The Scene is Alive
We've seen a fair bit of rising hardcore exponents Ghost of a Thousand recently and it's a measure of how far they've come that we find them opening the Lock Up Stage at Leeds Festival. It's the unhealthy hour of midday but this seems to work for them as those punters that got here the previous evening are out in force and ready to go. It must be especially gratifying to go from playing to 20 or 30 people in small clubs to pulling a few hundred at a festival and the band are not about to waste the opportunity.
It's a familiar and polished set that features most (if not all) of the debut album. It's also a typically energy filled performance, with every member of the band thrashing about the stage as if their life depended on it. They get a good reaction with a decent amount clapping along and even a mini circle pit (although it peters out rather quickly) but today's set is not without it's problems. What's obvious straight away is that the sound is way too quiet, in every lull the sound from the main stage comes flooding through and even when in full flight Tom's vocals are barely audible. The distance from the crowd and the extra space they get (compared to most small venues) also lessens the intensity of the performance somewhat.
Despite the problems their highly visual performance carries them through and looking around the crowd it's clear that they've done themselves plenty of favours and are more than a match for most of the other (more established) bands on the bill.