Photo: Olivia Williams, Ben Bentley, Nathan Daintly
Festival season is here. Aside from live-streaming Coachella and dreaming of days filled to the brim with bands, Live At Leeds is the first sweet taste of summer. Now in its eleventh year, the Bank Holiday bash summons music fans to every corner of the city, in hope of making new musical discoveries - with some more established acts thrown into the mix. We're ready. Here's the best of what Gigwise saw at Live At Leeds 2017.
WILD BEASTS
Wild Beasts began life in Leeds and its surrounding areas. Around a decade ago - riding a tidal wave of emerging indie bands - they played this writer's weekly band night in a tiny bar at a nearby ski slope centre. The Beasts have certainly evolved and sharpened their teeth since.
"Oh my God Leeds, hello." says an seemingly nostalgic Tom Fleming. "You are us, we are you." As Leeds University drop-outs, it's quite the full-circle move to have the band headline one of the city's student union venues this evening. Lead singer Hayden Thorpe feels it too, beaming and telling the crowd simply "we've got history."
Columns of red LED lights shimmer through lashings of dry ice as The Beasts take to the stage, before transforming to display Boy King single title 'Big Cat'. Thorpe's falsetto is as close-up, exposed and dry as ever, backed by minimal synth slickness.
References to the band's connection to this city run through the set. "The fabric of this song is very much a Leeds thing, a Meanwood thing" Thorpe tells the crowd, introducing a spellbinding performance of the love song 'Lion's Share'. "I sat in that Meanwood bedroom and wrote songs."
And what songs they are. The sinister sound of 'Wanderlust' sees Thorpe beg "Don't confuse me with someone who gives a fuck" before the sleazy, gender stereotype-questioning 'Alpha Female' reaches an unforgiving ending of futuristic guitar shreds. Welcome home, wild ones.
THE AMAZONS
With a debut album on the horizon and a recent Later...With Jools appearance under their belt, Reading rockers The Amazons play a mighty set at O2 Academy. "I wanna dedicate this to all the cunts on YouTube and Twitter who said I couldn't sing" frontman Matt Thomson tells the rowdiest crowd of the day. Don't listen to the trolls, mate. The pyro-inspired album artwork burns bright behind the band, as they provoke multiple circle pits to break out during the set - even when songs don't particularly justify such reaction. Thomson recalls playing the more intimate Faversham two years ago, and we predict things are only set to get bigger.
TEMPLES
James Bagshaw's "Everything north of Kettering is brilliant" claim is enough to coax a Yorkshire chant out of the Temples worshippers in Church tonight. We weren't going see the day out without at least one though, were we? We've headed further out of town into the city's student stomping ground to catch the psych outfit in the former house of God, turned nightclub, turned live music venue.
The band emerge under a huge stain glass window, which is in serious danger of being smashed by the intense sub-bass rumbles and galloping drum samples, which bed set-opener 'All Join In'. Sun Structures hit 'Colours To Life' follows, unleashing swirls of Hammond organ chords into the heights of this beautiful building, before the sugary sweet keyboard riff of 'Certainty' sets the place alight.
As we move through the set, there's a welcome surprise in just how big some moments feel. In fact, there are times where things get almost (dare we say it) Muse-level massive - especially on the euphoric chorus of 'Strange Or Be Forgotten'. There's eruptions of heavy junctures in the set - a sound which doesn't come across on the band's recorded catalogue. Bagshaw takes to the stage floor, twisting effects pedals on the extended and turbulent 'Mesmerise' outro. Breakthrough track 'Shelter Song' closes the set. Temples have taken their live sound to the next level and it sounds especially good in Church.
DREAM WIFE
We hail a cab to Brudenell Social Club just in time to catch VHS-loving Dream Wife. Leeds' favourite independent venue is not only a rite of passage for any up-and-coming local artist - but has also seen the likes of Haim, Grimes and Fleet Foxes grace its stage, prior to their worldwide stardom. Dream Wife could very well follow suit. The angst-driven performance from the art rock band lives up to the recent hype surrounding their live shows. A punk-injected twist on indie sound has hints of Metric via The Strokes, presented with 100% energetic abandon. Icelandic singer Rakel Mjöll stands on a monitor wedge singing "I am not my body, I'm somebody" during anti-objectification anthem 'Somebody', after the infectious guitar of 'Lolita' and joyous whooping chorus of 'Kids'. Chants of "I'm gonna fuck you up, I'm gonna cut you up" segue into a verse of Spice Girls' 'Wannabe' cause, why the heck not?
Overall, the scuzzy charm of this venue is the perfect backdrop for this rough-around-the-edges Brighton trio. Oh, and the Brude is also home to the cheapest pint in town. Definitely the place to be.
IDER
North London-based Ider tell the crowd at Belgrave Music Hall of their "Midlands guilt" whenever they see an article claiming they are from the capital. The duo of friends Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville offer up a slice of hushed minimal pop.
Armed with just SPD sample pads, keys and piano, the band let their impressive melodies and chemistry do the work - most notably on the acapella track 'GMLAA'. The pulsing summer-tinged 'Nevermind' is another standout moment, with a chorus hook reminiscent of Santigold.
BLACK HONEY
"Sounds like something from a film soundtrack" says a member of the crowd. It could be a subconscious reaction to lead singer Izzy Baxter's 'Written and directed by Quentin Tarrantino" tee, or the fact that the monstrous slow-mo chorus of 'Madonna' possess a walking away from an explosion cinematic strut, which matches up to Baxter's on-stage attitude.
