MY PERSONAL SCHEDULE (I DID NOT VISIT THE KERRANG! STAGE OR THE KEY CLUB STAGE)
| Main Stage West | Main Stage East | Monster Energy Stage |
| Sweet Pill | Defects ✓ | The Meffs |
| Hit The Lights | Dream State | Save Ferris ✓ |
| Knuckle Puck | Imminence | Home Grown ✓ |
| Movements ✓ | LANDMVRKS | The Ataris ✓ |
| The Starting Line ✓ | Stray From The Path | The Aquabats! |
| Hot Mulligan ✓ | Finch ✓ | Zebrahead |
| New Found Glory | The Used ✓✓ | Streetlight Manifesto |
| Neck Deep ✓ | Electric Callboy | Less Than Jake ✓ |
| A Day To Remember ✓ | Alkaline Trio ✓ |
South
Defects: 11:45 – 12:20
Band members: Tony Maue (vocals), Luke Genders (guitar), James Threadwell (guitar), David Silver (bass), Harry Jennings (drums)
From: UK
Setlist:
1. End Of Days
2. Lockdown
3. Dream Awake
4. Broken Bloodlines
5. Heretic
6. Recurring
7. Modern Error
Highlights:
- Tony Maue’s endearing stage presence. I felt like I wanted to learn more about him
- The band kick-starting the day with a bang. Their talent drew in a large crowd, for so early in the morning
- The only Metal band of the festival, for me
- Witnessing how genuinely grateful the band were to be performing for us
Save Ferris: 12:40 – 1:15
Band members: Monique Powell (vocals), Justin Linn (guitar), Alex Csillag (trombone/keyboards), Tristan Hurd (trumpet), Jake Courlang (bass), Jamie Howell (drums)
From: Orange County, California (USA)
Setlist:
1. Anything
2. The World Is New
3. Goodbye
4. Artificial Life (Operation Ivy cover)
5. I Know
6. Too Drunk To Fuck (Dead Kennedys cover)
7. Come On Eileen (Dexys Midnight Runners cover)
Highlights:
- The upbeat music. Save Ferris are a Ska Punk band and I’m not familiar with that type of music, which made their set refreshing
- Monique Powell’s crowd engagement and awareness, light-heartedly telling someone to stop looking at their phone
- The energetic performances from every band member. It really felt like a party
- Hearing ‘I Know’, which the band performed in one of my favourite teen movies, ’10 Things I Hate About You’
Home Grown: 1:40 – 2:15
Band members: John Tran (guitar/vocals), Adam Lohrbach (bass/vocals), Dan Hammond (guitar), Darren Reynolds (drums)
From: Orange County, California (USA)
Setlist:
1. Tomorrow
2. I Love You, NOT
3. Second Best
4. Give It Up
5. I’ll Never Fall In Love
6. Get A Job
7. Surfer Girl
8. Kiss Me, Diss Me
9. You’re Not Alone
Highlights:
- The band trying to create a record number of mosh pits in the tent
- Seeing them was exciting, as they don’t tour the UK often
- When they dedicated a song to the recent San Diego plane crash victims
The Ataris: 2:40 – 3:20
Band members: Kristopher Roe (vocals/rhythm guitar), Mike Davenport (bass), Brian Bonsall (guitar), Chris Knapp (drums)
From: Anderson, Indiana (USA)
Setlist:
1. In This Diary
2. Unopened Letter To The World
3. The Hero Dies In This One
4. Takeoffs And Landings
5. Your Boyfriend Sucks
6. Boxcar (Jawbreaker cover)
7. The Boys Of Summer (Don Henley cover)
8. San Dimas High School Football Rules
9. I Won’t Spend Another Night Alone
10. So Long, Astoria
Highlights:
- Kristopher Roe telling stories about being friends with the band members from Jawbreaker and covering their song, ‘Boxcar’
- ‘The Boys Of Summer’ singalong
- KR encouraging us to take photos/videos so he could show his mother he’s “still alive”
Finch: 5:05 – 5:50
Band members: Nate Barcalow (vocals), Randy Strohmeyer (lead guitar/backing vocals), Alex Linares (guitar), Kenny Finn (bass), Alex Pappas (drums)
From: Temecula, California (USA)
Setlist:
1. Three Simple Words
2. Grey Matter
3. Miro
4. Ravenous
5. Letters To You
6. Bitemarks And Bloodstains
7. Horror Island
8. Stay With Me
9. Insomniatic Meat
10. Palpatine
11. What It Is To Burn
Highlights:
- Nate Barcalow’s breath-taking vocals and the amount of emotion he puts into his performances
- Agreeing with NB about liking the cloudy weather, although he didn’t get much of a response after commenting how nice a day it was
- Hearing ‘What It Is To Burn’ live for the first time (one of my favourite songs)
- Throwing the setlist into the crowd, in the shape of a paper aeroplane
The Used: 6:15 – 7:15
Band members: Bert McCracken (vocals), Jeph Howard (bass/backing vocals), Joey Bradford (guitar), Dan Whitesides (drums)
From: Orem, Utah (USA)
Setlist:
1. Take It Away
2. I Caught Fire
3. Let It Bleed
4. All That I’ve Got
5. Cut Up Angels
6. Listening
7. Yesterday’s Feelings
8. Light With A Sharpened Edge
9. Sound Effects And Overdramatics
10. Hard To Say
11. Lunacy Fringe
12. I’m A Fake
Highlights:
- Hearing the album ‘In Love and Death’ in full, as part of The Used’s 25th anniversary tour
- Bert McCracken’s stage presence and sense of humour. He read/pointed out signs and poked fun at a fan in the front who kept trying to show off her tattoo
- The band members were full of smiles, despite the dark themes in their songs
- The funny song introductions – “This is another song about sexual intercourse!” for eg. A kid cheered and I heard someone (his mum?) say they hope he is too young to know what that is
Less Than Jake: 7:15 – 8:15
Band members: Chris DeMakes (vocals/guitar), Roger Lima (vocals/bass), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter Wasilewski (saxophone), Matt Yonker (drums)
From: Gainesville, Florida (USA)
Setlist:
1. Gainesville Rock City
2. Lie To Me
3. Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts
4. Walking Pipebomb
5. All My Best Friends Are Metalheads
6. Not My Problem
7. Automatic
8. Brand New Day
9. The Science Of Selling Yourself Short
10. Animaniacs
11. Sunny Side
12. History Of A Boring Town
13. The High Cost Of Low Living
14. The Rest Of My Life
15. Last One Out Of Liberty City
16. Look What Happened
Highlights:
- The band’s goofy sense of humour, even if they admitted it wasn’t going down incredibly well with the crowd
- Uplifting songs, which are easy to dance along to
- Lots of songs from their excellent new EP, ‘Uncharted’
Alkaline Trio: 8:40 – 9:40
Band members: Matt Skiba (vocals/guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals/bass), Atom Willard (drums)
From: Chicago, Illinois (USA)
Setlist:
1. Time To Waste
2. Armageddon
3. Emma
4. Bad Time
5. Stupid Kid
6. Cringe
7. Fatally Yours
8. Calling All Skeletons
9. Sadie
10. Mercy Me
11. Warbrain
12. Maybe I’ll Catch Fire
13. Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs
14. Private Eye
15. Radio
Highlights:
- They sounded flawless, even inside a tent
- Matt Skiba giving a drumstick to a kid holding a sign and asking if it is his first Alkaline Trio show
- The atmosphere. Everyone was singing along. I was pressed up against the barrier and could hardly move
- Getting a guitar pick! I’d missed several and I wanted one from Alkaline Trio the most
North
Movements: 2:30 – 3:10
Band members: Patrick Miranda (vocals), Austin Cressey (bass guitar/rhythm guitar), Ira George (lead guitar), Spencer York (drums), Crust Young (guitar, touring)
From: Rancho Santa Margarita, California (USA)
Setlist:
1. Afraid To Die
2. Lead Pipe
3. Fail You
4. Full Circle
5. Colorblind
6. Where I Lay
7. Kept
8. Daylily
9. I Hope You Choke!
Highlights:
- Patrick Miranda’s impressive vocals
- Memorable tunes, energising the crowd early in the afternoon
- It being the last performance of their UK tour
The Starting Line: 3:35 – 4:20
Band members: Kenny Vasoli (vocals/guitar), Mike Golla (guitar), Matt Watts (rhythm guitar), Brian Schmutz (keyboard), Tom Gryskiewicz (drums)
From: Churchville, Pennsylvania (USA)
Setlist:
1. Surprise, Surprise
2. Up & Go
3. Almost There, Going Nowhere
4. Are You Alone
5. Birds
6. Island
7. 21
8. Direction
9. Left Coast Envy
10. Leaving
11. The Best Of Me
Highlights:
- Kenny Vasoli commenting on how the bubbles someone near the front was blowing were a “nice touch”. He was right, especially during ‘Island’ with the lyrics “If you float away”
- The fact The Starting Line hadn’t played a UK show in around nine years
- ‘The Best Of Me’ being a perfect anthemic song for this festival, with hundreds of people singing along
Hot Mulligan: 4:45 – 5:30
Band members: Nathan “Tades” Sanville (vocals), Chris Freeman (rhythm guitar), Ryan “Spicy” Malicsi (guitar), Jonah “Fantasy Camp” Kramer (bass), Brandon Blakeley (drums)
From: Lansing, Michigan (USA)
Setlist:
1. How Do You Know It’s Not Armadillo Shells?
2. Drink Milk And Run
3. Shhhh! Golf Is On
4. Fly Move (The Whole Time)
5. Gans Media Retro Games
6. It’s A Family Movie She Hates Her Dad
7. Losing Days
8. Stickers Of Brian
9. End Eric Sparrow And The Life Of Him
10. SPS
11. OG Bule Sky
12. *Equip Sunglasses*
13. BCKYRD
Highlights:
- Finally getting to see one of the festival’s most highly anticipated bands. The hype surrounding them was unreal. Two women either side of me were weeping throughout their entire set
- Their quirky sense of humour. Particularly Chris Freeman’s enthusiasm regarding Charlie XCX’s Pop music. Not every band member felt the same way
- The band teaching us how to do “The Fly Move”
The Used: 6:15 – 7:15
Band members: Bert McCracken (vocals), Jeph Howard (bass/backing vocals), Joey Bradford (guitar), Dan Whitesides (drums)
From: Orem, Utah (USA)
Setlist:
1. Maybe Memories
2. The Taste Of Ink
3. Bulimic
4. Say Days Ago
5. Poetic Tragedy
6. Buried Myself Alive
7. A Box Full Of Sharp Objects (with Sean Smith from The Blackout)
8. Blue And Yellow
9. Greener With The Scenery
10. Noise And Kisses
11. On My Own
12. Pieces Mended
13. Polly
14. Choke Me
Highlights:
- Hearing their first album, ‘The Used’ (‘Self-Titled’), in it’s entirety
- It was impossible to stand still for one second at a time. Could be classed as a lowlight but the energy of the crowd was infectious
- Bert McCracken waving to babies at the side of the stage, showing his softer side
Neck Deep: 7:20 – 8:30
Band members: Ben Barlow (vocals), Matt West (rhythm guitar), Sam Bowden (lead guitar), Seb Barlow (bass), Matt Powles (drums)
From: Wrexham, Wales (UK)
Setlist:
1. Heartbreak Of The Century
2. STFU
3. Take Me With You
4. Lowlife
5. Motion Sickness
6. Kali Ma
7. Gold Steps
8. Can’t Kick Up The Roots
9. What Did You Expect?
10. You Should See Me Now
11. She’s A God
12. We Need More Bricks
13. Dumbstruck Dumbf**k
14. A Part Of Me
15. December (Again)
16. In Bloom
Highlights:
- The flames and confetti cannons. They really pulled out all the stops
- The “Girl Pit” they asked to be created in the middle of the crowd for ‘She’s A God’. A creative idea I’d never seen before
- The band showing optimism about potentially headlining the festival stage someday. Maybe they will next year, for the festival’s 20th anniversary?
A Day To Remember: 9:00 – 10:15
Band members: Jeremy McKinnon (vocals), Neil Westfall (rhythm guitar), Kevin Skaff (lead guitar), Bobby Lynge (bass), Alex Shelnutt (drums)
From: Ocala, Florida (USA)
Setlist:
1. The Downfall Of Us All
2. I’m Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?
3. 2nd Sucks
4. Right Back At It Again
5. Bad Blood
6. Paranoia
7. Have Faith In Me
8. Walk (Pantera cover)
9. Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson cover)
10. All My Friends
11. You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic
12. Mr. Highway’s Thinking About The End
13. Resentment
14. LeBron
15. Feedback
16. Miracle
17. All I Want
18. Sometimes You’re The Hammer, Sometimes You’re The Nail
19. If It Means A Lot To You
20. Flowers
21. All Signs Point To Lauderdale
Highlights:
- Bobby Lynge (their new bassist) requesting ‘Since U Been Gone’ by Kelly Clarkson when the band had refused to perform it for the last twelve years
- A good selection of songs from their new album, ‘Big Ole Album Vol. 1’, which I have been playing on repeat. They even did my favourite – ‘LeBron’!
- The band encouraging people to crowd surf on TOP of crowd surfers
- Throwing out t-shirts and toilet paper into the gigantic crowd for the grand finale
CONCLUSION
This was my second time at Slam Dunk Festival and my first time doing both South and North. I went last year, when You Me At Six headlined. The festival reminds me of ‘When We Were Young Festival’ in Las Vegas, on a smaller scale. I never know how to write festival blogs, as it would take several days to pour my heart out about all of the spectacular bands I saw this time around. From what I have seen, this is possibly the strongest line-up Slam Dunk Festival has ever had. My top five acts of the weekend were Alkaline Trio, The Used, A Day To Remember, Finch and The Starting Line. You could make a personalised schedule using the festival’s app and I loved seeing how different everybody’s were. Some of the clashes were painful, such as Knuckle Puck being on at the same time as Home Grown, and Electric Callboy headlining Main Stage East during Neck Deep and Alkaline Trio. Overall, the organisers did a fantastic job. The free energy drinks (Monster sponsored the festival) were appreciated on arrival. I had completely bypassed them last year, totally oblivious. My biggest gripe both times has been travelling back to my hotel. My return train to Cambridge was cancelled in Hatfield after I left the festival early to make it in time – a nightmare, seeing as there was only one train an hour heading North. Last year, I couldn’t find the shuttle buses to take me back to Camden Town, after asking several members of staff. Paul eventually managed to pick me up this time, with little to no signposting on the roads. Then he was given questionable advice, to reverse back on to the roundabout! Thankfully, the steward retracted this, as we weren’t ready to become a sandwich. I preferred Leeds to Hatfield, as the toilet/bar queues were shorter and the field was much more scenic. The layouts differed slightly but it was easy to find my way around using the map on the app. I got picked up from Leeds to avoid any further drama and there was a torrential downpour as soon as I climbed into the car. I felt sorry for everyone walking home but was amused the clouds held in the rain until the music was over. Putting my grievances aside, I would definitely return. Next year, whether or not I go will depend on how much the line-up appeals to me. If I only had to pick one site, I would most likely choose Leeds. It was wonderfully nostalgic, seeing all these Punk, Rock and Emo greats, and I refused to let anything sour my weekend. Please share your own photos in the comments!
(Feel free to correct any band member names or other facts. I got most of my information from Wikipedia.)
GALLERY:
