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Regret is a terrible and ultimately useless feeling. That is if you do not learn from the mistakes you have made. Last year I made a horrific error in judgement, one that I have regretted ever since...
I had the opportunity to attend Leeds Constellations festival 2010, but I idiotically decided against it and opted for a family celebration! I have never fully forgiven myself since; by all accounts I missed out on a great day and a fantastic line up which included the Local Natives, Broken Social Scene, The Vaccines and Four Tet. (Not bad for a university festival in its debut year!)
This year I was lucky enough to be able to right this terrible wrong in my life and was given the chance to review the festival in its second incarnation. The principle behind the event has remained the same: the best in new music descend upon Leeds University to show what they have got.
With four separate music stages and an alternative film stage, running from 2pm till 11pm, this unique festival really does offer a jam-packed artistic experience. Constellations also serves up an unrivalled sunny atmosphere in the middle of a cold northern November with students coming from all across the region to revel in the light of brilliant music, movies and good spirit.
In truth, as with any talent filled festival, I did not get to see everything that I would have liked. However, everything that I did get to watch was of a very high quality and I was impressed by the professionalism of what is an event model still in its infancy. From the smaller stages and lesser known acts to the bigger stages and stars an air of accomplishment pervaded.
Musically there were some really sublime moments and my top 3 acts were as follows:
Summer Camp Shrouded in mystery since their fake MySpace account was initially created to protect themselves from teasing friends, this London duo brought a real lift and unexpected eccentricity to the early evening. The spine tingling vocal range showed by lead singer Elizabeth Sankey combined with Jeremy Warmsley’s synthpop compelled me to buy their debut album Welcome to Condale there and then. Offering a real hit of 80s nostalgia with a new age twist, I haven’t been able to stop listening since. Highly recommended.
The Antlers A Brooklyn based band that have been hotly touted to make big waves in the music world after their latest album Burst Apart was received very warmly by music critics worldwide. I was stunned by the utter beauty that this band brought to the night. A subtle blend of dreamy guitar and silky smooth vocals enraptured the audience and seduced many into missing the beginning of the main act of the night.
Wild Beasts A fantastically unusual quartet, Wild Beasts were billed as the headliners of the main stage and the performance showed me why. I was simply blown away by the versatility and vocal prowess that they exhibited. Nothing short of brilliant, I’m so glad to see this group getting the recognition they deserve. Lyrically complex, musically exquisite Constellations will have a tough job bettering this billing next year.
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