reading & leeds 2010

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This was August Bank Holiday Weekend in the UK, and with it came the end of the summer festival season — Reading and Leeds. The two are mirror images of one another, the only discernable difference noted by the Guardian UK; "Leeds is almost exactly the same as Reading, just with better weather, worse clothes and more chips."

Both had a bit of an odd, states-heavy lineup this year with the likes of Blink 182, Limp Bizkit, Paramore, Weezer and G'nR (more about them later). Of interest to many was the reunion of the Libertines, with Pete Doherty managing to pull himself out of the gutter and hold it together for an hour.

Johnny Marr and The Cribs evidently still don't merit a prime time slot, but by most accounts they were a festival highlight:




Arcade Fire headlined the very same stage, with "Rococo" from The Suburbs a standout:





On the side stage, Phoenix nailed their omnipresent Cadillac jam, 1901:





The Friday/Sunday headliner on the side stage was LCD Soundsystem, with James Murphy and company getting the biggest rise from the crowd with Sound of Silver favorites "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" and "Tribulations":





But the story of the weekend was Axl Rose and what passes for Guns 'n Roses these days. Axl delighted the crowd with two, TWO piano solos... and last night's Leeds closing show started more than an hour late. He has since "declared war" on festival organizers, whatever that means. See for yourself if that bloated mess has still "got it":




Thanks to the BBC for the video — until they take it down, then eff em.