Paramore make it fun without difficulties on the second day of Leeds Festival

Leeds Festival 2014

Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th August 2014
Bramham Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS23 6ND, England MAP
£202.50 for the weekend - plus booking fee

Daily capacity: 79,999

Last updated: Thu 31st Jul 2014

On the Saturday, we arrived as Deaf Havana were setting up. Deaf Havana are an alt rock band who have previously supported You Me At Six - so we were expecting to hear similar music from them. They rocked their way through the set, creating a decent-sized crowd, especially for the time of day. We left early to see Mallory Knox in the NME tent, who played at this festival last year. Malloy Knox are another alt rock band, whose songs are all distinct and varying in styles. The crowd loved every minute of the set, which was far too short for a band of such calibre.

Twin Atlantic: Leeds Festival 2014

We stayed in the NME tent for Glaswegian band Twin Atlantic, whose newest album came out only a few days before the festival. These too had a huge crowd of fans waiting, and the tent was spilling out the sides with people. Their easy-to-listen to music and memorable tunes had the crowd roaring. Though many left after ‘Heart And Soul’, those who did stay definitely didn’t regret it.

We went to look around the site while we waited for Vampire Weekend. There were fairground attractions on site, but they seemed expensive for what they were, and the sound from them bled into the NME stage at times. The bar prices were expensive too, which was unavoidable in this setting, and seemed to take advantage of the fact that the festival was mainly filled with young people wanting to get drunk.

Vampire Weekend, an indie-baroque pop band from New York, would certainly be fit for headlining next year. Despite the rain, the mob of people in front of the Main Stage was high in spirits. They kicked off the set with ‘White Sky”, a sing-along classic, just as the rain started to die away. Clad in a grey tracksuit, frontman Ezra Koenig didn’t have to rely on Elvis impersonations or toilet humour to win over the crowd. “I just love him,” someone in front of me said. “I really love him.” ‘A-punk’ managed to unite the crowd despite the mud, and it’s clear that Vampire Weekend were set on stealing the weekend.

Queens of the Stone Age: Leeds Festival 2014

After headlining Reading, Queens of the Stone Age played the second-highest spot at Leeds. They opened with 'You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire', and the huge crowd was already enchanted. They played ‘No One Knows,” an obvious crowd-pleaser, and finished with ‘A Song For The Dead’, which featured an added drum solo.

Paramore’s set opened in their trademark energetic fashion with streamers exploding onto the stage and front woman Hayley Williams’ bright blue hair. They played some of their greatest hits, and referenced the technical difficulties they faced at Reading - “Well, we're going to do it the proper way now.” As they usually do, the band brought up a fan - Ellie - to sing along to the bridge of ‘Misery Business’. Williams also brought up her sister, Erica, during the final song ‘Ain’t It Fun’, which ended the night in a typically cheerful way.

Paramore: Leeds Festival 2014