Slam Dunk Festival North 2022: Review [Part 3]
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Rich Price
Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our review!
With both the Dickies and the Rock Scene Stages being the same size and running concurrently it is purely arbitrary which I consider to be the festival’s ‘main’ stage. As Dickies is in the prime position and its line up appears first on the posters and the back of my T-shirt, I’m going to call that one the ‘main’ stage, if only for the sake of choosing which line-up to deal with next.
The ten bands who feature on the Amazon Music sponsored Rock Scene stage represent a more eclectic, harder edge cohort than the nine acts over on the Dickies stage.
First up on the Rock Scene is Zand, whose alternative/ indie pop is as bespoke as her stage attire. The self-styled ugly pop is centred around heavy industrial beats and the frontwoman’s large stage persona. Freak, Inappropriate and Slut Money get aired from the EP along with a handful of others. Down from Ayrshire is Noise Pop Punk duo, Vukovi, who mix a bit a sleazy Rock N Roll into their performance that gets you in all the right places. There’s a near perpetual circle pit throughout the set and Janine, bedecked in camo, makes a foray into the pit, communing with the front row as she rips through a career spanning set. Even though their stage time overlaps with a number of other artists, for the time Vukovi are playing, they own Slam Dunk 2023.
I was keen to see Trash Boat again after their show in 2021 and wasn’t disappointed to find them marshalling a circle pit bigger than Vukovi’s. Tobi’s vocals are raw and Dann and Ryan crank out some meaty riffs; this time, Slam Dunk has had the time to digest Don’t You Feel Amazing and react aoccrdingly for the likes of Alpha Omega, Bad Entertainment and He’s So Good. They even manage a cover of Linkin Park’s Given Up for good measure. Cardiff quartet Holding Absence have always struck me as a sensitive bunch of lads, probably based on the promotional photographs of them clothed in knitwear. Their quite recent split/ collaboration with Alpha Wolf suggested they preferred subtle emotion instead of raw power. However, the band blew that theory straight out of the water as they hit the Rock Scene stage with the fire and ferocity of anyone else on the bill today. A fat low-end and a collection of killer hooks are not without the nuance promised on the recorded material. Brave to slot in a new song for a festival crowd, but Gravity fits perfectly into the set, combining a lighter verse section with a huge chorus. In many ways, Holding Absence are one of Slam Dunk Festival’s defining bands.
Another band seemingly everywhere these days is Wargasm, who see their brand of electro-pop infused rock has been attracting a steadily growing fan base over the past couple of years. Milkie is in a bunny balaclava, a mass of energy that is being cast out onto the crowd and fed back in a continuous loop. Both Milkie and Sam are the most frenzied of MCs, a Keith and Maxim for a new generation, with a scream of “Do you know where you are?” just prior to telling Slam Dunk that, when it comes to circle pits, size does matter. Pyro Pyro, Backyard Bastards and Rage All Over mesmerise, but it’s Fukstar that elicits a potty-mouthed call and respond section. Clearly a triumph, with Wargasm rapidly becoming a must-see whenever and wherever they play.
Underoath are out to make the most of their European adventure as they’re on a plane back to the States in the morning. The weather even manages to take a turn for the Floridian as the sun finally breaks through the clouds for a sustained period for the first time today. Slam Dunk is the band’s first UK shows in five years and they mark the occasion with a set of off-kilter, uncompromising tunes that ebb and flow, merging the ambient with some Parkway Drive-style aggression. Kids in Glass Houses go Smart Casual for their set, playing the majority of the debut, with only Matters at All and Youngblood (Let it Out) not taken from that record. PVRIS’ foreshadow the release of album number four next month by having Charlotte Sands, fresh from her Key Club appearance, join Lynn Gunn on stage for a run-though of new track, Goddess, adding another layer to the band’s dark electropop.
Never a band to rest on their laurels, Canadians Billy Talent have been releasing records for twenty years this year. As a reminder, they visit every one of their albums with a dozen tunes handpicked for Slam Dunk. There’s plenty of attention paid to the sophomore disc, with Devil in a Midnight Mass, Fallen Leaves and Red Flag among that record’s songs; Try Honesty from the debut and Reckless Paradise from the recent Crisis of Faith. The core of the band is too long in the tooth and have been at this rock n’ roll caper for too long to be anything other than air-tight as a unit, serving up a show to slake the thirsts of even the most diehard fan.
With a recent UK tour and a new album under their belts, the world is certainly looking bright for Enter Shikari’s Slam Dunk return. Another band with a view to their history, their set blends the old with the new, seeing Wargasm join in on The Void Stares Back and one-time The Voice contestant and Bury Tomorrow contributor, Cody Frost arriving for Bull and The Last Garrison. The size of the crowd they attract, when you think what the alternative is, suggests Enter Shikari are about to begin the next part of their musical journey.
I’ve been to enough music festivals in my time to understand their primary purpose is to deliver a good time to the ticketholders and no line up anywhere has ever screamed “PARTY TIME!” as loudly as Slam Dunk’s main stage in 2023. It’s almost like they were designed in a lab specifically for the purpose of getting festival crowds on their feet and Millie Manders and The Shut-Up take to the stage at 12o’clock sharp. Broken Record, Not Okay and Bacchus shake the sleep from the muscles before new song, Shut Your Mouth, a drinking song by all accounts, proves the next record will be another storming good time. I’ve seen this band do this at Holidays in the Sun and at R-Fest and I’ll be seeing them again next week at North West Calling, which I’ll put money on will be another high energy masterclass.
Introduced by the Dickies Stage announcer as “Bigger than Kiss” Teenage Bottlerocket have some balls to use Slayer’s Reign in Blood as an intro tape. But, when you’ve got twenty years and nine albums to draw upon, and your live performance is as frantic as this, you can forgive any perceived transgression. Channelling the spirit of Rancid and other So-Cal band, Teenage Bottlerocket commit a series of short, sharp musical raids, built on a foundation of low-slung bass and aggressive drums. Bloodbath at Burger King, Skate or Die and Strung Out on Stress and more make the thirty-five minutes in their company some of the best of the day.
From the Punk in Drublic stage in 2021 to the main stage in 2023, Slam Dunk’s house band Zebrahead are in full swing as the crowds continue to pour into Temple Newsam. When Both Sides Suck, We’re All Winners lands with a thrashy riff and dirty, machine gun guitar, softened somehow by Ali Tabatabee’s vocals. Bouncing tunes lead to the call for the biggest crowd of the day so far to deliver surfers, who venture over the top to the accompaniment of songs old and new. Other newbie, All My Friends are Nobodies, sits comfortably between classics Rescue Me and Anthem. See you in 2025!
It’s a long overdue return for Sweden’s Millencolin whose Scandinavian version of So Cal punk rock holds something of its homeland’s melodic death metal about it. Not that they’ve gone full-on At The Gates, just that Mathias and Erik’s guitars crank out meaty, chugging riffs and Nikola spits out a rough and raw vocal. Last time I saw the band was at Ozzfest 2002, when they shared a stage with Slayer, Cradle of Filth and Tool, as well as the O-man himself, and today’s show is as ferocious as that event.
Also on that Ozzfest bill were System of a Down and it is the Armenian Americans who most immediately spring to mind when watching Gogol Bordello (how tenuous was that link?). Perhaps it’s the eastern European influence of Punk, Polka, Romany and Folk music or it’s the disparate backgrounds of the band members – Ukrainians, Russians and Ecuadorians- to go along with the Americans. Slam Dunk warmly embraces the band’s unadulterated joy in what they’re doing and even the sun makes a brief appearance to see what’s going on. My highlight of the set was the cover of Angelic Upstarts’ Solidarity; R.I.P. Mensi!
The lesson learnt last year was: if you need to boost flagging energies, then get a Celtic Punk band to do it. The Dropkicks invigorated one and all before Sum 41, so why not repeat this with Flogging Molly? Dave King and company have clearly read the brief as they hit the stage to Drunken Lullabies. There’s a massive turn out in front of the Dickies stage, who jig as one to The Hand of John L Sullivan, produce an amazing sight as thousands of arm swing together in unison. Using a banjo, fiddle and accordion Molly embraces its Irish roots, offering A Song of Liberty to Ukraine and even having Dave abandon his guitar during Tobacco Island for a jig of his own. By the time If I Ever Leave this World Alive and What’s Left of the Flag close out the show the dancing has spread up on the hill.
We know the drill. Less Than Jake is here to celebrate a quarter of a century since the release of their third album, Hello Rockview by playing it in its entirety, start to finish. Being the most brass-heavy band on the bill means they bring the Ska with them big-time. Like The Interrupters in the same position on the bill last year, Jake and co have Slam Dunk in the palm of their hands and bodies begin to venture over the top of the crowd from early on. Back at Temple Newsam for the second time this weekend, after having accompanied NOFX on their final tour on Friday, the band make an obvious ploy to ingratiate themselves to the Leeds crowd by having a playful pop at Bradford. At one point a host of red beach balls are released – either that or Pennywise the Dancing Clown is in the arena – bringing even more of a celebratory vibe to the show. A young lad, Alfie, is plucked from the crowd to dance a jig and the band round off their show with the only non-Rockview song, the ode to their hometown, Gainesville Rock City.
From a personal point of view, if I’m considering the genre of Pop Punk then the first band that springs to mind is Texans Bowling For Soup. Not the biggest, not the highest selling but, for me, they epitomise the good time ethos of the genre. With eleven studio records over nearly thirty years, including last year’s Pop Drunk Snot Bread and a consistent writing partnership of Jaret and Chris, BFS have always remained stead-fast in their mission to put smiles on as many faces as possible. And, let’s face it, how can they really fail when they have the likes of Almost, Punk Rock 101 and High School Never Ends locked and loaded. Of course, no Bowling For Soup show would be complete without their cover of SR-71’s 1985 and set closer, Girl All the Bad Guys Want. As I’m writing this review it’s been announced that Bowling For Soup and Less Than Jake will be co-headlining a UK tour next February, which will be guaranteed to purge the winter blues.
And that just leaves The Offspring to bring the curtain down on Slam Dunk Festival (I know Enter Shikari is on the Rock Scene stage, but I’m going for the dramatic) for another year. With almost forty years’ experience Dexter, Noodles and co know a thing or two about closing out big shows. Kicking off with Come Out and Play, All I Want and Want You Bad shows no one is crashing Offspring’s party tonight. The rear of the stage is now a giant video screen so that even those at the top of the hill can see the details of what’s happening down below.
Breaking off from their own material mid-set, the band kick into a medley of classic rock and metal, with Sabbath’s Iron Man, Maiden’s The Trooper and GnR’s Sweet Child O’ Mine, rounded off by Grieg’s In The Hall of the Mountain King. They reclaim their Punk roots with Blitzkrieg Bop and, from then on, it’s back to back hits: Why Don’t You Get a Job? Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) and The Kids Aren’t Alright.
They come back for You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid and the obligatory Self Esteem, bringing the curtain down on the show and the biggest Slam Dunk yet.
There were a few issues around queues and getting around the Leeds site, but that didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the day. My personal highlights were Flogging Molly, Wargasm and Vukovi, for no other reason perhaps than they made me lose track of the time.
Slam Dunk returns next year on the 25 and 26 May and I’ve already filled in my survey; hoping they go with my suggestion and book both Rancid and Bad Religion. One can but dream.
All photo credits: Rich Price Photography.
