A Big Rambunctious Party: Live At Leeds In The City

We all have days of the year that we look forward to: birthdays, Christmas, the start of the football season, summer holidays, etc. For me, one of the favourites is the annual Live at Leeds In the City festival. One day, around 150 bands played in numerous venues across the city. You get your wristband, then can go to any venue to watch any band you want (as long as there is room at that venue, of course). Herein lies the challenge: do you adopt a military approach to planning your day or take a more laissez-faire approach? Do you stick in certain venues, go for a lucky dip approach, see bands you know or ones you don’t?

That’s the great thing though; start somewhere and see what you feel like seeing.

The atmosphere is always good, like a big rambunctious party is rolling around Leeds as people excitedly collect their wristbands and then tumble off to catch their first band. The focus of the day is essentially new music, so although there are a few bands I know and definitely some big hitters like Leeds’ own English Teacher, I decided that I wanted to fill my day with bands that were all new to me. There is an app that enables you to create a personal itinerary for the day, which I use as a sort of rough guide. If I’m in a certain area at a certain time, who do I want to see? However, my experience has taught me that any plans I make tend to spiral out of control. That’s the great thing though; start somewhere and see what you feel like seeing.

‹›

• Freak Slug
• Joshua Epithet
• The Pill
• GANS
• Slate

I started this year at Sandinista Bar, where first up at midday Joshua Epithet kicked things off with lively and enjoyable electro storytelling, and, deciding to stay where I was, The Pill brought some serious noise, riffs, and fun to an already sweaty crowd. One of the early highlights was a song about a lad that had clearly done the girls wrong who had a mullet, sung at a lad in the crowd with a mullet. Amusement all around. Each band or artist gets 30 minutes, and there is 30 minutes between sets, so I took myself off to The Key Club for some more guaranteed noise. I’d already had a notification on the app that it was one in one out there, so clearly there was a band on that were much fancied (Soft Launch as it happens). I was struck by the youth of the crowd surging out after they played, plenty of chaperones ushering excited, sweaty teens onto their next venue.

...they carved some brilliant rhythms together with an intensity that belied the minimal set up. They were great showmen...

After catching Alien Chicks’ staccato post punk, it was off up to the Brudenell for Slate, who delivered a lyrically poetic gothy-influenced set that was thrilling. Back in town, I found myself back in The Key Club for GANS, who were definitely my standout band of the day. Just a drummer and bass player, and yet they carved some brilliant rhythms together with an intensity that belied the minimal set up. They were great showmen as well, with the drummer taking a turn in the crowd at one point, which you don’t see very often. They finished their set with a furiously brilliant cover of The Ace of Spades—definitely a band to see again for me.

After the intensity of GANS, I took things down a bit and enjoyed catching Freak Slug in The Wardrobe before firing things up again with the ferocious fervour of Fuzz Lightyear at The Belgrave and the feminist punk of Helle at Beckett Theatre. As you move through the day and into the night, there is no doubt that you need to pace yourself as you start to become jaded, but being an old hand at this and knowing when you have had your fill and it might be time to call it a day is a key skill.

The mix in the bands and the people watching was a real highlight of the day for me. Recently, I've been wondering if the music scene is still healthy, given the struggles venues are facing, the poor economic returns from streaming, and the rising cost of living. On the basis of what I experienced at Live at Leeds, both in terms of the variety of bands and audiences, there are plenty of great things happening and lots to be hopeful about.