Leeds Festival 2000, Day 2: Embrace + The Wannadies + Beck + Gomez + Super Furry Animals + Parisman + Idlewild + Gorky's Zygotic Mynci / Temple Newsam, Leeds

I was meant to be going to the second day of the Leeds Festival with my mate Gibbsy but he cried off with possibly the worst excuse I've ever heard. APPAZ he couldn't come because he needed to buy some trainers!?? I'd waited around in town for quite a while before I managed to get in touch with him, so it was a bit of a dash to get the bus in time for Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Reader: I made it.

I'd been introduced to Gorky's by Suggy, who'd put "Hush The Warmth" on a mixtape he made me soon after joining Novacain. I bought 'Gorky 5' for cheap from HMV in town as a result and loved it. It's an absolutely fantastic album, that has a rather melancholy coherence despite featuring superficially upbeat tracks like "Sweet Johnny". Follow-up LP 'Spanish Dance Troupe' was released in late 1999 and the band achieved a certain degree of fame, if not chart success, thanks to repeated plays of second single "Poodle Rockin'" on Mark & Lard's Radio 1 afternoon show. I guess this made them main stage material in the eyes of Mean Fiddler. The majority of the crowd seemed baffled by their quirky take on psychedelic folk music and it was easy to get to within a few rows of the stage. They played a set packed with never-quite-hits and were enthusiastically received... by me, Sug, Mike and a handful of others. "Poodle Rockin'" got a slightly louder cheer than the other tracks but the band didn't seem overly worried by the generally muted response and it was a great way to start the day for us.

We stayed down the front for Idlewild who I was obsessed with at the time. The majority of their set was made up of the R.E.M.esque tracks from their most recent album, '100 Broken Windows', which sounded great live, despite lacking the backing vocals that appeared on the record. When they came on stage Roddy announced that he'd just woken up, but he didn't seem particularly tired by the time they finished with one of their earlier "flight of stairs, falling down a flight of stairs" period tracks. He writhed around the floor, screaming into the mic as guitars fedback and drums pounded. While we we watching Idlewild a wasp flew under Mike's sunglasses and he seemed to ape Roddy as he twisted around, throwing his pint everywhere in an attempt to remove said insect from his face. Had lolz existed in 2000, they would have ensued.

Next up were Parisman. They'd finished as runners up in the inaugural Futuresound competition to win a place on the bill at Leeds Festival. Having played with The Man a few times, I was definitely not jealous about this. In any way. WHYWASNTITUS :( Ok, so we didn't actually enter Futuresound, but still... Not that I begrudged Parisman the opportunity to play in front of a larger audience really. They were a great band and I've never understood why they were ignored outside the North of England.

The comedy tent (!) was pretty full by the time Parisman came on and we bumped into some familiar faces in the crowd, such as Chapter 13, whose singer may, or may not, have over indulged on the recs. Parisman played a slightly nervy set (I imagine there was little or no opportunity to soundcheck) and their three new songs felt a touch overlong, but they were still decent and got a good response from the crowd.

We headed to the main stage afterwards, only to find that Elastica had pulled out at the last minute because Justine had lost her voice. Stuck for something to do, we decided to go back to Mike and Sug's tent so they could stage a further assault on the huge lump of medicinal 'erbs they'd brought with them.

The Super Furry Animals came on stage slightly earlier than scheduled, but we managed to catch their entire set regardless. They opened with "Drygioni", from their new album 'Mwng', before playing "Ice Hockey Hair" and "Do Or Die". From 'Guerilla' onwards, SFA began to have more and more mid-tempo songs. These (usually) sounded great on record, but they didn't always translate that well at live shows. Not that they sounded bad, they just took a bit of the momentum away from sets, particularly when they were grouped together. Although it's one of my favourite Super Furries songs, "The Turning Tide" began a rather slow mid-section that saw much of the crowd lose interest. Things picked up a bit with "Northern Lites", featuring Cian on steel drums, before a great end to the show, with "Calimero", "Night Vision" and "The Man Don't Give A Fuck" in quick succession. The latter finished with a slightly shorter than normal techno rave out, with guys in panda suits dancing along on the stage. Although not quite as good as they'd been a year earlier at the Town and Country Club, the Furries were hands-down the best band of the day for me.

The light was fading and there was no-one we really wanted to see so we found a space on the hill towards the back of the main stage, got some beers and watched Gomez. Unforch, "Whippin' Picadilly" aside, they were pretty dull.

We stayed where we were for the first half of Beck's set then made our way to the Evening Session tent for The Wannadies. I was a huge fan, having a soft spot for Scandinavian guitar pop. They played a set full of tracks from their current album, 'Yeah', as well as the ubiquitous "You & Me Song". Although we got "Might Be Stars" and "Hit", I was a bit disappointed by the lack of many older tracks from 'Aquanautic' and 'Be A Girl', but I think the band were trying to distance themselves from their more poppy past. They'd just been dropped by BMG and lead singer Per (he of the unfeasibly curly locks) declared his group to be "the best unsigned band in the world".

A torrential downpour began just before Embrace took to the stage in the Evening Session tent, making the discussion about whether to see them or Pulp rather moot. Although we were already in the tent, the rapidly swelling numbers meant that me and Mike had to stand just inside the opening for the duration of Embrace's set. Sug found himself just outside, and had to contend with drips from the tent as well as the rain itself. I was still quite into the band at the time and enjoyed their set despite the weather. There's a certain charm to Embrace that comes across much better live than on record, where they can seem a bit lumpen.

As soon as the last chord of a crowd pleasing version of "All You Good Good People" rang out I legged it for the bus. I was worried that I'd have to wait for ages but I got straight on the first bus that arrived and I was showered and in bed within an hour. Camping has it's merits, but there's nothing like a hot shower and a comfy bed after a hard day's festivaling.

Set list (Gorky's Zygotic Mynci)
[not sure if this is this is entirely the correct order]

1. Let's Get Together (In Our Minds)
2. Desolation Blues
3. Sweet Johnny
4. [Unknown cover]
5. Spanish Dance Troupe
6. Poodle Rockin'
7. [Unknown cover]
8. Hush The Warmth
9. The Humming Song

Set list (Super Furry Animals) 
[again, not sure if this is the right order]

1. Drygioni
2. Ice Hockey Hair
3. Do Or Die
4. The Turning Tide
5. Nythod Cacwn
6. Demons
7. Y Gwyneb Iau
8. Northern Lites
9. Gwreiddiau Dwfn / Mawrth Oer Ar y Blaned Neifion
10. Calimero
11. Night Vision
12. The Man Don't Give A Fuck