Slam Dunk

Hatfield - Sunday 29^th May 2011 

Bands seen: The Skints, Feed The Rhino, Anti-Flag, Bury Tomorrow, Yashin



Yashin

After reading a few facebook posts about the unmanageable queues at Slam Dunk in Leeds, I am happy to say there was none of that at Slam Dunk in Hatfield.  There was a good atmosphere in the queue and at the festival.  The security guards were friendly and helpful, and we got in with plenty of time to spare before The Skints came on stage.  I have been spoilt by seeing them in more intimate venues such as The Maze in Nottingham, so it was strange seeing them outdoors at a festival and so far behind a barrier.  The very talented Marcia still impresses as she not only has a beautiful singing voice, but also plays a different musical instrument in almost every song.  The Skints were a popular start with the early festival crowd.

 

The Skints

Next on my program was Feed The Rhino.  Having seen FTR three times in as many months, I can confidently say that they are consistently AMAZING on stage.  Well, the singer wasn’t always on the stage, transforming from Rhino to monkey; he jumped on top of the speakers and at one point was swinging off the rafter.  Another lively and energetic show from Feed the Rhino.  I bought their Mr Red Eye CD for the drive home, and all it did was make me want to turn round, drag them back on stage and watch them live all over again! 

 

Feed The Rhino



Feed The Rhino

   


Feed The Rhino

We were sitting taking a break between bands, when my son dashed over and insisted we all saw Bury Tomorrow, as he had walked past the Honour and Glory stage and immediately liked the sound of them.  I have to say, they were pretty impressive.   
   

Bury Tomorrow

Anti-Flag had a few sound problems on the Jagermeister stage, but that didn’t stop them.  Dragging the loudspeaker into the crowd for an impromptu sing along, who needs a sound system when you have a crowd who were happy to be vocalists for one of the greatest political punk bands. Other bands might have packed it in, but Anti-Flag were in the crowd creating a very special moment with their fans.  When the sound problems were fixed, the crowd went wild and a mosh pit evolved without any encouragement.  At one point even the drummer and his drum kit were set up in the pit.  One trillion dollars could buy most anything – this memory – Priceless.   

 

Anti-Flag

Yashin have come a long way since I first saw them over a year ago at The Rock in Copenhagen.  I hadn’t heard of them before then, but my choice was a night alone in a hotel room or a night at Copenhagen’s best rock club.  Some things are just meant to be, as I was totally blown away by the sheer talent of these young guys.  They gave their all even though the venue wasn’t particularly full.  I was so impressed with their onstage performance that I texted my son and told him to you tube this band Yashin.  I saw them again in the basement at Rock City when they supported GOTK (and yes I was the only ‘grown-up’ there...).  It was clear then that the fans weren’t just there to see GOTK and that Yashin were growing in popularity.  Nothing however, prepared me for the crowd of screaming I love you jumping pushing teenage girls at Slam Dunk.  The band are heavy enough to appeal to the teenage boys, and cute enough to appeal to the teenage girls. They have finally been discovered by the teenage masses and are now seriously hot stuff.  Yashin are playing at Download and are then supporting Papa Roach on tour (screaming!!!). 

Yashin





Yashin



Anterior

Anterior supported by Sephirothic

The Old Bell, Derby, 11 May 2011

Anterior

Sephirothic

Playing their second gig as Sephirothic, the support band for Anterior’s gig at The Old Bell Derby had me mesmerised right from the start.  At one point I put the camera down and just let the music wash over me.  I enjoyed what I was hearing, but I enjoyed watching the band on stage as well.  The lead singer has the most gorgeous long wavy hair which enveloped him as he sang with an other worldly quality to his voice.  To the right of the stage, the lead guitarist Simon C. Clarke rocked out with his work of art, a white ESP LTD EX400, which is so hot it deserves a mention.  The bassist Richard Langridge looks every bit the rock star who belongs on a stage.  Guitarist Sean Van Rock and drummer Rich Magee complete the band that sound so good it feels like they have been jamming together for years.  The band, just like the Sephirothic, or tree of life that provides directions to heaven, did just this, and with Anterior on next, they showed me the way to metal heaven. 
 



that ESP LTD EX400...



Sephirothic

Anterior are HEAVY metal!  The kind of stuff that hits in you in your soul and flows through your veins until you are feeling nothing but pure bliss.  I can see why fans complained that their half hour slot on the Metal Hammer Razor tour was simply not long enough.  Even a full set leaves you wanting more.  I would imagine that Anterior’s main audience would be the headbanging, crowd surfing, moshpit loving males, but on this particular evening, the band were pleased to note that there was a 50/50 ratio of ladies to men.  The ladies were equally pleased at being noticed and having a song dedicated to them.  I was pleased by the selection of Flying V’s used throughout the set, three in total.  I can’t think of anything more visually pleasing at a metal gig than the combination of a flying V, being held in ‘a certain way’, with long hair flying in all directions.
 

Anterior

Pleasing their audience is high on the agenda.  The band explain that this is a home grown tour, in response to their fans demands.  They didn't get to play in all the cities they would have liked to... this time round, but they will be back on tour again once their new album has been released.  In the meantime they will aptly be playing on the Jägermeister stage at Sonsiphere this year.  I love my jäger and I LOVE this band! 

Anterior

I did notice that two of the band members had Bleed From Within tee-shirts on.  We have something in common then - dam good taste in music...

Anterior



Groezrock Road Trip

Groezrock Festival, Belgium, 22 and 23 April 2011
It was the combination of sunny weather and an excellent line-up at Groezrock that made me forget all about the camping and the queuing that goes with festival life.  For those who arrived at Groezrock on the Friday, there would have been 6 queues to stand in before getting to see a band with drink in hand.  It was all the queuing that meant I got to see my first band of the day thirsty.  Half an hour in the queue to get searched before entering the arena, and then another queue to get a wristband for access to the arena, meant that there was no time to queue for drink tokens, let alone a drink.  My irritation was short lived though and disappeared as soon as I heard Bleed From Within, as it was now all about the music.  My mood was further lightened when much to my amusement, I saw three of the security guards bouncing to the rhythm.  That was the first time I had seen security looking anything other than stern and on guard to haul any crowd surfers over the railing.  They were clearly enjoying Bleed From Within as much as the crowd were, a crowd that went wild when the  lead singer jumped off the large impersonal stage, and lunged himself into the midst of the screaming fans.  It certainly made the three young girls standing next to me, very excited indeed.  

Bleed From Within

Bleed From Within

The bands that have the best stage presence know how to connect with their audience; they know how to send the crowd into a frenzy.  Cancer Bats were another band that did just that.  With Cancer Bats, the audience were as much a part of the show as the band were, and there was a constant stream of fans climbing on stage to stage dive.  It helped that there were no barriers to the Etnies stage and even the girls were clambering to be a part of the stage diving action.  Cancer Bats were my favourite band of the weekend and I felt exhilarated watching them.  When that feeling of euphoria stays long after the show has ended, you know it’s been a good one.

Cancer Bats

The weather was gorgeous most of the time and I blame the sunshine for missing a few good bands.  It was pure bliss sitting in the sun with a girlie beer and a few jagers, soaking up the festival atmosphere.  Unfortunately a shower of rain later on in the day drove me into the main tent where Cute Is What We Aim For was playing.  Thankfully the rain didn’t last long, and I hotfooted out of that tent as soon as possible.  I don’t think anyone over the age of fourteen could possibly have enjoyed that show.  Later that evening, Hatebreed restored the balance with a brutal performance, and the evening ended pleasantly with Flogging Molly.     


Campsite at Groezrock

We got up ‘early’ on the Saturday to watch Teenage Bottlerocket.  Although it was midday, it felt like 8 o’clock in the morning.  It may have been perfect weather during the daytime, but in the evening, it was freezing cold and sleeping in a tent is not comfortable at all.  I did the girlie thing and complained bitterly about all the things I hated about camping, while wearily making my way to the main tent.  I soon forgot all about showers, straighteners and how much I desperately needed a decent cup of coffee as I was soon wide awake when the band kick started the party mood for Saturday.  They were just awesome!  They even managed to get the teenage bottlerockers to start a circle pit.  I had a good laugh when a grumpy guy with a KISS t-shirt walk out of the tent half way through the gig.  Intentional?   They may not be bigger than Kiss, but Teenage Bottlerocket played to a full tent, which for a midday slot in the main tent, is pretty impressive. 

   

When you have a great line-up, it’s inevitable that there will be overlaps and you will have some tough choices to make.  On the Friday I had wanted to see Miss May I, but not at the expense of missing Bleed From Within.  On the Saturday, I thought I had a plan… watch Streetlight Manifesto then head on over to see Asking Alexandria.  Unfortunately Streetlight Manifesto were so enjoyable I forgot to leave early to make my way to the Eastpak Stage.  By the time I got there the tent was packed to capacity.  Asking Alexandria sounded great from the outside, but there was no chance of getting in to see them, so I retired back to a spot in the sun with a delicious Rosée beer. 

Artwork in the arena

Back at the camp site, we enjoyed the company of our weekend neighbours.  Initially I was a bit annoyed that we were driven like cattle to a spot where we had to pitch our tents, unlike Sonisphere were you can choose your spot and camp with friends.  It all worked out nicely in the end though, and we met some cool people from Austria and Holland, and it made spending time back at the camp site very amusing.  It was also an oppertunity to swop notes on our favourite bands, and it was our 'neighbours' who suggested watching Blood for Blood before heading off to see Descendants.  I enjoyed Blood for Blood so much that I slipped out of Descendants to continue watching them.  After Descendants we made history by taking part in the world’s biggest gathering of air guitar players, and made a new world record in the process.  Then on to more fun and the Dropkick Murphy’s, who got the main tent dancing and doing the jig.  The festival ended with NoFX, who started off by insulting Belgium and then each other.  No harm done, they played a show that almost never ended… until security eventually managed to get the accordion player off stage amidst much booing.  His solo set at the end seemed to appeal to the very drunk and very devoted NoFX fans who were quite happy for him to continue.  That may have ended the night of music in the arena, but back at the campsite, the parties were far from over….

After packing up, we headed for Amsterdam.  There seemed to be quite a few like-minded people who had decided to do the same; the green wristband easily identifying other festival goers.  We met people who had travelled from South Africa, Switzerland, Greece, and of course the UK.  We also met up with Jordi from Jaya The Cat, who gave me a sneaky listen to one of the songs on the new album they are working on.  With it's catchy beat, I still can't get that song out of my head.  Hurry up Jaya The Cat and finish the album please - I want it!