2023-05-27 | Slam Dunk Festival 2023 (South)
Just as I thought I was getting the hang of posting for each gig I attend, I’m faced with an entirely different challenge in covering a whole festival - it’s gonna be a long one, so strap in! Strangely, despite attending gigs for most of my life, SlammyD23 was my first ever outdoor music festival. Typically I’m reluctant to shell out for festivals where I’m only familiar with one or two bands on the bill, but between the old regulars and bands I’ve always fancied seeing, this time it just had to be!
Mere days after seeing ASIWYFA with Mathmo, I was whisked away on the Friday evening his new flat in Finchley, where a housewarming ensued with a guestlist predominantly of music lovers. Naturally given the context, the guests were mostly fans of alternative, with several due to attend Slammy the following day, and several others speaking with great anticipation about 2000 Trees later in the year. Highlights of the night included newcomers falling around on one of the many trap-chairs, a very in-depth discussion on Radiohead and watching with trepidation as people snacked on an Asian treat that looked like vacuum-packed brains.
The day of the festival, my first must-see band, Zebrahead, weren’t playing until early afternoon, but Mathmo’s determination to see earlier bands necessitated an earlier start so we could be there for the first on-stage. As a result of some oversleeping and some far too leisurely individuals at the Waitrose checkout, we had a rush on to just make the train to Hatfield which was “packed with punks” (clubnight marketers, your donations are graciously accepted). The Hatfield stop received a special announcement from the driver who clearly wanted his normal citizens back.
Sincere Engineer opened the Kerrang stage (right) with an enjoyable sound, very catchy vocals and fun elements such as fans sharing around corn dogs for Corn Dog Sonnet No. 7. Sadly the actual venue engineers never managed to fully raise the band’s banner before the end of their set. We reoriented for Destroy Boys on the left stage, but this band didn’t appeal to me - there was some decent crowd hyping, but vocals largely got lost in the mix and none of the songs really pulled me in.
The Dickies stage was my most hotly anticipated, with all but one of my must-sees performing there. Making the way over in advance of Zebrahead, we caught the tail-end of Teenage Bottlerocket who ended up being my favourite unknown band of the day, encapsulating the skater punk attitude which dominated that corner of Hatfield Park.
Zebrahead put on a great show as always and I was impressed by their new guitarist/vocalist Adrian Estrella. They incorporated a healthy dose of classics such as Rescue Me, Hello Tomorrow, Falling Apart and Anthem. I was slightly disappointed not to hear my more recent favourites We’re Not Alright and Worse Than This, but overall Zebrahead’s performance was the best rounded of the day for me, with a solid setlist, excellent sound and fun crowd interaction with enough pits and walls for anyone’s taste - perhaps to be expected from the Slam Dunk “house band” who seemed hugely appreciative of the audience after a year off of the festival. In turn, the crown were hugely receptive, except perhaps for the lopsided mohawk fella whose chief concern was chain crowd surfing the entire set - you do you, lad.
Still on Dickies, Millencolin took to the stage after a delayed soundcheck. Having never seen them live before and listening to them extensively through my teens, I was super excited for the performance. Sadly the sound wasn’t the greatest, with the kick drum often drowning out the rest of the band in fast sections. That all important Anglo-Swedish drawl was fascinating to hear live, if a little slap-dash on timing at times. Nevertheless, the band were great fun and I was shocked to see the number of fans who were clearly better revised on the material than myself getting primal in some of the most euphoric looking pits I saw all day. While Bullion and Fox were great throwbacks, No Cigar took my best moment of the day prize - what a privilege to see this anthem performed by its originators after warming up on a cover from The 900 a few weeks prior. Big props to the guy who was well and truly living the spirit of Millencolin by sporting a moose costume.
In the gap before Less Than Jake I took in a few unplanned bands and more importantly tried out the Slam Dunk fare. Catching the very end of Boston Manor they appeared to be one of the best subscribed bands of the day, packing out Kerrang right - clearly a popular band, but not one I watched long enough to build a rapport with. The heavier riffs of Four Year Strong certainly seemed more my speed before I snuck out for a cheeky chipotle chicken burrito - this hit the spot exceptionally after a mediocre bacon cheeseburger earlier in the day to the tune of £18 just because I wanted chips and water to accompany it… Flogging Molly looked like a mad ass party as I watched them from afar™ from the gargantuan water queue, the unmistakable Drunken Lullabies rolling across the plains from Dickies.
Firmly on familiar ground, Less Than Jake performed the entirety of their Hello Rockview album which has recently celebrated its 25 year anniversary. The Gainesville group were tight as ever, with a well balanced sound that the audience lapped up. Any fan of the band knows Hello Rockview is a legendary album. However, on reflection, I think I prefer their sets that cherry-pick hits from across their discography, which has a number of triumphs since the Hello Rockview’s release in the late 90s. It was nonetheless interesting to hear more fringe tunes such as Scott Farcas Takes It On The Chin, with their inclusion leaving me indulging in tier 1.5 tracks such as History Of A Boring Town more than I typically would. While we were treated to UK hit and personal favourite Gainesville Rock City, the lack of fan favourites such as Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sell Outs left this lifelong LTJ fan feeling like there was unfinished business - no hard feelings here though, as this is all part of the festival trade-off and there will no doubt be a chance at redemption. One other amusing moment from the set was Chris explaining how a cancellation forced the band to fly “in coach with the peasants” which was received with mixed reactions - best to be on your guard when Chris DeMakes-a-joke.
My penultimate band for the evening, Yellowcard came with a lot of anticipation, and even a sense of obligation. Managing to semi-accidentally see them at Rock City with Less Than Jake in 2015 seemed fortuitous given their years long hiatus in which I was convinced I’d seen the last of the group. The Yellowcard tribe assembled on Kerrang left while Creeper performed opposite, whose sound seemed interesting, but was largely overwritten in my mind by the definitely-not-staged-on-stage proposal. Yellowcard’s revival and appearance at Slam Dunk felt almost life affirming, with the band expressing heartfelt gratitude for the fan support, inciting a frankly emotional atmosphere in the crowd. Despite not being as knowledgable on their material as I’d like to be, the 3-strong Midlands accompaniment I had in scream-alongs to Breathing, Only One and Way Away made for an intoxicating experience, with Ocean Avenue leaving tears of nostalgia in my eyes for the second time that day.
I felt bad departing Yellowcard shortly before the end of their set, but the time had come to witness headliner The Offspring in what felt like a waning opportunity. Despite classing myself as a fan of the band from a very early age, I’ve never gone deep on their back catalogue since the advent of streaming, meaning my appreciation of their work mainly spans the Conspiracy Of One and Americana albums. Skirting around the acres of onlookers, we installed ourselves about 20 metres from the barrier, just in time for my absolute favourite of their tunes, Want You Bad. It was a relatively gentle rendition with an organ introduction, certainly less raucous than the punchy, highly compressed tone I remember from cranking the volume on the SD music channels in my youth. Somehow though, this charmingly reflected the band’s maturity and I enjoyed it immensely. n.b. I was definitely a long tail outlier for hype levels during this track.
As day died and night took hold, the lightshow and backdrop was undoubtedly impressive. The still-fuckin’-punks made their way a through strong mix of classics and relatively new material and I enjoyed getting involved in Why Don’t You Get A Job, Pretty Fly (For A White Guy). There was some frankly bullshit chatter interspersed, with some interesting backstory on the band members, including the revelation of Dexter’s PhD and pilots license. Noodles’ “farting around” section was unexpected, covering Iron Man, The Trooper, Sweet Child o’ Mine, In the Hall of the Mountain King and Blitzkreig Bop. In an unnerving moment, a crowd surfer come human cannonball was basically thrown at an unexpecting woman, who I was relieved to hear wasn’t actually paralysed after seeming unable to hold her weight after the incident - be safe out their kids, and never think you’re too punk to thank your security guard. Overall, The Offspring showed their pedigree, delivering a set that was accessible and enjoyable to any music fan.
After wrapping up the night with some grubby club music in the DJ tent, the shuttle to Kentish Town felt like a safe refuge and perfect wind down next to the sickening queue for the Hatfield train station.
It’s safe to say that my first proper festival experience was a memorable one and seeing pop punk fandom at such scale was a sight to behold. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for Slam Dunk’s next instalment of pop punk mania. If someone can figure out the Hatfield Park mobile coverage in the meantime so smoke signals and interdimensional travel aren’t required to coordinate people, I’ll gladly queue and pay for your beverage.
Setlists: