NOFX, Leeds Temple Newsam
First of all, I know this review is two weeks after the event, but 3 hours after arriving back from Temple Newsam, I was on my way to the airport and the Greek island of Corfu. Now that’s dedication! But enough of the excuses, on with the show, and what a show it was.
FRIDAY August 23rd
It’s safe to say that the Carling Weekend is one of, if not the highlight of my calendar. This years line up was nothing short of spectacular and after cutting through half of the waiting traffic at Junction 46 due to my good friends reckless driving ‘abilities’, I arrived at the campsite to darkness, rain and a gathering throng of drunken revellers. Add to this a good two hour struggle to get any kind of tent erect in the largest space we could find, which was just about big enough to park a golf buggy in, and you don’t have the best start to the festival, I’m sure you will agree.
Friday morning rolled around, however, with a definite sense of expectation in the air. Or was that just the toilets beginning to fill up? Either way, I arrived at the site too late to catch ThisGirl, Dillinger Escape Plan or Death Cab For Cutie (who I found out later had pulled out anyway), so the first band of the weekend award went to AMEN. Casey Chaos is one of the best front men in rock at the moment, and his self destructive antics on stage are well documented, especially by those present in the Evening Session tent last year. Today though, Amen are faced with a swallowing stage, new band members yet to gel and a not altogether welcoming crowd response, despite the excellent DEP warming up the early risers. ‘Justified’ and, unsurprisingly, ‘Price Of Reality’ get the virgin pit going, and Chaos’s Axl Rose baiting, which set the tone for the rest of the day, bordered on the hilarious. Still, this isn’t Amen at their best and the day can only get better. (6)
Or can it? A wander down to the Evening Session stage ended in anger and disappointment as CAPDOWN had swapped with the god awful Hoggboy and had already finished their set by the time we reached the stage. We were not happy bunnies. An official announcement around the site would have been nice, but we were left in the dark. A walk over to the Main Stage and we were greeted with the big hair and big, chunky riffs of HUNDRED REASONS. A band made for small, intimate club shows where band/crowd interaction is positively encouraged, Colin Doran and his fellow band mates appear stale and despite the efforts of the enigmatic vocalist, and the crowd who lapped up every minute, nothing in the set grabbed me. ‘Falter’, ‘I’ll Find You’ and ‘If I Could’ all resulted in massive singalongs, but lost some of their power on such a ridiculously large stage. (6)
SPARTA have enjoyed an avalanche of press interest recently, most of it centring on the At The Drive-In connection and Jim Wards move to the mic for the first time. Unfortunately, despite their obvious talents and music bordering on genius on record, their live show, like so many today, failed to catch fire. At The Drive In they are not, and the energy and imagination of Cedric Bixler is sorely missed. Saying that, if these guys can stay together for a few more years, I can see them changing a few peoples lives in the same way that ATD-I did. (5)
Sacrificing the chance to see some of JETPLANE LANDING and HELL IS FOR HEROES in favour of squeezing to the front of the main stage for the most anticipated band of the day (well, in my opinion anyway …) was a choice well made. NOFX were here, and didn’t these people know it. Fat Mike perused the stage in his Pringle jumper and Erik Melvin hung around, almost nervously in the wings (then again, he always looks nervous) as the anticipation in the crowd hit boiling point. ‘The Brews’ kicked off the proceedings and the kids went suitably insane. A circle pit only beaten by Gainesville’s finest two days later was started for ‘Stickin’ In My Eye’ and the final minutes of The Decline made a welcome appearance. Not to mention El Hefe stealing the show with his caterpillar break dancing and newly acquired trumpet skills and new song ‘Idiot Son Of An Asshole’ going down like an experienced hooker (ie. Very well!). Performance of the weekend? It will take something special to beat it! (9)
The problem with seeing your favourite band of all time half way through the first day is that every last drop of energy is squeezed out of you. Nothing could have possibly lived up to that, looking at the rest of Fridays line up, so the rest of the day mostly consisted of wandering around in a daze. The news that REEL BIG FISH had pulled out as well was very badly received by the huge fan base that had gathered to see them on the ES stage. Add to that the snore fest that is INCUBUS (excusing ‘A Certain Shade Of Green’ that is) and the positively ridiculous on stage antics of the worlds worst chart topping band (SLIPKNOT of course) and Friday is becoming something of an anti climax saved by Fat Mike, El Hefe, Smelly and Erik and nobody else.
Luckily, THE OFFSPRING arrive on stage just as my faith in mankind is slipping away and kick off with ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’. Well, what a way to kick off a set! Unfortunately, Dexter and friends are getting on a bit, and their performance is just a little too clinical for me. ‘Bad Habit’, ‘Self Esteem’ and ‘Staring At The Sun’ all sound massive, but there just doesn’t seem to be any connection between crowd and band, despite the man, the legend, Noodles, trying his best to light the touch paper. Disappointing, but an improvement on most of the acts that day. (7)
Despite being a closet Keith Flint fan, THE PRODIGY didn’t folat my boat and the tent was visited for some much needed rest and recuperation. My plan to wander back down to watch Axl Rose and his session musicians was also sadly abandoned as I had already broke into the Fosters and my friends were adamant they wouldn’t turn up. Still, I heard they put on a great show, but I didn’t lose any sleep over the prospect of not seeing them.
SATURDAY August 24th
On paper, the most lacklustre day of the weekend. ‘Weak Indie Rock Day’, if you will. However, despite the majority of bands appealing to me about as much as sleeping in a tent next to the toilet block in the Red campsite on Sunday night, a few bands were just screaming out to be seen.
The first of these, FINCH, were on way too early. Half an hour is nowhere near enough time to experience this post hardcore monstrosity. Seemingly taking the world by storm with their ‘What It Is To Burn’ record, the tent was almost packed and the pit was suitably schizophrenic. The wonderful ‘Letters To You’ and ‘Three Simple Words’ were the highlights of the set, and the young quintet won over the whole tent with their energy and enthusiasm. A blistering start to the day. (9)
The next band to demand my attention were FENIX TX. Yet another Drive Thru/MCA backed group and yet another bone crushingly full tent. I could barely see the guys down at the front for the sheer number of heads bobbing up and down in front of me, and the sound was, even at the best of times, below par. Still, ‘Threesome’ and ‘A Song For Everyone’ put a collective smile on the faces of the baying festival goers. Unsurprisingly, they had nothing on FINCH. (6)
THE DANDY WARHOLS, despite being pretentious, hippy imbeciles, do have a number of catchy tunes in their arsenal. The biggest cheer of their set was for ‘Bohemian Like You’, of course, but for me, ‘Heroin Is So Passé’ made sitting down on the hill that bit more enjoyable. (5)
Flavour of the month and purveyors of the cookie cutter pop punk that so many bands are plagiarising these days, NEW FOUND GLORY have a lot to answer for. Luckily, what they do, they do better than everyone else. Their set is a full on bounce-athon and at least one person left the pit with a bloody nose afterwards. Not enough older numbers for my liking (although they did play ‘3rd and Down’), but the likes of ‘Dressed To Kill’, ‘Better Off Dead’ and the almost annoyingly tuneful ‘My Friends Over You’ soundtrack the pogoing with devastating effect. I’m still not convinced, but this was certainly NFG at their best. (8)
Finally, the award for craziest front man of the weekend. Casey Chaos? Lou Koller? Not a chance. Rivers Cuomo is easily the most mentally unstable of the lot, and WEEZER the most enigmatic of record bands in recent years. Unfortunately, they seem to have chosen their time on the main stage to rehearse some of their greatest hits. At least, that’s what it felt like. Seemingly detached from any kind of reality the rest of us were inhabiting, Rivers plodded his way through ‘My Name Is Jonas’, ‘Surf Wax America’, ‘Keep Fishin’ and ‘Buddy Holly’ without even approaching a sweat. The thing is, they still sounded great. Not their best performance ever, but entertaining none the less. (7)
And that was about it for Saturday. Despite being a closet STROKES fan, I really wasn’t in the mood for their thrift shop stylings and slick garage rock. Roll on Sunday!
SUNDAY August 25th
This is it. The day we’ve all been waiting for. The main stage, Evening Session and mighty Concrete Jungle were all packed to bursting with scintillating live acts and bands you never thought you’d see playing to hundreds of people in a little dingy tent in a field in Leeds.
Starting off painfully early, LIGHTYEAR were today’s openers on the Concrete Jungle Stage. JESSE JAMES had vacated the tent and the crazy HouseHold Name guys invaded the stage. A genuine stage presence is what they possess, and with the help of a few more songs as strong as ‘Blindside’, LIGHTYEAR could be huge. The old battling sticks routine went down a treat, and the day was off to a skanking start. (7)
The first of many choices as the day progressed, the sickly sweet pop punk of MIDTOWN or the electrifying, but endlessly cheesy ANDREW WK? Having seen the New Jersey quartet at least three times in recent years, I opted for the bubblegum metal of Andy, as I like to call him. Despite cries of ‘Non-Believer!’ from Paul and Mark, it was off to the main stage to see the ‘Most enthusiastic man in rock’ do his thing. Well, what a sight to behold! If crowd interaction was a science, Andrew WK would have a PhD in it! I’m not sure, but I think he spent more time off the stage than he did on it! OK, so all the songs sound identical to each other, but the hoisting of a randomly picked fan onto Mr WK’s shoulders during ‘Party Hard’ was the perfect end to the set and there wasn’t a glum face on the hill after he had vacated the stage. Bollocks to Midtown! (8)
GOLDFINGER, one of my all time favourite groups, were up next on the Evening Session, and despite a painfully short set (exactly what happened?!), the likes of ‘Superman’, ’99 Red Balloons’ and a gargantuan sing along during ‘FTN’ made every minute sacred. John Feldman was on top form as per usual, and the new band members seem to add something to the live experience, throwing ‘shapes’ and whipping the crowd into a frenzy. It’s just a shame it was so short! (8)
The Icarus Line were sacrificed for the revolutionary sounds of THURSDAY over on the Concrete Jungle Stage. A band that deserve to be heard by everybody, they did not disappoint, a fact which was proved by the amount of Thursday T Shirts on show around the festival site. ‘Cross Out The Eyes’ was the obvious highlight, but ‘Paris In Flames’ and the ‘Think it’s gonna rain rain down’ refrain sounded positively god like. They also showcased a new song which, despite the intricacies being lost in the wall of sound emanating from the speakers, sounded promising enough to say that I really can’t wait for the new record. (8)
Despite the temptation to stay in the Concrete Jungle and be serenaded by Chris Carraba, Roger and Chris were calling me from the Main Stage, and so I set off to the front of the pit. As the sun politely reared its head from its cloud covered hiding place, LESS THAN JAKE bounded onto the stage to be met with one of the warmest welcomes of the day. Some feared that the gargantuan stage would swallow the Gainesville boys, but alas, Chris’s hair could be seen for miles around and ‘Help Save The Youth Of America From Exploding’ and ‘Gainesville Rock City’ blew the ‘kids’ away. Circle pits full of exuberant, skanking youths and the weekends biggest circle pit around the sound control tower helped make an almost legendary performance from the boys go down a storm with the Leeds faithful. ‘Al’s War’ was probably heard by everybody in the entire site, and possibly the only ska band ever to grace the Carling Weekend Main Stage were gone. (9)
Melodic Hardcore was on the menu in the Concrete Jungle, as the BOUNCING SOULS appeared. Never the most talkative of live bands, the Souls still put on a great show, and despite cries of ‘Overrated!’ from Paul and Mark (wrong again guys!), ‘True Believers’ and ‘Hopeless Romantic’, as well as the majority of songs of the frankly excellent ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation’ were belted out with talent and energy in abundance. (7)
With SPUNGE next up, I decided it was a good time for a break. Returning to the site after purchasing some good old-fashioned merchandise, I was greeted with THE GET UP KIDS. My enjoyment of this memorable occasion was somewhat tarnished by the eye watering pains in my legs as the weekends excesses caught up on me. Still, struggling to stand up aside, the smooth keyboards and almost acoustic numbers had the fans singing their hearts out, with the omission of ‘Red Letter Day’ the only downside to the performance. They will never set the world on fire with their live performances, but for pure, introspective pop rock, The GUK are a hard act to follow. (7)
Being in the shadow of other bands is what FACE TO FACE are used to. Seemingly overlooked on these shores for nigh on a decade, their gravely vocals, note perfect rhythm section and downright hook laden tunes make for a band worth seeing again and again. The hidden gem in last months Distortion show, they certainly convinced a few hundred new fans of their worthy placing near the top of the bill, and with songs like ‘Bill Of Goods’ and ‘I’m Trying’ on show, they made my veggie burger and Cajun fries seem like the best meal in the world. Solid, uncompromising and massively talented, I suggest you see these whenever you get the chance. (8)
Yet another dilemma. The Swedish politi-core of The (International) Noise Conspiracy, or the gut wrenching, heartfelt emo-rock of SAVES THE DAY? Chris Conley and his face obscuring blonde mop won out in the end, and the right decision was made yet again. Despite an apparent lack of stage presence, and some swaying from the front man, most of the ‘Stay What You Are’ album, as well as old favourites like ‘Sell My Old Clothes, I’m Off To Heaven’ (despite one late comer being convinced they hadn’t played it enough to shout for its appearance half way through the set!). It was singles ‘At Your Funeral’ and ‘Freakish’ that garnered the best response, however, with nearly everybody in the tent crooning along with the chorus. A subdued, but highly accomplished and enjoyable set. (8)
And then there were two. NO USE FOR A NAME were the penultimate band of the weekend for me, and despite the old legs nearly packing in (again) and the band seemingly taking an age to appear (not to mention the mass exodus from the tent …. Jimmy Eat World and Muse probably had something to do with that), they did not disappoint. Knocking out solid punk rock nugget after solid punk rock nugget, ‘Angela’, noticeably faster versions of ‘Coming Too Close’ and ‘Invincible’ and crowd favourite ‘On The Outside’ meant that Lou Koller and friends had a tough act to follow. (8)
As much as I love Sick Of It All, my heart lies with Dave Grohl and so to the FOO FIGHTERS. Despite a distinct lack of ‘Big Me’ (unless I missed it of course …), they did not disappoint. Grohl was on fine form and kept the crowd entertained with his goofy antics while Chris Shiflett did an excellent job of backing him up on his marvellous Flying V guitar. ‘BreakOut’ and ‘Stacked Actors’ rumbled from the speakers, while the new songs hinted that his time spent with Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri has changed his outlook somewhat. Typically excellent drum work from Taylor Hawkins and the anthemic ‘Monkey Wrench’ and typically sorrowful ‘Everlong’ finished proceedings and capped an impressive performance, as well as a wonderful weekend. (8)
And then came the riots. And the fires. And the idiots, and the assholes, and the mind less numbskulls out in force. Toilets were flambéed, Portakabins were decimated and fences were razed to the ground. Not to mention the riot police with shields and batons battering an innocent girl to the ground as they stormed across Pooh Bridge. Even this didn’t stop some random couple getting it on mere yards away, however, and that single act summed up the whole weekend. Despite a mindless majority, fun was had by all and sundry, and fingers crossed, next year will happen and be even more enjoyable than 2002.
Ross
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