The 12 best things about Live At Leeds 2015

Photo: Michael Lee Jamison and Robbie Jay Barratt

Festival season 2015 got off to one hell of a bang with the first of the big boys - the unstoppable Live At Leeds. Boasting the likes of Thurston Moore, The Cribs, Swim Deep, Palma Violets and Gaz Coombes alongside rising talent like Laura Doggett, Brawlers, Blossoms and loads more, all you have to do is throw in Leeds' string of incredible local venues and you've got the makings of one hell of a festival.

So as our hangover and the echo of 'YORKSHIRE' begin to fade, allow us to run down the 12 very best bits of Live At Leeds 2015...

1. Rhodes Will Be The Darling Of 2015
As soon as Rhodes unleashes his voice on stage, you can feel the entire room at The Wardrobe glow like one of the guys from the old Ready Brek adverts. With a decent backing of EP releases behind him and unveiling new single ‘Close Your Eyes’ last week, there’s a tangible confidence around his band that suggests this is already shaping up to be a successful year.

2. Spector
Pop grace, indie mastery and rock abandon all crash down together as Spector sweep up their Yorkshire faithful on Gigwise's Stylus stage. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have them there, as cuts from their debut land like old favourites while newer numbers 'All The Sad Young Men' and 'Bad Boyfriend' show a refined nuance that assuredly point to Spector passing the brink of entering the major leagues.

3. Oceaan send waves of joy
After a prolonged soundcheck and wearing an old Adidas sweatshirt that a bricklayer would probably turn down, Oceaan take to the stage and instantly get the bulging crowd at Hi-Fi nodding their heads and swaying along to a selection of tracks from the two EP releases, tracks that would leave James Blake in a hot flush.

4. RIP the Cockpit, but Long Live At Leeds
When the closure of the Cockpit was announced it felt a bit like a terrible omen for the state of live music and independent venues in general, and maybe specifically Leeds itself, but what we learned over the weekend was that Leeds still has more than enough high calibre venues that can recapture our hearts and ensure that the Leeds live scene will continue to thrive.

4. Laura Doggett will have her day
All dressed in white, performing an evening gig slot at the Trinity Church – could it get more perfect? Doggett mesmerises the audience and has the rows of packed pews under her spell whilst she belts out bold album tracks like the incredible ‘Moonshine’. Whilst she still seems to be finding her feet, she’s definitely the sort of girl who you could take out for ice cream and head out on a romantic walk with in the summer, absolutely charming.

5. Misty Miller
After dropping her debut five years ago, the time that she's been away honing in on the raw emotional intensity and sheer, gritty class that first made you fall in love with her has been well worth the wait. With an arresting and piercing presence presence matched by a deafening grunge-pop onslaught, our ears are still delightfully ringing from having her on the Gigwise Stylus stage.

5. The Symposium fringe is worth a visit alone
Every city-based festival worth going to has inspired a fringe of its own. Live At Leeds has a fine effort this year at the Black Swan on Call Lane that exceeds the standard fringe fare of a few extra bands unofficially added to the weekend. One-on-one performance art fun, tarot readings, political poets, academic talks and brilliantly messy performances from the likes of the Yalla Yallas, Kleine Schweine and Happy Daggers add even more value to an already superb day.

6. Brawlers gunna knock you out
While Saturday shoppers mingle under the bright lights of the Merrion Centre hunting for bargains, they’d find something far better value right under their feet if they’d pay any attention to the rumblings from below. Clambering, diving and serving cultural critique via the medium of idiot rock, Brawlers turn a daylit shopping mall into 3am kick-out chaos in the rammed darkness of The Key Club.

7. Stormzy is the new king of grime
Whilst grime and the Belgrave seem to go together like chalk and a flame-thrower, the anticipation for Stormzy is frantic. And wow is he a presence. A flawless and multi-dimensional performer with some serious charisma, he wraps the place round his little finger.

8. The Strypes are much more than style
Pushing musical boundaries all day is exhausting, and The Strypes provide welcome relief with the kind of good, solid garage and rock n roll they used to build council houses with in the 70s. The Gigwise Stylus stage is pretty drunk and loving it, showing exactly why stuff like this stands the test of time - it’s our heritage, and no amount of tenuously futuristic mash-up genres will ever improve on it.

9. MNEK will soothe your soul
Not just a producer and songwriter, but also a spot-on frontman and a belting singer, MNEK brings the Belgrave to a joyous close with his joyous revival and re-imagining of 90s house and R&B. There isn’t a still foot in the room, and it is glorious.

10. Swim Deep are awesome headliners
The air in Gigwise's Stylus is in short supply as a packed and rapt crowd give all their love to Swim Deep, who send it right back in dreamy waves of fragile pop. Austin Williams in his floppy white shirt looks every inch the romantic hero, and if you ever say you witnessed a more perfect few minutes during this whole day than King City live, we will fight you. For our money, the set of the festival.

- Watch our interview with Swim Deep band here

12. The Cribs play the ultimate homecoming
Proud sons of just down the road in Wakefield, The Cribs inspire fans queueing down the road of Leeds City Hall hours before doors even open. There's an intense passion and inescapable reality to The Cribs' music that invites nothing but sheer devotion - and you can almost taste as the Yorkshire trio blast through a life-affirming set of modern indie-punk classics (and a cover of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody') that leaves you in absolutely no doubt that what we have here, is not only a band, but a national bloody treasure.