Middleman have become one of a very few bands who I have seen three times at Leeds Festival. Lee Smith, their irrepressible bass player, is probably unique in being someone I have seen four times on stage at Bramham Park. The smiling-out-loud quotient is very high.This year their main gig on the Festival Republic Stage clashed with Dananananaykroyd who were playing the NME/Radio 1 Stage. In each case they are strong audience-focussed bands who can be relied on to work a crowd into the smaller tents. Nice for the bands following, but a shame for me.
On The Festival Republic Stage Middleman bounce straight into celebrating (again?) a famous Saturday night in Reading by Slurpy the drummer whose consequent sleepiness confounded six men and a Fire Engine. His birthday is in late August, after all.
On stage there is nothing but energy. Familiar songs, catchy lines and positive messages are what it's all about. When Middleman are on the menu, they are always welcome. But it has to be said that there doesn't seem to be much sign of spontaneous enthusiasm rolling in from newer fans or the clear commercial success that I would have expected for Middleman's populist approach. Their upbeat approach to crossover urban music is being done by a few other bands on this year's bill - Boney Black and What Makes You Beautiful on the BBC Introducing Stage for example. The breakthrough is still awaited.
A couple of hours later it became clear that the advertised band Plugs were not going to escape London traffic in time for their BBC Introducing Stage slot, so Middleman got the call from Alan Raw, who was compering big chunks of the Introducing Stage, to play their set all over again. Alan was also busy putting together some amazing coverage for his Introducing show on BBC Humberside on Sunday. Middleman did another great set - with Slurpy getting another shout and the band showing real professionalism in giving a much much smaller crowd the same enthusiasm as the midday shift.
