New Found Glory @ Slam Dunk Festival
Well it was that time of year again, the biggest pop punk festival of 2010 - Slam Dunk, and with this year being its biggest so far with two action-packed days catering for both folks in the North and South of the UK, I knew I was in for a treat.
After hearing terrible reviews of the organisation of the first day in Hertfordshire - the new Southern home of Slam Dunk - I hoped that the Leeds event was not going to be as much of a disaster. Having been a punter at the festival before, I knew that it was sometimes hard to get from stage to stage, but upon my arrival I realised that this had been somewhat remedied by the opening of more corridors to get between the various stages, and also the introduction of the sponsor area outside the front of the University which helped by giving the public a lot more room to move, but did make it a lot harder to find friends and companions in the crowd. I suppose you can’t have it all ways though eh?
Anyway, onto the music, and with stages from clothing labels such as Glamour Kills, Vans, Imperial Leisure and Babycakes to name a few, there was a whole host of different music tastes to be licked. The Imperial Leisure stage did a great job of pumping out some of the hardest beats from the hardcore world with the ever powerful Your Demise flying through a big hitting set which saw the crowd clambering over each other to get closer to the action, with singer, Ed McRae, risking life and limb to give everything to the fans and rarely being out of the action.
Joining Your Demise on the Imperial Leisure stage were the awesome Blackhole, fronted by the young, but never without charisma, Richard Carter, who proclaimed mid way through the first song 'unlike any other hardcore band, we just want people to dance' this statement set the trend for the rest of there massively positive set containing the best of their EP; Dead Hearts.
The Babycakes Bar could not have been further from the Imperial Stage, with some of the countries biggest names from some of the countries coolest bands with the likes of Sean Smith of Blackout fame, Lags of Gallows fame, Millionaires and last but not least Ian Watkins of Lostprophets performing under his DJ name, La' Amour La Morgue. All producing some massively massive remixes and encouraging some purely epic shapes to be dropped by partygoers of all ages.
On the Glamour Kills stage the bands to draw the biggest crowds were of course the big three, Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong and perhaps the patrons of Pop-Punk New Found Glory.
Set Your Goals blasted through an awesome set mixing their older stuff with the biggest tracks from of their new album, 'This Will Be The Death Of Us' really getting the crowd warmed up for the onslaught from one of Pop-Punks newnomers, Four Year Strong, who came on and quite simply came on and whipped up the biggest circle pits and mosh pits of the day.
With their massive breakdowns and soaring vocals, finishing their ground breaking set with the biggest songs off of their last two albums’ 'Heroes Get Remembered...', 'Enemy of The World' and 'Eternal Summer,' leaving the crowd in complete awe.
But the best was yet to come in this Pop-punk fest because up next was New Found Glory. As a band who have been around for a good few years now and done their fair share of live shows, I was certain they wouldn’t disappoint here in Leeds.
Taking to the stage to the tune of 'Party in the USA' by Miley Cyrus, the lads proved they are still as much fun as they have ever been, bouncing through there 80 minute set without a loss of beat nor energy.
If that wasn't enough, I even managed to stumble upon The Rockets Summers' singer Bryce Avery singing completely acoustically in the middle of a packed room, proving that what ever your focus in alternative music, there is something there for you at Slam Dunk.
And by the end of it all? Well there were an awful lot of sweaty teenagers and young adults, with massive smiles on their faces, proving that Slam Dunk is still a massive winner. However, at the speed it continues to grow I fear it might soon be looking for yet another new venue, as this one is seemingly to small to contain the big beats and happiness that happens every year.
Words & Photos : Ben Gibson
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