Leeds Festival 2016... Day Two!!!

Saturday and day two of the festival, again we had a few bands we were gonna try and catch early on but as usual we were behind schedule. Festival make up sure does take longer than my usual make up routine. I went for a floral/glitter face tattoo that I cut to size so I could put it on both sides of my face, I added some stick on gems inbetween the gaps to add some extra sparkle. I also wore a bindi and an assortment of glitters under and on my eyes and glittery lips. I went all out with the sparkle for this festival and wore sparkly outfits everyday. I wore a zigzag sparkly rainbow dress with beaded neck detail. Again wellies were a must as the mud was still awful, my sequin bumbag and pompom headband. I wore my fab tinsel earrings that matched the dress perfectly and a chain/feather clip in piece in my hair.

Dress - Glamorous @ Asos

Pompom headband - Primark

Wellies - Topshop

Bumbag - Skinnydip London

Chain/feather clip in - New Look

Tinsel earrings - Topshop

Glitter - Ebay

Face tattoo - Claire's Accessories

Bindi - A stall at the festival 

We spotted a Festicket photo booth on our way to the main stage and it was free, winner! We love a good photo booth and they had props you could use, we could all print a copy and you could share to social media or email it as a picture or a gif, I did email it but it didn't actually come through for this one. But we do still have a great physical snap to keep!

The first band we actually managed to see were 'Lower Than Atlantis' on the main stage. They're a band I really love so I was really looking forward to seeing them, they played a great set although it was all tracks from their most recent album apart from new track 'Work for it'. It would of been nice to hear some older tracks but it is hard to squeeze everything into a half hour set. They were all great singalong tracks so perfect for a festival set. I'm really looking forward to their upcoming new album and I'm hoping to catch them on tour early next year too. 

We then headed down to the new little area of the festival to the Jack rocks tent to watch 'The Jackobins'. I've tried to see them a few times this year but have never managed due to clashes etc, so it was great to finally get to see them. They did a great set and had a great energy jumping around the stage, even though there was a only a small crowd they were really enthusiastic and kept the crowd engaged. 

Due to Fetty wap cancelling the stage times changed and left us floating about for a bit so we ended up catching the end of 'Die Antwoord' on the main stage. They really are an odd group and I'm not sure I really get them, but I guess I've never really given myself a chance to get into them, but they were fascinating to watch and I kind of wish I'd seen a bit more to see what they're all about. After that were grime collective 'Boy Better Know' I've never really been massively into them as its not really my scene, but I do know some tracks by Skepta and Jme so thought I'd maybe know some of the songs. Surprisingly I knew more than I thought and we all actually really enjoyed the set. It was definitely one of the biggest crowds of the weekend and everyone was jumping around going crazy especially to skepta tracks 'That's not me' and 'Shutdown' and Solo 45's 'Feed em to the lions'. Wiley came out for a track too, it was surprising to see him as he's cancelled everytime I've ever been at anything he's supposed to be at. It was surprisingly a highlight and I guess what festivals are all about and it goes to show you could enjoy someone you'd never have usually gone to see. So it is good to step outside your comfort zone sometimes and try something new. 

We did have to leave just before the end of 'BBK' to watch 'The Sherlocks' at the festival republic stage. They're a band I've seen a lot of times this year and really like. They're a proper indie jump around band and always have a feel good vibe. As soon as they started the crowd went off and there were coloured smoke bombs/flares all over the tent, which actually looked quite pretty when all the colours were in the air. It was a great set as usual, I just wish they would hurry up and release an album already!!

The heavens opened again so we had to run across to the pit for 'Hacktivist'. They're a band we saw earlier in the years at 2Q festival, another band we accidentally saw and loved, so I was looking forward to seeing them again as I have listened to their album a lot since then and really like it. The tent was absolutely rammed and we could barely get in so it was hard to see, but they played a great set and the crowd went pretty wild. 

We then headed over to the main stage to catch the last bit of 'Chrvches'. I wish we could've seen more as I really like them, but clashes ruined our life and to be honest the weather did keep us in the tents for as long as possible. We did manage to catch a few tracks though which sounded great live and singer Lauren looked great in a tulle skirt, leather jacket and Dr Martens.

We then headed to the dance stage for 'Alunageorge' which was also packed, I'm not sure if that was due to the weather or popularity. I really like them and haven't seen them for a couple of years so was looking forward to seeing them. I was a little disappointed as they seemed to play alot of new songs and slower tracks which wasn't really the vibe we were after when we were soaking wet and needed a energy lift. They still sounded great but it just wasn't the right setlist for a festival, especially one with a very wet and miserable crowd. 

We did have to leave partway through the set and the rain was not giving up so we had to endure joint headliners 'Foals' set in constant heavy rain. I was meant to see them earlier in the year at Rock am ring but as that didn't happened due to it being cancelled I was really eager to see them again. We got pretty close to the front but at the side of the stage and even though the weather was terrible they still had a huge crowd. The setlist was great with a good mix of old and new and their energy was on top form. Yannis is a great frontman and really owns the stage getting into the crowd several times during the set. I think I must've been the wettest I've been at a festival in a very long time but I still enjoyed the set and we managed to keep our spirits up singing along and dancing. 

I was really glad the way the joint headliners played as it meant I got to see the pit headliners 'Asking Alexandria' aswell. I would've liked to have seen 'Disclosure' but I've seen them a few times so didn't mind missing them. I was a little dubious about seeing 'Asking Alexandria' live with new singer Denis as I was so gutted when Danny left. But I do love the new album and as Danny couldn't sing/scream some of the older tracks like he used to due to a vocal injury, I thought maybe Denis would be able to do them justice, especially as his old bands had often been compared to 'AA'. They came on with 'I won't give in' from new album 'The Black' which sounded great live. Followed by a mix of older and new tracks, I was really pleasantly surprised by Denis, he sounded great on all of the tracks and although I thought it would be weird him singing the older songs it really wasn't, he's a great frontman and it does really work. Unfortunately Ben wasn't there as he had just had a baby, it was a shame he wasn't there but they still sounded great and I really enjoyed the set, and it gave us time to dry off a bit in the tent which was much needed. 

We went over to the alternative stage where electronic duo 'Honne' were playing, I'd never actually heard of them before but I actually knew quite a few of their songs from coming on the playlist at work. They had a live band and have a chilled out soulful vibe which was really to nice to wind down to. After hours of constant rain and being soaked from head to toe we decided to head back for the night and get some rest, I think we're getting too old to party till the early hours at a festival!!

Leeds Festival 2016.... Day One!!!!

Last weekend it was time for one of my fave events of the year and a yearly traditional for me, Leeds Festival! I don't know where the year has gone it's flew by so fast and Leeds officially marks the end of summer/festival season for me. Alice and I didn't have our usual festival squad this year but we did have a new recruit with our blogger pal Rachel camping with us. The weather was awful on Thursday as it usually is for arrival so it was a bit of a write off, so we sat in the tent and chilled and made our tent all pretty. We did venture out for a couple of hours in the evening to watch 'Blood Red Shoes' but as the constant downpour wasn't giving up we called it a night and got some sleep ready for the first proper day!

Friday and officially day one of the festival, and a busy one it was. For day one I went for a Motel Rocks rainbow sequin dress, the mud was awful as soon as we got there so I had to stay in my wellies all weekend. I wore a sequin bumbag which actually looks camouflaged against the dress so you can't really see it, and a Rainbow backpack. I wore a pink pompom headband and lots of glitter with my make up look, with rainbow eyes/glitter and a stick on headpiece/bindi and glittery lips. Finished off with a pink tattoo choker and the best long glittery tinsel earrings Alice picked up for me, which I think are my fave earrings ever!!

Sequin dress - Motel Rocks

Wellies - Topshop

Sequin bumbag - Skinnydip London

Rainbow Backpack - Aliexpress

Rainbow sunglasses - Primark

Pompom headband - Primark

Tattoo choker - Claire's accessories 

Tinsel earrings - Topshop

Glitter - Ebay

Stick on headpiece/bindi - Ebay

As with most festivals there's always loads of clashes but Leeds always has the most as there's always so many great bands on the line up. As usual we were later than planned but managed to get down to the arena in time for 'Spring King'. I saw them earlier in the year and loved them and they were just as good here, with a big crowd to say it was a pretty early start. They were so buzzing with the crowds reaction and it was really nice to hear the excitement in their voices and to see how grateful they were for the support. After that I had to decide between 'Deaf Havana' and 'Sleeping with sirens' I absolutely love both bands so it was a toughie but I decided to go with 'sws' as I'm hoping 'Deaf Havana' will tour soon as they have new music on the way. They played a lively set with lots of my fave tracks, lead singer Kellin did apologise early on and say his voice was pretty much gone, but they still sounded great. Obviously due to the tone of his voice and the high notes in most songs you could see he was struggling but they still put on a great show and I enjoyed it regardless, good on him for still coming out and putting on the best show he could do. 

After that we headed over to the nme stage to watch 'Tonight Alive' I've liked them for ages but I'm not so keen on their newest album, I was hoping they'd play a lot of older tracks and although they did play a few most of the set was new songs. So we just sat outside the tent and chilled and watched from there. We then headed over to the main stage for 'A$ap Rocky' to then see 10 minutes after he was supposed to be on that he'd had to cancel, we was really disappointed as we'd really been looking forward to seeing him. So we rushed over to catch 'Raleigh Ritchie' I've liked him for a while now but never managed to catch him live. He had a packed out tent and sounded great, with a great energy jumping around and getting the crowd to join in. It was really good to finally get to see him live.

There was alot of overlapping so it was a case of running from stage to stage to try and catch as much as we could of each set. So we ran over to catch the rest of 'Rat Boy' I've seen him a few times now and his energy is always amazing and the crowd goes wild. He also had some kind of mascot dancing around on stage and in the pit in the form of a man in a boiler suit and a scary mask.

Then we watched 'Clean cut kid' another band I saw earlier in the year and was really impressed with. They look like a group of misfits but their unique sound really works and I can't wait for them to release more music. Then it was over to the main stage for 'The Vaccines' we stayed a bit further out and had a sit down, but still really enjoyed the set. Lead singer Justin's facial expressions always make me laugh he's so animated, but they always do a great set and ended with crowd faves to get everyone singing along.

We were planning on seeing Dma's but it took so long to try and get some food before that we ended up missing them, it did mean we ended up seeing all of joint headliners 'Fall out Boy's set. I'm kinda glad it worked out that way as they played alot of their best tracks at the start of the set. They had dancers on stage eating fire and spinning on circus type hoops and fireworks throughout which was quite a rarity for a Leeds set. We really enjoyed it, and it was so much better than I expected it to be, they played all the faves so it was a definite crowd pleasing set. There was also a gorgeous sunset which added a great backdrop for a lot of the set. 

There were a few bands playing that we could have ran over to catch but we wanted to get a good spot for our band of the weekend 'Biffy Clyro' so we decided to stay at the main stage and just wait. We were so excited to see them after going to Rock am ring to see them ealrier in the year then it being cancelled before they got to play. So it was very highly anticipated, and as their new album has been out for a bit now I was looking forward to hearing the new tracks live. They made a grand entrance with alot of dramatic music before bursting into 'Living is a problem because eveything dies', they followed with lots of classic tracks and singles such as 'The captain', 'who's got a match', 'That Golden rule' to name a few, aswell as a couple of older tracks and they actually played about six or seven songs from the new album. It was more than I expected them to play at a festival set but they sounded fantastic and were received as well as the older tracks. Simon Neil was looking as beautiful as ever with his luscious locks, that guy sure does have good hair! They ended the set with 'stingin belle' and lots of fireworks, it was a great set and I was so happy to finally see them again after their break. I have booked tickets for there tour in December and I really can't wait to see them again already!

The only disappointing thing was Biffy completely clashed with another of my favourite bands 'The 1975' so unfortunately I missed their set, but I guess that's festivals for you! We then headed over to the alternative stage as Thomas Turgoose aka Shaun from This is England was doing a dj set for propaganda. He was absolutely hilarious and kept saying he didn't have a clue what he was doing and had clearly been enjoying the festival all day before the set, as he was rather worse for wear. He played banger after banger though and had the crowd going with classic indie tracks. It was a fun way to end the night before we headed back for some well needed rest.