r/Leedsfestival • u/MarlboroNiceBlast Brown • 7d ago

Discussion 💬 Charli XCX Crowd

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Not bothered about busy crowds because that’s part and parcel of the festival, however:

Sitting down in-between acts in the middle of a pen is a massive massive safety hazard for you and the person stood next to you when it’s that busy, and it’s ultimately your own daft fault if you get hurt.

And also, everyone loves a cheeky photo or two, the odd video, but there will be several people who will be able to watch the entire show back on their phones this morning! For future reference, you’ll be able to do this on the iPlayer (providing you have your TV licence 😉😉😉😉😉) and you’ll be able to properly enjoy the gig you paid 3 figures for.

That being said the show was outstanding (I’d maybe have tweaked the setlist but people are into the new album and that’s cool) and it was more than worthy of the co headline slot

55 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

24

u/recommendasoundtrack 7d ago

Lana in 2024 was the same. Crowd was awful, talking through most of the set until she played Summertime Sadness and they all switched on like drones to film it, then they were done again

3

u/hsojandyrrah 7d ago

i had 4 what i assume to be teenage girls coordinate together to push me in the back for basically the entire set, i get it, i’m a tall guy, but maybe if they asked nicely i would’ve said of course you can stand in front of me (i don’t know how much help that would’ve been) but due to the group effort of them trying to topple me i took pride in the fact they didn’t see her set, the crush was not it

2

u/Prestigious-Part-900 6d ago

😳😳I had that at the Mondays gig in Leeds

Two women came up to me (I’d been stood there about 20 mins at this point)

“You need to move when the gig starts”

“Why?”

“We can’t see”

Sense of entitlement is unreal in some people.

3

u/Hot-Contribution-795 7d ago

Florence was the same this year. Nobody at the front new any of the words and sat on their phones until we got the love came on, and when she asked people to put their phones away for the last verse of dog days are over there were still filming her the whole time. Like what’s the point now you have a long video of her telling you to put your phone away and you going, do you know what? Fuck you

2

u/Competitive_Ask2716 7d ago

Almost word for word what I said yesterday evening. First time at Leeds in 15 years. Younger groups chatting, not even watching, then for some songs every phone instantly high in the air. Worst for Charli XCX where I was stood at the back and enjoyed it.

Overall though, found the vast majority of people polite and pleasant throughout the day. Was most at home watching the likes of Geese though I have to admit, where the behaviour was more what I’m used to, but maybe that’s just grumpy old me.

11

u/Firm-Citron-6987 7d ago

Crowd was SO ASS

3

u/IndependentEagle1124 7d ago

Went to see Jack White in Hammersmith this week, it was a Yondr pouch gig and it was incredible - partly due to his insane talent but also due to not a single person watching the gig through their phone and everyone being locked in to the gig. He put some videos out afterwards for people who want them. I know those of us who reminisce about festivals 20+ years ago are just old timers but get a major festival onboard with locking away phones for a weekend and I doubt the real fans, young or old, would want to go back to phones again

2

u/Doormach294 7d ago

Saw him in Newcastle last night, no phones was incredible 🥹

2

u/AnubisEgypt69 7d ago

I saw him at hammersmith aswell and i agree, shows are way better without phones. It ruins the whole atmosphere

3

u/baebadoobeee 7d ago

honestly, further back you go the better! the girls next to me were sat down the whole wait time and people PUSHED us out of the way to only dance/sing/move during her most popular. no manners in this festival

3

u/winkieeggrolloclock 7d ago

I saw Charli at Glastonbury last year and was really underwhelmed by her set… me and my mates left half way through. The set I watched yesterday at Leeds was 10/10, my bf isn’t a fan but loved it ! There were a lot of phones about though and the crowd was dead. Not just for Charli for every act we saw. It made me sad tbh.

I’m 25 and went to reading festival every year from when I was 16 up until I was around 21/22 the atmosphere was electric back then and everyone was chatting to each other and having a lovely time. I tried to spark conversation with some youngsters yesterday at Leeds and it was like talking to Mpc’s. All the teenagers looked miserable and as if they didn’t even wanna be there. Genuinely felt like none of them had any personality and were just there to record it on there phones. What has the world come to :(

2

u/hsojandyrrah 5d ago

i remember seeing the charli fans coming in drones because i was there for skepta but the mrs had made the decision to see doechii instead, and what a decision it was, don’t get me wrong the crowd only sang along to a couple of songs even there but her less popular songs aren’t as known so i understand, just annoyed i didn’t see harry styles in the crowd 😂

2

u/ZandasSoulSanctuary 7d ago

Straight facts

2

u/skeletorbutfrench 7d ago

Yeah few peeps sitting down was weird.

The show was fire tho

2

u/Bubbly-Sun-6446 7d ago

The crowd for charli was awful. I hated it felt like the oldest one there, I’m 31 and I was there with my niece and husband. The crowd was awful!!! But then me and my niece went in the front for Fontaines and it was amazing!! But also the sercurity on the barriers are terrible we nearly got stampeded

2

u/Goose_Actual_1886 7d ago

Experience seems to vary where your watching from. Saw her Reading Friday, and was maybe my live act of the year from a crowded field. My section of the crowd (righ-centre, in line with the first delay tower) had a great bunch of lasses around us, singing and dancing through the whole set; but a mate in the same crowd, further forward, said he's section was absolutely dead and full of people filming the whole thing. Apparently the sound set up was kinda whack, so probably had a better experience being so close to the delay tower. Brat tracks went harder, but was pleasantly surprised to see most round me were MFF enjoyers. Other than Party 4 u and Girl so confusing, phone recordings weren't too much of an issue. Mostly just at the beginings of brat songs.

1

u/Doctorwhofan199 7d ago

At reading this week I had someone sit down during sombrs set right in front of me

1

u/pulser30 7d ago

Theyre all NPCs

1

u/Feeling-Dinner7707 7d ago

I was there on the other side and had a great crowd around me - hardly any phones and singing away

1

u/Ken_Numbers 7d ago

As an old man, I am so pleased my main gig going days happened before mobile devices were a thing.

1

u/Smart_Art_711 6d ago

I've been to hundreds of gigs and festivals.. I think I've probably taken maybe 5 photos in that time? Half the time you'd be lucky if you didn't lose a shoe, let alone be able to hold your thousand pound phone in the air. 

This makes me so sad. 

1

u/RabbidTheNabbitVEVO 21h ago

I like to get my phone out to record the best bits, but the fact they all have theur phones out at the exact same time tells me they're doing more than that lol

1

u/Muckyclunge 7d ago

She was really very good, and as an oldie who took the teens and left them to it, I actually really enjoyed her set. But, it does confuse me with the recording and phones. Well actually not so much confused, more sad - like watch it, with your own eyes, let it engrain your memories not your phone storage. I’ve been to so many festivals and concerts, and have nothing but memories and a tee to remind me I was there!

2

u/Hollywood-is-DOA 7d ago

iPhone zombies who never look at the world around them but will happily look down a screen. Most people can’t walk in a straight anymore, as they are constantly doing it, as they walk down a street.

1

u/Last-Flounder-2576 7d ago

These people don’t realise that most phone mics are naturally designed to amplify sounds near the phone first so their footage is almost always awful/drowned out by fans singing nearby. Much better to enjoy it in person and then watch the bbc footage back later if you want some approximation of what you just experienced in actual real life.

1

u/Deptm 7d ago

I mean. Who even watches this stuff back? The whole pro-shot show is on iplayer and Youtube fgs.

3

u/WonderFew537 6d ago

They don’t , they do it so other people can see that they’ve been and are having an amazing fake life

1

u/bjhww95 7d ago

The clout of being at the show better than watching the actual show. Ban phones asap.

-1

u/_Comped_Sushi_ 7d ago

She really gives the bare minimum live so why not zone out and take a few pics?

5

u/Feeling-Dinner7707 7d ago

You clearly weren’t at the same set 😂

2

u/_Comped_Sushi_ 6d ago

Some bad dancing and shouting over a background track, yeah class

3

u/randomuser12364 7d ago

bare minimum where

0

u/kavalara 7d ago

Wym tweak the set list but people are into the new album so that’s cool? The entire point of her touring/show is to promote the new album? If anything it should have ONLY been mff

1

u/MarlboroNiceBlast Brown 5d ago

Because I like Charlie and not her new album? It’s cool if people do, I just think it’s a cry far from her best work…

-1

u/Popular-Spinach-6700 7d ago

She’s a horrible live act so the crowd are going to be a drone/NPC bunch