then they could go far.
