Saturday 25/08/07 Day Two @ Leeds Festival, Bramham Park, West Yorkshire

Each morning at Leeds is getting later and later. Bad news for the bands hitting the arenas early as the majority of the campsite residents are still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. While some are still stamping out the remains of last nights fire and dealing with sunstroke and the shakes from their shenanigans, The Pipettes are bringing a much-needed feminine touch to the main stage. Favourites for the annual Leeds piss pelting after ‘Pull Shapes’ was booed in the previous night’s Silent Disco, they escape unscathed – probably because the troublesome lot are too busy throwing plastic onto BBQs whilst necking cans round their tents. But The Pipettes are using their half hour stage time to try their best to get us in the polka-dot party spirit, with the prime receptors being girls and gay men.

We decide to skip the next one out. The Primark of the Sheffield scene, Little Man Tate, are pumping some testosterone into proceedings with their tales of house parties and tired tales of ‘being lads’. so we sit tight in the baking sun (yes, still no rain!) until that female touch returns when The Long Blondes step up. However, a few songs into their performance, people are running from the Main Stage. They’re not that bad, we thought they were doing well. Unluckily for the Sheffield five, those pesky Kaiser Chiefs have pitched up at the Carling arena under the guise of Hooks For Hands and the first few chords of their over-familiar jaunts have the crowds running. We wonder what the point is, having only been booked for a Leeds set, why the band have decided to be so selective in their audience if the object of their surprise was probably to give something special to their home fans. Surely rocking up on the Main Stage earlier this morning would have given everyone a chance to get involved. 

It’s all about the Main Stage today, with indie favourites Gossip, Maximo Park, Kings of Leon and Razorlight. Anyone who has bought a charted album in the past year will be occupying a patch of grass in front within the central arena. Gogol Bordello bring a gypsy punk interlude to the guitars as frontman Eugene Hutz charms us with his spectacular moustache and shouty lyrics no one can understand. The Gossip follow, with Beth Ditto on fine form. Ever the controversial mamma, Ditto points out the Confederate flag. “I don’t get it!” she squeals after a jaw-dropping cover of Aliyah’s ‘Are You That Somebody’. Towards the end of the set, she breathlessly launches into the first few lines of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. It’s a half-hearted effort and doesn’t really take off – it just has everyone looking at each other in confusion. Thankfully, things get back on top with ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’, which – as expected – sends everyone into fits of excitement, bringing back memories of ‘Skins’ style raves and gears everyone up for what’s to come.

We’re intrigued to why Jimmy Eat World is occupying a slot on the Main Stage as well as a headlining the Radio One Lock Up Stage later that night. This isn’t Glastonbury! Surely they could have found an extra act to put in there, even Hard-Fi would have done. But they’re not doing too badly as Main Stagers, with most people realising they know more JEW tunes than they originally thought.