The Leeds Festival Diary - 25th to 28th August 05 (4/8) By Andy Knudsen Photographs Em Alexander, Steve Clappison and Sam Saunders

(1/8), (2/8), (3/8), (4/8), (5/8), (6/8), (7/8), (8/8).

Catching a sniff of Alkaline Trio, we head back to our campsite where I am informed that Maximo Park will shortly be performing an acoustic set. Sure enough, after a while the singer and guitarist cruise up in a funny little buggy and are dropped off with the film crew beside our tents. They run through what I understand to be the first song from their album, as a ferocious wind carries a tent through the air and sends it crashing into the perimeter fence. After the performance, Martin heads over to say hello.

"Hello" he stumbles, "would you like a beer?" "No thanks mate," replies the singer, Paul Smith, "it'd be the death of me." Martin laughs cordially and Paul smiles with genteel charm. Apparently lost for something to say, Martin then turns and points to his tent. "That's my tent" he informs the Paul. Paul smiles politely, but can't help conveying the slightest hint of 'what the fuck are you on about?' Within a minute, Martin is roaring with laughter at the stupidity of his declaration, and I am too.

I return to the arena to catch NOFX, one of my favourite bands from my youth. They're absolute genius, both musically and comically and totally worth seeing. I head back stage and peripherally watch Iggy and The Stooges. Iggy seems on good form but he insists on calling everyone in the audience "little turds" and I sort of resent that. Then I head back out to the arena to catch a spot of Incubus, another of my favourite bands. I read that they had claimed to be rusty, having come to the Festival straight from some beach in California.

It's obviously a lie though because they're so tight it's unbelievable and they real off hits like some intense musical production line. Marilyn Manson lanks onto the stage as night creeps in. Their elaborate stage show and storming greatest hits set are gone too quickly and I want more. We wander over to where The Futureheads are playing and catch a few songs from afar. The tent is absolutely rammed and we have no hope of getting in.

I'm not crazy about them anyway so we head back to the main stage for a taste of Iron Maiden.

Bright lights and pyrotechnics signal their arrival and it all seems very impressive. I'm standing there seeing the sights and hearing the sounds, but none of it is making any sense to me. Bruce Dickinson runs around the stage with youthful exuberance unnatural in a man of his years, shouting things in a broad cockney accent and unleashing his howling soprano, and I'm just standing there smiling gormlessly into the bracing air.

After three or four songs I tire of this insane rock pantomime and head to where Bloc Party are playing. Em and I make our way into the tent before it gets too full, but still find ourselves miles from the stage. These guys are popular. We stay until Bloc Party unleash a monster fast rendition of Banquet and then head out of the tent.

Continued... next page

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Photographs courtesy and Copyright © Em Alexander 2005 Em's Gallery 1, Em's Gallery 2.

Photographs courtesy and Copyright © Steve Clappison 2005 at (www.tallorders.org)

Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Adventures of Loki,	65 Days of Static,	Bam Bam Franks,
Cardboard Radio,	Ali Whitton,	Harrisons,
Circlesound,	Cardboard Cowboy ,	Lyca Sleep,
Deserves to Die.	Censored.	Sunday People.
Future Ex Wife,	Chicken Legs Weaver,	Mr Mojo.
Last Days of Vengeance.	Fifty-Nine Violets.	Mr Shiraz.
Friday People.	I Like Trains.	New Minds Eye.
Oh Farcas.	Saturday People.	Sunshine Underground.
Paris Man.	The Kiks.	The Favours.
Pilla.	Western Suburbs.	The Last People On Earth.
This Et Al.	Your Vegas.	Turismo.
Xenith Sound.		Voltage Union.

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