Leeds Festival - Part One (2/6) By Joe Hakim Photos By Stuart Mountain and Mak

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

You enter the site through a small valley, and as we looked around, it quickly became apparent that the place was completely packed already. I collapsed in a heap on the floor while a couple of my mates went on a reconnaissance mission. We briefly considered setting our tents up right there at the bottom of the valley, but we figured it would be a bad idea for two reasons: Firstly, the rain. If it chucked it down, all the water would roll down the hill and completely water-log us.

Secondly, there was the fact that all the fuck-heads would be walking back that way on a night, and I didn't fancy waking up to the sound of someone pissing against the side of my tent.

Eventually we found a space in the Red area of the campsite. After slinging our tents up, we chilled for a bit and continued to drink. It was a lovely clear day, not a rain cloud in sight, so I allowed myself to be cautiously optimistic about the weather for the weekend. After a couple of hours, we decided to walk down to the main area to check it out. The stalls were already open, flogging camping equipment, t-shirts, bongs and various other items.

There was a small supermarket, cash machines, fast-food vans, a BMX ramp and a little football pitch. I strolled along, enjoying the relative calm.

All the different tribes were out in force; the indie kids, the emo kids, the ravers and the nutters. It was still early, and although people were getting smashed already, there was no hint of malice or aggression. We made our way over to the wristband exchange and swapped our tickets. We were now officially at Leeds festival. We went back to the tents and had a quick game of football. The arena opened at around tea-time, so I grabbed myself a jacket spud in attempted to line my stomach with something. Unlike the people I had come with, I had neglected to pack any of my own food, so I would have to throw myself at the mercy of the food vans for the weekend.

After we got to the arena we had a walk about. As well as all the different music tents, there was a Ferris wheel and a set of dodgems. Without any bands playing, the whole place had a kind of Hull Fair atmosphere to it. Only the cabaret tent was open, so we decided to go and have a look. A metal band called Sikth were playing, a scream-a-long thrash band with two lead singers. One took care of the high-pitched AAARRRGGGHHH stuff, the other handled the low-pitched UUURRRGGGHHH duties. They played extended eight minute dirges of increasing ferocity.

At one point they played this song with a weird fret-tapping section that sounded like a kind of heavy metal Riverdance; Michael Flatley meets Marilyn Manson. I got a headache after a while and I felt totally fucked, so I made my way back to my tent, had a joint and went to sleep.

Continued..... Next Page (3/6).

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