CARLING WEEKEND

LEEDS 2000 THE Oasis saga goes on -- and the tension between the Gallagher brothers, coupled with the strongest line-up of the summer, gave the Leeds weekend the edge over its festival rivals.

A torrential downpour failed to dampen the crowd's enthusiasm as the likes of Placebo and Slipknot went down a storm on the main stage.

The out-of-place teenage duo Daphne and Celeste found life tough-going and took a expected barrage of abuse during their brief appearance.

Sunday was all about the second stage, where Irish trio JJ 72 were first to catch the eye.

Having exploded onto to the scene over the last month or so, they found themselves playing to a packed tent earlier than their new-found status warranted.

Blur guitarist Graham Coxon put in an energetic performance with his all-star band, which included Blur's Dave Rowntree on drums and Idewild's guitarist Rob Jones.

But much of the band's guitar thrashing antics were just too self-indulgent.

It was simply a case of forget the tune and just make the machine scream.

Speaking to Pulse before his appearance, Badly Drawn Boy --aka Damon Gough -- revealed that, although he is now based in Manchester, his roots were originally in Belmont.

Unpredictable as ever, Damon arrived on stage brandishing a pump-action, heavy duty water pistol.

He posed as a trigger-happy American TV cop before soaking the front rows of the audience.

Most of the set was taken from his Mercury Music Prize-nominated album The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast. But his brilliant cover of the Bruce Springsteen classic Born In The USA was a real highlight. From the ironic story of the intro, the guitar poses, right down to the Stars and Stripes flag in his back pocket, the whole episode was totally tongue-in-cheek. But at the same time it was a sincere tribute to one of Badly Drawn Boy's own heroes.

The day belonged to the locally-born rising star and his night was completed when Danny McNamara of Embrace pulled him from the pit to join the headline band for their finale.

Monday saw Rossendale bassist Karen Frost and Brassy looking to win new converts to their blend of guitar led garage and hip-hop.

Bury five-piece Elbow also showed enough quality in their expansive indie pop sound to suggest they have a strong future ahead of them.

Backstage former Stone Roses members Mani and John Squire enjoyed a drink together, while guitar legend Johnny Marr watched from the side of the stage as Noel Gallagher put thousands of Oasis fans out of their misery.

Typical verbal sparring between the pair, mixed with their array of hits, ensured the group's performance was as fitting end to the weekend.

CLIVE LAWRENCE