As festival season gets into full swing, and carrying a bottle of suncream in one hand and a raincoat in the other becomes second nature, last weekend saw the return of Slam Dunk festival. After venturing up North on the Saturday (25 May), Hatfield is the chosen location for the festival’s southern excursion. Here are our favourite moments from the day:
The Menzingers
American punk-rock band The Menzingers took the Dickies Stage by storm, literally. Whilst the Pennsylvania rockers had the crowd swaying from side to side during feel-good tune ‘After The Party’, the sky started to pour with rain as the sun shone down onto the stage thus creating not one, but two rainbows. Yes, that’s right – a double rainbow. During the set, lead singer Greg Barnett stopped to chat to the crowd amidst the rain and sunshine and spotted the infamous double rainbow. As he pointed to the sky, the band, stage crew, and entire crowd turned their heads and pints to take in this glorious natural phenomenon. Their effervescent sound and performance, combined with the sunshine and rain; made for a truly magical festival cliché, and it was wonderful.
New Found Glory
Pop-punk royalty New Found Glory took to the Monster Stage at Slam Dunk this year, opening with a pop-punk rendition of the monster-anthem ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor. Sharing the stage with the other titan’s in the pop-punk world such as All Time Low and Neck Deep. From The Screen To Your Stereo Part 3, released earlier this month, is a cover album showcasing motion picture party-anthems such as ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen and ‘The Power Of Love’ by Huey Lewis from the nostalgic Back To The Future franchise, and these made the cut for the live set too. The timeless four piece dominated the stage as if it were the early 2000’s during their last moments and had the audience jumping to the skies screaming the lyrics for ‘My Friends Over You’, providing for a heart-warming and wholesome set for the festival goers.
Busted
The cat’s out of the bag. Slam Dunk hinted at the presence of a special, very secret guest that would only be announced shortly before the festival started and that band was none other than Busted. Upon their resurrection, the trio released their fourth studio album Half Way There and announced a UK arena tour. Fans were ecstatic to see the pop-rock legends in action once again, as they performed endorphin-inducing tunes like ‘Year 3000’, ‘Crashed The Wedding’ and ‘Air Hostess’. People of all ages and walks of life were battling to get to the front to witness the three-piece in all their glory, and they didn’t disappoint.
Bullet For My Valentine
Heavy metal connoisseur’s Bullet for My Valentine took the main act slot on the Jägermeister stage at this year’s Slam Dunk South festival, providing nostalgic riffs and gruesome growls for the alternative millennials to soak up as the evening got darker and a little bit colder - a fitting aura for the kings of gloom. Opening with ‘Don’t Need You’ from their sixth studio and most recent album Gravity, it’s a riff-filled track with elements of metalcore and hints of thrash metal, and reigns true to their original sound. Then swiftly diving into their old but widely-respected material, ‘Your Betrayal’, sends all of the hardcore Bullet fans into a wild mosh-pit of sweat and excitement. Confetti fell from the skies as the Lords of darkness shredded their way through their 75 minute set, filling the Jägermeister tent with the image of thousands of screaming fans raising their horns to the sky. As their set came to an end, they carried out their goodbye with ‘Tears Don’t Fall’ and ‘Waking The Demon’, two mammoth tracks that left the festival goers satisfied and begging for more.
Neck Deep
During the height of Slam Dunk’s sunshine, we are treated to a luscious 55 minute set from pop-punk giants Neck Deep; without the need for a dramatic entrance, lead singer Ben Barlow enters the stage so quietly that the crowd barely notice; until they burst into ‘Motion Sickness’ and have the masses off their feet. Despite being surrounded by thousands of other adult emo’s, the freedom of being in an open field created a certain kind of intimacy about the show. Bands like Neck Deep once played the smaller stages of these festivals, but are now dominating the main stage and delivering us velvety pop-punk guitar riffs and the unforgettable and typically dulcet tones of Ben Barlow’s American sounding accent (despite the band originating from Wales). The boys also performed a cover of ‘Torn’ by Ednaswap, a cover that is well-loved amongst their fans but rarely played live, a pleasant and endearing surprise for fans and a suitable fit for dishing out the festival feels.
Wage War
Metalcore sensations Wage War, hailing all the way from Florida, graced the Jägermeister stage at Slam Dunk with a short, but definitely not sweet 30 minute hair-raising set. The aggressive ensemble had the audience eating out of the palm of their collective hand, presenting us with mouth-watering breakdowns and riffs so melodically-pleasing that fans were throwing themselves at the barriers just to get a little closer to the madness. Frontman Briton’s vicious growl rumbles throughout the tent whilst Cody Quistad bellows out little bits of heaven with every note, boasting one of the best clean-vocalist voices metalcore has to offer. Shaking the tent with tracks like ‘Low’ and ‘Gravity’, they finish with ‘Stitch’; a track that stands out from the rest of the album due to its element of funk that has you moshing and swaying your hips. Brief but captivating, Wage War earn hundreds more fans, as they wow the crowd with their flawlessly tight performance.
And of course, the afterparty...
As if a whole 10 hours of bands, booze and sun wasn’t enough – Emo Night UK hosted Slam Dunk’s official London after party. A horde of party-animals looking to extend their festivities headed to the O2 Academy Islington, where they would party the night away with special guest DJs Shane Day from Silverstein and Matty Arsenault of A Loss For Words. The night consisted of pop-punk bangers, emo anthems and alternative melodies that would keep even the most exhausted of the festival goers partying until the early hours of the morning. Silverstein’s Shane Day aggressively pounced around on stage, commanding the crowd to keep the Slam Dunk spirit alive and join him in the renaissance of early 2000’s emo/pop/rock. With the venue packed to the brim, the lack of care for one’s self-image begins to melt away.
