What happened at Slam Dunk South 2016

FESTIVAL SEASON HAS BEGUN

It might not have felt like it for the past few days but summer has arrived and the UK festival season was officially kicked off on Saturday May 28th with the almighty Slam Dunk, now in its tenth year!

In celebration of the festivals birthday it unleashed its biggest line up to date in Leeds, Birmingham and Hatfield where we donned our party hats and joined in the festivities on Bank Holiday Monday.

As soon as we landed on site we were surprised to see how intimate it was, with no more than about a handful of food vans, one set of toilets and a main stage that would pass for a 3^rd or 4^th stage at most other festivals.

Now, Slam Dunk hasn’t been without its share of negative feedback this year and the grumbles are understandable. Your heart has to go out to anybody who was turned away from a capacity-filled stage or sobbed in the queue outside whilst listening to their favourite band play somewhere off in the distance.

Having said that, Slam Dunk has got to be one of the only big-line-up-festival’s where  you can actually stand within a 10 mile radius of the main stage, and all 5ft of me really appreciates that (particularly my non-stretched neck and unnecessary tippy toes.)

The fact of the matter is that you can’t put that many incredible bands on one line-up, retain that intimate-show feel that everybody loves and not run into a few capacity or queueing issues.

Personally, I would have been happy to make a few sacrifices for the ridiculously incredible day we had hanging out at that main stage.   

Gustav Wood - Young Guns

Slam Dunk South, Hatfield

30/05/2016

Young Guns have been up to all sorts over the past few weeks secretly writing and recording their fourth studio album, releasing the first single from it and sadly announcing that long-time drummer Ben Jolliffe has decided to leave the band.

With all of that happening I was dying to see the Bucks-now-four-piece for the first time since Warped Tour UK back in October and, it seems to me, like they were dying to perform. After their explosive return with Ones and Zeroes last year, the break has given them a chance to “get their shit together” before making their next move.

They took the more stripped back and upbeat nature of new single Bulletproof in their stride on stage and performed it with more energy and gusto than I have ever seen from this band (and that’s saying something because I was HERE).

But Young Guns also took this opportunity to showcase the art of audience participation. Last year’s album was full of crowd-pleasing shouts and woah’s and at this point both the band and the fans have their roles mastered. I Want Out and the now iconic Bones saw the crowd match the band’s vitality, jumping in the air, fist pumping and screaming at three in the afternoon. Only happens at a festival.

We sloped off to explore our surroundings and bought an almost obligatory pizza and burger before returning to the main stage for Mayday Parade, fully aware that we were not leaving that stage for a single second for the rest of the day. Bit daunting.  

Derek Sanders - Mayday Parade

Slam Dunk South, Hatfield

30/05/2016

For one member of the LN team, this was the main event. We’re talking, tears on the journey in,

playing all of their songs on my car radio before pointing out which ones were going to make her cry (SPOILER ALERT: it’s all of them). 

I suspect that Mayday Parade have not changed in over ten years. They’ve never needed to. This is a band who got right under the skin of its fan base and when they started to play Three Cheers for Five Years it was plain to see that all of those fans are still as in love with that song, and this band, as they ever were.

Typically performing without shoes, frontman Derek Sanders is potentially the bounciest of the emo-rockers and for a band who rode out that genre they did a fine job of sending out an undeniably positive vibe with their performance.

Sadly, drummer Jake Bundrick couldn’t make the Slam Dunk weekend due to surgery but the rest of the band didn’t let that hold them back smashing every song and soaking in the sounds of the crowd yelling back all the words.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague on getting through the entire set without shedding a single real-life tear and also for not punching me despite my laughing directly in her on-the-brink-of-tears-face. Yes, I’m a pretty awful person but don’t worry, her chances for revenge are plentiful this summer.  

Ryan Key - Yellowcard

Slam Dunk South, Hatfield

30/05/2016

But Mayday Parade weren’t the only band on the Slam Dunk line up with a long history and dedicated fanbase. Florida pop-punk Kings Yellowcard also turned back the clock be playing their 2003 album (yep, t-h-i-r-t-e-e-n y-e-a-r-s) Ocean Avenue from start to finish, which is frankly the things that dreams are made of.

Time restraints meant that it was a whirlwind trip down memory lane with little room for chit chat but Yellowcard made up for that with the sheer joy of nostalgia.

Violinist Sean Mackin is one of my all time favourite people, serving as band cheerleader when he is not musically needed or busy doing backflips (by the way, a lot of gymnastics went on at Slam Dunk.)

I’m a huge fan of the “playing an entire album” concept and really hope more bands decide to do it in the future (I’m looking at you Fall Out Boy). For Yellowcard it meant that their set-list had peaks and lows in unexpectedly perfect places. Playing the crowd-pleasing title track three songs in instead of to close was a bit strange but ultimately quite special, so it fit right in with the rest of the day.

From old-timers to the (relatively) new guys, up next was something completely different with Mallory Knox.

Mikey Chapman - Mallory Knox

Slam Dunk South, Hatfield

30/05/2016

It’s hard to define Mallory Knox, plenty have tried and many have failed but they sit somewhere in

between post-hardcore and alt-rock/indie-rock, kind of. I mean I suppose so anyway, for the most part it doesn’t much matter because whatever it is that they’re doing, they’re doing it very well.

They definitely brought a needed heavier edge to the main stage rounding off the line up impeccably.  

Funny thing though, I have never seen a band so unbelievably grateful for a show in my entire life. Lead singer Mikey Chapman was like a kid at Christmas hardly being able to address the crowd without thanking them for being there and telling them how excited he was. Guitarist Joe Savins spent most of the set connecting with the audience too but couldn’t contain his disbelief at the fact that every time he did they melted into a sea of giggles and screams. Someone should really let Mallory Knox in on what we all know. They’re damn good.  

But Mayday Parade AND Yellowcard weren’t the only bands on the Slam Dunk line up with a long history and dedicated fan base. The OTHER Florida pop-punk Kings, New Found Glory, had absolutely nothing to prove and put on a classic, no thrills, straight up pop-punktacular set.

Jordan Pundik - New Found Glory

Slam Dunk South, Hatfield

30/05/2016

Their set list spanned their 19-year career and they flew around that stage pulling stupid faces at the crowd, singing about being teenagers like they were 20-years younger. I’m sure I’ve said this before but I find it really special that New Found Glory still perform their cover of Kiss Me because damn I love that tune.

And just when you thought this band could not get any better they grab a fan from the crowd and have him choose a song before letting him perform it with them in front of the bat-crap crazy crowd. Let me tell you, that guy was remarkable.   

Now. This is where there is a small chance (miniscule really) that I might have, potentially, lost…my…freaking…mind.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing, could have prepared me for what happened next.

Often with festivals there will be one particular act that will sell me. Sure there’s likely to be a whole host of bands that I would love to see but more often than not there is one in particular that makes my attendance non-negotiable. For Slam Dunk, this was Panic! At The Disco.

However, that’s not to say that I was buzzing with excitement about the whole thing. I’ll be completely honest with you, I thought P!ATD would be good. I thought it would be cute to see a band that I was in love with when I was 14 and interesting to see how things were shaping up now that so much had changed.

What actually happened was one of the most spectacular, jaw-dropping WHAT ON EARTH sets I have ever seen.

Firstly, those MySpace classics (I Write Sins, Not Tragedies and Time To Dance) were nothing short of wonderful and I belted out every single word and danced my little heart out.

But that wasn’t even the thing. For the first time (I’ve been slacking for a few years) I heard the new(er) tracks. They. Are. Golden.

Brendon Urie - Panic! At The Disco

Slam Dunk South, Hatfield

30/05/2016

I realise that’s unlikely to be news to the majority of people but for me it really was. I literally stood with a hand covered mouth whilst the crowd took over the vocals for the opening of Victorious. I struggled to remember that I was supposed to be working whilst the hey-ey’s of Crazy = Genius rang loud through the festival. I considered just giving up and sitting on the floor so that I could assess all of my life choices whilst Nicotine was flawlessly played.

At one point, I actually turned around and screamed at the girls at the barrier “ARE YOU SEEING THIS?” True story.

The fact of the matter is that for a long time I considered the P!ATD situation a sad one. I knew that Brendon Urie was a very talented man but I didn’t really feel that he could run the show solo and I felt it was a pity that everyone else had left. Turns out, I was really wrong.

I can’t tell you at what point I had this realisation. It could have been when he obliterated some ridiculous high notes, or it could have been when he was singing baritone. Who knows? They happened in equal amounts and he made it look like no big deal.

It could have been when he pulled out a guitar. Could have been when the drummer evaporated from the stage and Urie practically somersaulted on to the kit and smashed out a drum solo. Then again, it could have been when he performed Nine in the Afternoon on the keyboard before sticking with it and just casually belting out the entirety of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Having said that, it could have been when he gave up on clothes and left very little to the imagination. Could have been when he back flipped off the drum riser, but maybe it was when he somersaulted off of absolutely nothing.

Frankly, if that man had flipped that microphone one more time I’m not too sure what I would have done.   

Whenever it was, suffice to say that, until further notice, I am all about Panic! At The Disco. Bring on November (I’m coming for you Cardiff.)                                                                                             

Brendon Urie - Panic! At The Disco

Slam Dunk South, Hatfield

30/05/2016