Leeds Festival 2008 - Friday - Metallica,Tenacious D,Feeder,Plain White T's,Alexisonfire,Mindless Self Indulgence - MSI Live Review @ Bramham Park (Leeds)

Metallica

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Live Review

Leeds festivals opening day is traditionally the best, yet it almost turned into a catastrophe with Slipknot pulling out a few days earlier and Avenged Sevenfold suffering from flu. Mindless Self Indulgence proved a complete waste of space on a bill which was forced to start late. After their new found fame from their bassist Lyn-Z's marriage to MCR singer Gerard Way, its plain to see they're nothing more than a fad. Alexisonfire really kicked off the day, launching the crowd into frenzy and bringing renewed hope to Leeds fans.

Plain White T's didn't fit in with the rest of the bill for the day, although that was no excuse for their failure to perform. Even hits such as Hate [I Really Don't Like You] & Hey There Delilah struggled to gain a response for the crowd. I never realised how popular Dropkick Murphys were until they had began their set. The band completely roused the crowd and immersed me into a sea of celtic rock fans. They gained their biggest cheer when taking a pop at Slipknot, who'd placed a blimp in the sky advertising their UK tour in spite of not appearing today.

The next disappointment of the day came when Avenged Sevenfold announced they had flu, although they managed to come out and play 20 minutes after "seeing a sea of fans" turnout for them. More likely Leeds bosses demanded it but oh well. They brought a fan on stage to sing fan favourite A Little Piece Of Heaven, who was reduced to tears at being able to sing with her heroes. Feeder turned in a solid performance a little later on, dedicating a song to Slipknot's drummer and wishing him a quick recovery. The biggest cheer was reserved for their final song Just A Day which provoked the loudest singalong of the festival so far.

Tenacious D had a huge weight of expectation surrounding their only UK performance [bar Reading & a warm up gig]. They lived up to everyone's expectations instantly. Jack Black came out dressed as a wizard whilst his band mate Kyle Gass was costumed as a lizard king. The two proceeded to fight which led to the songs Dude I Totally Miss You & Kyle Quit The Band. As the show rolled on, the two came face to face with a massive robot known as The Metal, before fighting the devil in Tribute & Beezleboss. As they ended their set, they left time for a rendition of The Who's classic Pinball Wizard, receiving a roar of appreciation from the crowd.

There was a fear Metallica might have already been outdone by Tenacious D before they'd started. Metallica are veterans of Leeds, and from word go they had the crowd in the pal of their hands. Opening with Creeping Death, they played for two hours pulling out tracks from their 25 years together. The band even had time to play two of the songs from upcoming release 'Death Magnetic', which the crowd were more than willing to hear. Fuel proved one of the songs of the whole festival. The surprise of flaming pyrotechnics appearing caught everyone by surprise, and the pyrotechnics didn't stop there either as Metallica frequently used fireworks throughout their set. Enter Sandman & Sad But True still remain firm favourites amongst their crowds, yet the band favoured older songs including Justice For All as well as One both from the 1980's. They closed with Seek And Destroy from their first album to an outstanding ovation, leaving Rage Against The Machine and The Killers tough competition to be the best headliner.

Tom Crowther