How others Rose above it
THAT ego with a voice Axl Rose may have grabbed many of the headlines with his outbursts against promoters that paid him handsomely to headline Leeds festival - but so many more deserved the ink.
The Guns N' Roses singer – looking more like a fake-tanned Jeremy Beadle these days - protested at an 'early' end to his band's set, already two hours old by 11.30pm.
Typically Rose arrived late, then vanished more times than Diana Ross for costume changes - presumably to complement perma-white teeth visible from the pizza stands, if not space.
The blindly loyal cheered his parting rant, but there were bigger cheers and a fuller crowd for Lostprophets and the bare-chested tattoo-athon of Biffy Clyro two slots earlier.
Intense frontman Simon Neil's only annoyance was at a feedback-prone monitor, duly sent crashing into the pit.
With other main stage headliners Arcade Fire and Blink-182 also experiencing a mixed reception in their heady roles, for many of us it removed a clash from a busy weekend in which the smaller stages often shone brightest, rising stars such as the sublime Two Door Cinema Club and feisty fellow country men General Fiasco (Leadmill, Oct 17) tangibly converting the curious.
The NME tent had no chance of holding everyone for bands du jour Mumford & Sons and The Drums; a near nuclear Enter Shikari, the inimitable We Are Scientists and the immense Foals and Klaxons pulled about as many without the hype following America's latest Strokes descendants.
Early sets from Sheffield's Rolo Tomassi and The Crookes didn't go un-noticed even with the likes of The Walkmen, Futureheads, Mystery Jets and Gaslight Anthem activating Friday's main stage.
Gallows played way down the pecking order under the guise of The Rats but with the same zeal as Ash, who proved our pick of first night headliners, rightly cramming the Festival Republic marquee.
As fans wrestled with costumes ranging from bananas to hot dogs Weezer's Rivers Cuomo was arguably the most interactive with the masses, giving security a headache when he left the stage area completely for the crowd out front.
While Paramore demonstrated why they're one of the world's biggest live draws right now, tour buddies You Me At Six waved the flag for English acts ahead of their autumn date with Donny Dome.
Elsewhere the equine theme was strong as kids swayed in rubber horse masks to the likes of New Young Pony Club, Foals, Band Of Horses and local heroes Pulled Apart By Horses, the animal flavour continuing through Freelance Whales, Modest Mouse, Cancer Bats, Wild Beasts, Tame Impala, Caribou, Avi Buffalo and Minus The Bear.
While Blink's reformation set may have courted the hordes, the return of a brutally stunning Queens Of The Stone Age and a loved-up Libertines after six years had more effect on some, as did that cheeky party rascal Dizzee.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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