Reading and Leeds 2015: Favorites of the weekend

I know that I haven't posted in a while, however that is because I have been waiting for this weekend. Another festival has come around, and this time it's the turn of Reading and Leeds! I know before that I have done three different festival posts (one for each day) but I'm not going to do that this time. I'm still going to do three posts but this time I'm splitting the weekend into headliners, new bands, and this post favorites of the week. I hope you enjoy and here we go....

So this is the turn of my favourites of the weekend, but to be honest a lot of them I have talked about before in other blog posts so sorry if I repeat myself (which I know I do!)

Twin Atlantic:

I thought I would start off with old faithful, Ol Twin Atlantic. They never really fail at a festival and they never go a miss. I would probably name them as one of the bests as every time I have watched them at a festival they have always had a massive crowd (except Glastonbury but the poor things were on at the same time as Lionel so that wasn’t very fair at all!) and they always play with everything they have. Their set is probably one of the bests as well because they have the perfect mixture of upbeat and jumpy songs that you can lose yourself to, but they also have these amazing tender moments where it shows how much they really appreciate the crowd and the fans and what they have as a band. They are just amazing, and can really work a crowd, and know how to perform. Nowadays not many people actually perform; standing playing instruments is not performing darling, but they have the whole rock&roll running about the stage, being interactive with each other as well as the crowd, and just being energetic. If that’s not enough to make you go and watch them then this will… they are Scottish (10/10 for accent and bonus points for no loss of accent when singing), and to top it all off they are all EXTREMELY attractive males!

Slaves:

Again a festival favourite. This is the first year I have watched Slaves properly and I am so glad I did. Every single time I’ve watched this year they are nothing less than punk. They embody that era to an absolute T. Considering they are just two men they make one hell of a noise, and the noise they make is glorious. I wouldn’t say I was a massive fan of punk per say, I mean I like the classics (God Save The Queen and the likes) but I can’t say I’ve really liked a punk band as much as I like Slaves. I just adore them. And of course they play the classics- Where’s your car Debbie, Cheer up London, and a personal favourite Feed the Mantaray. Their songs are just so funny yet amazing, and I would say they are one of the best bands to of emerged in 2015. Thank god punk is back.

Catfish and the Bottlemen:

By now everyone probably knows I am a sucker for Catfish. I absolutely adore their music, their style, and of course their looks. But more importantly their music. I am a complete lover of proper bands, playing instruments, being energetic, and loving what they do, and Catfish embody all of that. Considering for the whole performance frontman Van McCann’s phrases included ‘we’ve been waiting so long for this’ and ‘we are so fucking grateful’, I would say they are pretty fucking pleased with performing at Reading and Leeds, and aren’t taking anything for granted. I have the same feelings for Catfish as I do for Twin to be honest. They are a well grown band who have tunes that are catchy and great to go crazy to, they play their own instruments, and write their own music, so what’s more the love? I think they were probably the most grateful to be there of all of the acts that were there this year, and it makes me so proud to see them filling the tent (with security being on high alert) considering they were just named best newcomers at the BBC music award 2014. I cannot wait to see them in November, and can already tell that they will make it into my top 3 live performances of all time, because I know they will perform nothing less than perfect indie rock.

Royal Blood:

My final choice for my weekend favourites is Royal Blood. Like Slaves they are just two men, but fuck me can they make one hell of a beautiful noise. They are the perfect band to be playing at Reading because they just capture the essence of rock&roll music in every performance they do. They are probably one of the heaviest bands that I like but even still I wouldn’t call them ‘heavy rock’, so if you aren’t into that kind of thing I would still highly recommend them. They are another band that just seem to be incredible live. Songs are good for jumping to (and moshing so beware) and you can tell that everyone loves them by the constant chants of ‘royal blood’ by the crowd. I am so happy that Zane Lowe would play them at the beginning of every show when he was on radio 1 because without him I probably would never have heard of them, and that would have been a massive dent in my musical knowledge. The Brighton duo will seriously change your perception of rock music totally and will make you adore the heavy drums and guitar sound. On that note (music pun lol) I can’t not mention Ben Thatcher’s unbelievable drumming skills; seriously that boy can drum for days without stopping! I don’t think I have ever heard drum solos quite as meticulous and overwhelming as his, they are seriously amazing and worth listening to the band just for them! Also if it’s just looking for a hot new band member to fawn over Mike Kerr (the guitarist) is looking very attractive nowadays (although he did say he shit himself onstage). But seriously this duo is one to listen to because they will blow your little musical minds once you’ve heard them.

So there you have my top favourites from Reading and Leeds 2015. I hope you liked it, and really hope you give some of these acts a listen if you haven’t already because they are seriously worth a listen.

You can find all of the performances from the weekend as well as full sets on http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p030lcl5

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