Despite the noticeable absence of Glastonbury, the 2006 summer calendar was jam-packed with music festivals. The Reading and Leeds Carling weekend had perhaps the biggest main stage line-up of the year, with Pearl Jam, Franz Ferdinand and Muse all headlining, the weekend featured some of the most significant bands around. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel that the main stage was predominantly full of over hyped bands with a few good songs and many more songs which all sound the same. These bands are good and their live shows spectacular, but their music is neither revolutionary or new. However, the NME/Radio one stage and the Carling stage hosted less well known, emerging acts, some of which were mediocre, others truly terrible, but a handful absolutely blew me away.
On Friday, I was disappointed by Tapes ‘n’ Tapes, they have a great album but as Jess said, their live set was simply ‘passable’. I was also let down by Forward Russia, I had heard great things about them but quite frankly the security guards were more entertaining.
It was not until the Dresden Dolls took the stage that the festival truly started to come alive for me. Described by some as a theatrical rock or punk cabaret, the Dresden Dolls are almost impossible to explain. The duo are a true musical delight, creating their own unique brand of unclassifiable rock. Drummer Brian Viglione, complete with; bowler hat, red lips and a white face looks perfect alongside singer and pianist Amanda Palmer, in her black and white striped stockings and signature black tshirt. Between them, the pair possess the theatrical qualities of mime artists as they combine their movements with their music to create a distinctive art form, setting them apart from pretty much every music act I’ve ever seen. They left me disorientated and desperately wanting so much more.
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As the Dresden Dolls came to an end we headed straight for the Semifinalist, a London based band consisting of two Americans and an Indonesian. Having initially met at film school, the bands’ sets are usually synchronised with colourful and energetic animation. However this was not to be the case in Leeds but while I did find myself missing this creative addition to their music, their dreamy pop songs alone are enough to make everyone believe they are destined to become the next Flaming Lips.
After a few beers we headed back to the Carling stage for The Research. I seriously thought this band were from some weird backward American town when I heard the lead singer talk. Having said that, I’d probably had one too many watered down pints because it shockingly turned out that they’re from Wakefield! I’m not sure what I liked about them, musically they weren’t amazing but their cheerful pop reminded me slightly of the shins, perfect summer listening.
Friday evening drew to a close on the NME stage with The Rakes followed by Maximo Park. The former were uninspiring but latter were simply superb, not the most original band around, but they cram enough energy and personality into their performance to make the crowd go wild.
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