FESTIVAL REVIEW: Slam Dunk Festival – South 2021
Some festivals struggle with cancelling once. Slam Dunk Festival has had to rearrange it’s touring weekender three times since 2019 and this year’s South leg, held at Hatfield House, is proof they’ve pulled it off in the face of adversity. Plenty of bands have dropped out – including a last-minute pull-out from co-headliners SUM 41 – yet the line-up is stacked wall-to-wall with all the pop-punk and post-hardcore you could possibly ask for. Plus, it feels more like a festival than ever before, now sitting comfortably in its second year in its new home. There was a lot to discover – from emo-black waffle cones to colourful doughnuts, and that’s just the food! The bands themselves were even better so without further ado, here’s what we thought of a fantastic day out!
THE BOTTOM LINE – Rock Scene Stage
Opening a festival is one thing. Opening the main stage is another. Opening a festival’s main stage with less than half the attendees actually inside the arena is a whole new thing. Despite this, south coast pop-punkers THE BOTTOM LINE pull out all the stops to kick off a bill that’s been fourteen months in the making and are rewarded with a sizeable crowd by the end of it. Vocalist Callum Amies is a bundle of energy, from instigating old-school sit-down jump-ups to carrying crowd sing-alongs. It’s this cocksure confidence that highlights their promise, serving as a reminder that pop-punk, first and foremostly, is a place to kick back and have fun. New cut Broke brings the best out of them, shifting gears from straight-up NEW FOUND GLORY-worship to washing themselves in their own brand of arena-ready emo-pop. Safe to say the day is off to a good start.
Rating: 8/10
HACKTIVIST – Jägermeister Stage
If there’s any band on this bill that continue to take the power back, it’s Milton Keynes’ grime metal mob HACKTIVIST. There’s punters still ordering their first drinks at the bar when the band stumble on, but they’ve got a crowd that proves their phoenix-like comeback is nothing but pure fire. Whilst they honour their roots by dusting off their eponymous deep cut, it’s this year’s Hyperdialect that does the real damage. Armoured Core drops like a bomb whilst Planet Zero’s bars are delivered by MC’s J Hurley and Jot Maxi like a knife to the throat. Their timeless reimagining of JAY-Z and KANYE WEST’s Ni**as In Paris is a sight to see: thousands of hardcore kids opening up the pits shouting ‘you are now watching the throne’. If there wasn’t a sizeable chunk of their crowd turning around to get ready for LOATHE during closing duo Hyperdialect and Reprogram, you could argue the throne was theirs.
Rating: 7/10
LOATHE – Jägermeister Stage
Liverpool’s resident alchemists LOATHE have had their fair share of bad hands dealt to them. Their experimental post-metal odyssey I Let It In & It Took Everything arrived to critical acclaim just as COVID-19 closed the country down, and their victory lap was stunted by technical issues and pandemic-related problems at this year’s Download Pilot and Bloodstock festivals. So it’s no surprise that the band are met with the level of fervour headliners can only hope for. And boy, do they work for it. They’re not only the sharpest dressed band in heavy metal, but the sharpest as a unit too. Gored hits like round-after-round of ground-and-pound in the UFC octagon whilst Broken Vision Rhythm bounces off the crowd like a bludgeoning baton, pits erupting everywhere and anywhere. Vocalist Kadeem France is every inch of the frontman you could hope for – whether he’s causing absolute chaos in the crowd or proving it’s possible to dance to extreme metal, it’s a performance that puts them far ahead of the pack. STATIC DRESS’ Olli Appleyard lends a hand for Dance On My Skin, whilst Two-Way Mirror crosses the line as the highlight – the crowd sing along so loud it feels like the tent could come falling down at any point.
Rating: 10/10
SNUFF – Punk In Drublic Stage
It’s somewhat surprising that on a stage curated by punk rock’s walking controversy Fat Mike that ska-punk veterans SNUFF dedicate their biggest hit to the hard-working heroes of the NHS. It’s not so surprising that the song in question is their super-hit Arsehole – although they do claim it’s not the sentiment behind the shoutout! It’s safe to say you can’t take SNUFF serious, and as long as you don’t, you’ll have one heck of a time. They pull no punches with their old-school banter, and their trombone brilliance brings out the skanking in the Slam Dunk crowd for scenes like no other during the likes of Nick Northern. There’s a whole host of up-and-coming talent on display today, but SNUFF make it clear you can’t beat a bit of old-school punk-rock fun.
Rating: 8/10
AS IT IS – Rock Scene Stage
Patty Walters has had more haircuts than we’ve had hot dinners, but since moving on from his days impersonating Gerard Way, the pop-punk princes are back and sounding bigger and better than ever in an early-doors set that celebrates their past and shines a light on their future. The Wounded World whips up the circle pits. Hey Rachel gives us the sing-alongs. And IDGAF is the proof in the pudding that AS IT IS might’ve been down, but they’re definitely not out. They blast out the banger with such ferocity it feels like a dragon blasting fire into your face – or that might just be the heat of the sun! – and fellow new cut I Lie To Me drops all the same. It’s rare a band can just drop new songs like it’s nothing on a crowd and have them sing back word-for-word like their fan favourites, so it’s testament to this trio – joined by SET IT OFF’s Maxx Danzinger on drums -and their resilience. Patty Walters switches lanes with finesse, shifting from hitting deep with speeches on struggling with his mental health during the pandemic to joking ‘who hear thinks we haven’t been good since Never Happy, Ever After?’. If this is a new chapter being written, it’s opening with style.
Rating: 9/10
CREEPER – Rock Scene Stage
For a band draped in black, blasting out songs about a fallen angel falling in love and condemning himself to being damned and doomed – it’s far too hot. Yet a little heatwave could never stop brit-pop emo-punks CREEPER from stealing the show once again. They push the limits from the opening minutes as Hiding With Boys rushes out of the gate like a dog on the tracks; and it simply doesn’t stop there. It takes ginormous balls to drop a fan-favourite deep-cut second-song in at a festival, yet CREEPER drop VCR with such confidence it’s far too charming. Frontman Will Gould is at his Jarvis Cocker-inspired best this afternoon, with the crowd in the palm of his hands like pawns on a chess board, obeying his every command. It only intensifies when he shares centre-stage with keyboardist and vocalist Hannah Greenwood for a show-stopping airing of American Noir’s Midnight. Napalm Girls and Annabelle are met with the kind of chaotic energy you imagine THE BEATLES got at Shea Stadium, whilst Misery once again reminds us of their potential to headline the biggest festivals and venues, as the crowd sings so loud rival festivals up in Manchester could hear it.
Rating: 10/10
MCFLY – Key Club Stage
Following on from their friends BUSTED’s 2019 secret set, the not-so-secret secret guests are boyband royalty MCFLY. You can joke all you like, but the crowd is packing in tighter than a tin of sardines to sing-along to their hits-riddled set. Opener One For The Radio is simply their starter for ten, before Star Girl and Obviously have them running wild with the crowd. Sure, there’s people hear to crowd-surf to MALEVOLENCE, but they’re having too good a time to care about hardcore reputations as nostalgia washes over proceedings. All About You is a momentous occasion, whilst closer 5 Colours In Her Hair is a stark reminder that pop-punk and boybands go hand-in-hand, and there’s no harm in having fun at a festival. Even if it is MCFLY.
Rating: 8/10
WE ARE THE IN CROWD – Rock Scene Stage
There was a point in time where WE ARE THE IN CROWD were quickly becoming pop-punk’s poster-band. They were everywhere – on every line-up, magazine cover and bedroom wall you could think of. And then they just disappeared and apart from side-project SAINTE, they didn’t really do anything. So it’s somewhat surprising that their postponed reunion shows six years in the making at Slam Dunk are met with an underwhelming crowd – although a fair chunk of that is finishing off the MCFLY festivities and selling out ice cream trucks. For those who have stuck around, it’s a set that celebrates their back catalogue and showcases a band who’ve rediscovered why they started WE ARE THE IN CROWD way back when. It feels even better that there’s none of the technical hitches that hacked up their set at the Leeds leg of Slam Dunk so they get to do their full set. Kiss Me Again and Both Sides Of The Story feel like shining lights in a set of sing-alongs, yet it’s a poignant airing of Dreaming Out Loud that highlights just how much vocalists Taylor Jardine and Jordan Eckes missed leading the charge all these years.
Rating: 7/10
A – Key Club Stage
They’ve been on almost any bill that’s been put on this summer, and it’s safe to say the pop-punk mainstays have not outstayed their welcome just yet. Having amassed a handful of hits over the years, A deal out a masterclass in festival setlist choices, going for the big guns from the opening number to the big finale. Their setlist today is harvested strictly from the crops of their commercial success – 1999’s A vs. Monkey Kong and 2002’s Hi-Fi Serious. It’s a tactic that pays out plenty, as early helpings of Monkey Kong and Starbucks have the crowd chomping at the bit for more like Oliver Twist for gruel. Vocalist Jason Perry is as ever as much a comedian as he is a frontman. He’s whipping out one-liners like they’re going out of fashion, and even finds the time to end the show dressed like he’s off to a ski lodge for a week, whilst the sun shines down like hell on earth has arrived. Closer Nothing is, as always, the crown jewel of their set and the Slam Dunk crowd do it justice as crowd-surfers clamber all over the place and others chant the chorus like it’s a verse from the bible.
Rating: 8/10
ANTI-FLAG – Punk In Drublic Stage
ANTI-FLAG have been preaching politics and punk rock for nearly three decades. Their set on the Punk In Drublic Stage this year proves there’s still a place for punk in a world obsessed with a post-punk revival instead. They waste no time in running through a career-spanning set, dropping big hitters like The Press Corpse and Turncoat in the opening moments like it’s nothing. Justin Sane and Chris#2 are the keys to ANTI-FLAG’s everlasting live appeal. They bounce off of each other like pinballs in a machine, whipping up circle pits and crowd-surfing like it’s nobody’s business. Even when the crowd isn’t cheering being called pukes by Chris#2, there’s a real sense of comradery. The loudest love from the crowd comes during their impassionate shoutouts and dedications to the likes of George Floyd and Sarah Everard before diving into a blistering rendition of Fuck Police Brutality. Calling cards like This Is The End (For You My Friend) and Die For The Government go down like a storm in a teacup, whilst newer cuts Hate Conquers All and American Attraction show off just how vital Anti-Flag are – now, why aren’t they headlining?
Rating: 10/10
SKINDRED – Jägermeister Stage
If you were hoping to get a good spot for BURY TOMORROW’s co-headline set this evening, you’re fresh out of luck. Special guests SKINDRED packed out the Jägermeister Stage end-to-end, bringing their riotous ragga-rock circus to Slam Dunk once more. If you’ve been lucky enough to be graced by Benji Webbe and co. at one of Britain’s many festivals this year, then tonight’s set is standard fare and nothing new. If you haven’t, it’s one hell of a trip through their back catalogue. Early helpings of Rat Race and Doom Riff cause such a riot it’s a surprise security aren’t calling for backup, whilst Kill The Power and Pressure dish out the sing-alongs. Benji is at his banterful best as always, coaxing the crowd into singing ‘if you’re happy and you know it’ and waving ceremoniously like the queen. It’s closer Warning that causes the most chaos. The stage is nothing but a sea of t-shirts as the Newport Helicopter goes off without a hitch for the hundredth time. If there’s anything wrong with this set, it’s simply the question of why SKINDRED are confined to a stage this small.
Rating: 9/10
STATE CHAMPS – Rock Scene Stage
If you wanted a pop-punk party, STATE CHAMPS set on the Rock Scene Stage is undoubtedly the place to be. For a band who’ve spent time living under ALL TIME LOW’s shadow, they show it’s their time to take centre stage. Even though today’s set shows off their two new singles, they take us down memory lane with opener Elevated. It’s a smart move, as every soul in attendance is singing along. Frozen and Losing Myself follow in quick succession for more of the same. Admittedly, more of the same is simply the best way to sum up their set. Sure, they’re sounding bigger and better than ever and frontman Derek Discanio has become the people’s champion. But it all just feels like what they’ve been doing since 2013 and for third up on the bill, that’s just about cutting the mustard. Saying that, new songs Just Sound and Outta My Head are ready-made pop-punk hits that win over the crowd – even if there’s a few confused faces for those who haven’t heard the newbies just yet. Circle pits erupt for Criminal and Slow Burn sparks up the chanting yet the sense of been there, done that, got the t-shirt holds tight till the end.
Rating: 6/10
BURY TOMORROW – Jägermeister Stage
Boy, have BURY TOMORROW been through it. Last year’s top ten-invading Cannibal suffered several delays, as did it’s supporting tours that still haven’t taken place whilst founding member, clean guitarist and co-vocalist Jason Cameron left the band only weeks ago. Throw in frontman Dani Winter-Bates mental health struggles – the very same that make Cannibal so empowering – then it’s no surprise they feel like it’s all on the line tonight. Regardless, they prove once again why they’re a British metal institution. They’ve weathered storms like few bands before them, and it’s clear they’re not going to be pushed aside. Every note and every line of every song is more visceral than ever before; Dani stomps across the stage like a bull in a china shop, helping bring home vital renditions of Man On Fire and Black Flame.
They’re taking their overdue elevation to co-headliners seriously. Their production is on a whole new level, as screens and smoke add waves of depth to their ground-and-pound attacks. The speeches haven’t changed though, and that’s important – Dani is a dab hand at winning over a crowd, and tonight is no different as he introduces an emotional airing of fan-favourite Lionheart as the song that is as relevant to them now as when they wrote it, a song written for the fans in mind. Arguably, closer Cannibal is the highlight of the whole set – crowd-surfers clamber across every inch of the barrier giving security a shift they won’t forget and the pits get bigger and bigger as the band bring home the set they’ve deserved for so long.
Rating: 9/10
FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS – Punk In Drublic Stage
It’s fair to say that at this stage in his career, folk-punk troubadour Frank Turner is a national treasure. He’s helped open the 2012 Olympics. He’s invaded the charts on more than one occasion. And he’s an all-round wonderful guy who happens to have the most diverse crowd of the day – from toddlers on their tiptoes to elderly punks slow-dancing. It’s madness, and that’s what it’s about. He’s not messing about this evening either. Opener Get Better is full of the punk-rock sing-along pomp he’s always preaching, whilst If Ever I Stray is such a staple of his set these days everyone in the crowd sings it like it’s their own. He even nods to a late-night appearance with NOFX by blasting out his cover of their cut Linoleum, stating “they said they’d never play it again, so it’s mine now!” – and he certainly has made it his own. A double-whammy of Recovery and I Still Believe back-to-back is an experience akin to arriving at the pearly gates of heaven as if it’s a paradise vacation, whilst closer Four Simple Words is heaven in four minutes or less. Members of NOFX invade the stage to slow-dance as the whole crowd suddenly starts dancing with their loved ones and total strangers. There’s even a walking circle pit – it’s the kind of madness that makes you smile and it’s once again proof that Frank Turner is a national treasure and should be protected at all costs.
Rating: 9/10
DON BROCO – Rock Scene Stage
Some bands simply have stories to tell. You know, those golden-age rags-to-riches ones. The ones where they work so hard to climb the hill that when they reach the top, it truly is a showstopper of a moment. DON BROCO’s headline set at Slam Dunk is a prime example. Having first played the festival a decade ago on the since-forgotten Introducing stage, they’ve come back year after year and on their fifth appearance, they’ve finally reached the crème de la crème of slots. Sure, this was meant to happen way back in 2019 but with their new album Amazing Things well and truly underway with a slew of singles that have no regard for genre whatsoever other than being absolute bangers, it doesn’t matter.
And dealing in absolute bangers is what DON BROCO build their set on. Few bands these days can offer up an opening run as hit-heavy as Pretty, Manchester Super Reds No.1 Fan, Stag Ignorant, Automatic, and Technology and still have plenty of gas in the tank to keep the crowd chomping at the bit for more throughout the set. Rob Damiani is the cheerleader all bands need – he struts his stuff across the stage like he truly owns it. And tonight, he and his DON BROCO boys club do. Whilst they’ve always been a band you either love or hate, you can’t help but fall for them as the passive-aggressive sing-along punch-up of Priorities sounds as good now as it did half a decade ago and Come Out To LA is still a shining light in their back catalogue.
WHILE SHE SLEEP’s Loz Taylor runs from his band’s co-headline slot on the Jägermeister Stage to join up with the BROCO boys for Action, before everyone gives way for drummer Matt Donnelly’s shining moment on the second-ever airing of One True Prince. The lasers light up the place like it’s a seventies disco, and by the time the crowd swing their t-shirts around like they’re giddying up during closer T-Shirt Song, it’s safe to say DON BROCO are well and truly a Slam Dunk success story.
Rating: 10/10
And that rounds off our review of this year’s much-welcomed return of Slam Dunk Festival! 2021’s event was an utter blast and we’re already counting down the days until next year’s festival!
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