Leeds: Saturday...

Day two of my foray in to the world of the music festival begins with another arduous bus journey, before Broadway Calls kick things off on the NME/Radio1 Stage. This is the first time this weekend that I've been inside this tent and it seems strange that a band of Broadway Calls' size and playing here. To me they'd have been better suited to playing high up on the Lock Up Stage the previous day, but despite the 12pm start time and the fact the tent is pretty empty when they first take to the stage, they launch into their own brand of pop-punk with vigour and by the end of the set the tent is probably about three quarters full, which is pretty good going for one this size. I only picked up their new record a couple of days before the festival so the songs that they play from that record aren't too familiar to me as yet, but they all sound catchy as hell, which is exactly what I'd expect from Broadway Calls. Another band this weekend who personify summer in musical form for me.

After Broadway Calls, there's a bit of a gap until Frank Turner who's also playing the Radio 1 stage so we all get food, hang out and take full advantage of the fact that we have access to proper toilets in the guest area, rather than the cesspits that are the chemical portaloos in the arena. Seriously, when I imagine hell on earth, it's located within one of these claustrophobic, foul-stenched plastic boxes. I used one within the first five minutes of Friday morning and even then it smelt horrible. I honestly shudder to think what they must have been like by Sunday evening.

Anyway, I ended up watching Frank Turner by myself as no-one I was with really likes him. That was fine by me though as I really enjoy Frank's take on the Billy Bragg esque folk-punk sound. It may not be the most original or incendiary music played this weekend; but he writes witty, intelligent lyrics and fits them to catchy, foot-tapping melodies that result in pretty much the entire tent singing along to every word. Plus, the end of 'The Ballad of Me and My Friends' gives me goosebumps when the crowd sings it today, and any music that does that is pretty good in my book.

Brand New are the next band I watch on the main stage and to be honest, I'm bored throughout. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Brand New and was really looking forward to seeing them today and it's not as if they play badly; there's just no atmosphere. The set-list is pretty good for a festival even if they don't play a few of my favourites, but the crowd is so non-plussed and the sound gets so lost in the windy afternoon air, that I'm left feeling utterly underwhelmed and pretty bummed out. Especially as I had to miss them at the London Forum in June and Apryl keeps reminding me how incredible they were then!

We spend some time chilling out again after this let-down before heading over to the Radio 1 stage for the third time today for the "tri-force" that is The Gaslight Anthem, Gallows and AFI.

I love Gaslight Anthem. There's no two ways about it, they are seriously one of my favourite bands of all time. No joke. I was lucky enough to get to tour with them back in February and it was incredible getting to watch the every night. Today is the first time I've seen them since then and they're on exceptional form. From what I'd read recently, I was expecting them to stick to songs from recent hit album, The '59 Sound, but they also throw in some older stuff including the brilliant 'Angry Johnny and the Radio', one of my favourite Gaslight songs and one that I never thought I'd get to hear live. Brian's onstage chat is as ridiculous as ever, but he seems genuinely touched that this many people are singing his words back to him, an impressive sight especially as the year before the played the Lock Up stage half-way through the day. Truly a band for our times.

Next up Gallows do what they do best; play sneering, aggressive punk rock to a crowd mainly consisting of push-moshing 15 year olds. While a lot of their fans may annoy me, there's no denying that Gallows are a really good punk rock band who've managed to mature and hone their sound without compromising any of their passion or attitude. Songs from the new record are given a rapturous reception by the gathered throng and personally I prefer them live to their older stuff, but it's these old songs that garner the biggest reaction, with classics such as 'Abandon Ship' and 'In the Belly of A Shark' inciting mayhem at the front. Frank also seems genuinely staggered by reaction (must be the day for it) and proclaims this to be one of his favourite Gallows shows ever, which is pretty impressive considering how much they've toured in the last few years.

Next up is AFI. I could write and write about this band. They are one of very few bands who have had a profound impact on my life and I can't express just how much they mean to me. For this reason, I'm loathe to write a gushing review of their set because it's not going to be especially unbiased or fair. However, judging by the fact that every single person I'm with says they're the band of the weekend, that gives you some indication of just how good they were. Put it this way, they played 'Single Second' and Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing'; there was no way their set couldn't be anything less than incredible. I'm also enjoying the more mature looking AFI appearance: fitted off-white shirts, blue jeans rather than black and white t-shirts. It's like they've decided to grow old gracefully rather than always being the goths from the Total Immortal video and it works really well.

Ok so I gushed a bit in that review, my apologies.

After AFI I manage to catch the final two songs of Dev (Lightspeed Champion's) set and I'm pleased I did because it's awe-inspiring. I always forget just how young he is because the songs he writes are so well crafted and the lyrics so clever and poignant that they belie his young age. The record Falling Off The Lavender Bridge has some pretty personal meanings for me too, so it's nice to finally get to hear at least some of the songs in a live setting.

After that, Apryl and I head over to the back of the main stage area so watch a bit of Radiohead, but after the high that's been the last two and a bit hours, it just starts to bum me out (the light show is cool though I must admit) so we go and watch the last three songs of Lostprophets, who are actually really good. I may think that they're all idiots as people, but I can't hide from the fact they write stupidly catchy rock songs and do it well.