Slam Dunk 2016 @ Birmingham NEC, 29th May 2016 – Part 3

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It’s the late May bank holiday weekend, which means one thing – Slam Dunk festival! The Birmingham Live team headed to the NEC to help celebrate this fantastic festival’s tenth anniversary in style.

For this year’s curtain raiser to both summer and the festival season, we’re not making our trip to Wolverhampton, but instead we’re off to the NEC – the 2016 home of Slam Dunk Festival while the Wolves Civic is undergoing a facelift. Time to pack in as many bands in as possible with Brumlive’s Dave Musson (DM), Chris Bowley (CB), and Steve Kilmister (SK) covering the hard yards! Here is final instalment of our three part coverage:

Zebrahead

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A little bit late to stage we have the humorous and fun-loving Zebrahead. There is a line of security which looks ridiculous, then to be told that in Leeds last night over 200 went over the barriers. Well here we go Birmingham  – a record to beat!  In their job description it must say just have fun and guitarist Matty Lewis with his awesome moustache,  the road crew with their pink and yellow jump suits and wonky and barman and singer Ed Udhus, they have the people to deliver. Zebrahead are not necessarily my taste in music; but for fun, 100%. CB

Norma Jean

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Bad Slam Dunk. Naughty. Not even close to enough of you showed up for Norma Jean’s set. A set that was certainly one of my highlights of the entire day. Norma Jean (in varying line-ups) have been releasing music for almost 20 years now, and in my opinion they’ve never sounded better. Kicking off with Blueprints For Future Homes from 2006’s Redeemer, they set the tone. Their trademark blend of discordant guitars, melody and Cory Putman’s vocals all coming together brilliantly. The colossal leap forward they made with 2013’s Wrongdoers appears to look to continue if their new material is anything to go by. 1,000,000 Watts from their new record, due for release in September (DIY in the UK), only served to whet my appetite for more new material and fit perfectly in amongst their set list. Trust me, if you get the opportunity to check these guys out live, do it, you won’t be disappointed. SK

Creeper

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Out in the sunshine and it’s all going off at the Fresh Blood stage, with Southampton goth-punks Creeper putting one of the best sets of the day. This is a band that with only three EPs to their name already has a collection of songs as good as you’ll hear, and the packed crowd takes great glee in shouting along to every word. Tunes like Black Mass, The Honeymoon Suite and Gloom are all far too good to stay on tiny stages for much longer and today seems to underline the level of excitement around this band right now; whereas their visit to Coventry on a headline run in February saw a surprisingly low turn-out, people have flocked to see Creeper today and they are clearly thrilled, delivering a frantic, triumphant set. Oh, and then there’s the small matter of their stupendously brilliant anthem Misery – easily a contender for the best song of 2016 – which goes down a treat and is perhaps the biggest sign of the bright future that undoubtedly awaits this incredible band. DM

New Found Glory

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Inside the main arena and there are lots of people ready and waiting for New Found Glory – not surprising really given what an important and influential band the Florida pop punkers are. While they might be veterans, there is no let up in energy, with frontman Jordan Pundik keeping the crowd involved throughout, aided admirably by guitarist and backing vocalist Chad Gilbert. The only thing that didn’t quite seem to tick was the reaction of the bulk of the crowd, who were perhaps saving their energy for the headliners. Compared to the energy at some of the other stages, this all seemed a bit flat – probably not helped by how surprisingly dark it was inside the main arena. It all felt just that bit subdued, although the classic My Friend’s Over You certainly helped tip things back in the right direction. CB

Memphis May Fire

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Having spent ten years cultivating their own following these Dallas boys have improved their sound, with a new different line up producing different lyrical content. It was good to see them gracing the Atlas stage at Slam Dunk 2016 in front of a sizeable crowd. The show was full on, intense and in your face. Playing some new and some old songs they opened with newer hit Beneath the Skin before jumping back to their older Prove Me Right and Legacy. There is a good balance of angst and softer bits throughout, which for me made the set more enjoyable. I felt they stood out quite well today given the intense competition on show elsewhere. CB

Cancer Bats

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From the moment the freshly shaven Liam Cormier and the rest of the Canadian Hordcore outfit strode out onto the Impericon stage, they grabbed the crowd by the throat and refused to let go. Their signature blend of relentless hardcore, mixed with old school feeling metal riffs, breakdowns and punky tempo changes was impossible to ignore. In terms of set list, what’s not to like; mixing crowd favourites from across their back catalogue with covers of Sabbath and Beastie Boys was always going to go down well. I’m still not exactly sure how they managed to keep up the energy on stage for the entire set, not kill one another and still sound so good. I missed the last Cancer Bats UK headline tour, but after what I saw at Slam Dunk, I certainly won’t be missing the next. SK

The Beat

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Of all the bands on this year’s bill, Birmingham’s own two-tone ska legends The Beat was certainly an eyebrow raiser – no doubting their credentials, more a case of wondering if they would mean much to Slam Dunk’s generally younger demographic. Well, any doubts were answered from the moment a beaming Ranking Roger strode up to the mic and introduced the opening number. Everyone near or on the stage started skanking and having a great time – a banging party being led by a band without whom, most of the other bands playing this stage today probably wouldn’t sound like they do. This was a celebration, a homecoming and a lot of fun. DM

Every Time I Die

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Topping off a hugely impressive lineup on the Impericon Stage was Buffalo, New York’s Every Time I Die, who from start to finish of their 60-minute set showed everyone just why they are always the best band on whatever bill they play. They have driving riffs, pounding beats and a frantic, chaotic live show that just exudes energy. And, to top it all off, they’re fronted by one of the most charismatic frontmen in rock in the form of Keith Buckley, who is on fine form this evening. As, in fact, is his livewire brother, and guitarist, Jordan, who, when not head banging harder than anyone else you’ll see, manages to borrow a camera from one of the photographers in the pit, climb up the side of the stage and venture into the crowd with his sibling. ETID have been schooling bands on how to put on a show for more than 15 years now and with songs as superb as Ebolerama, Werewolf, Bored Stiff, The New Black and Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space, they are impossible to ignore and not enjoy.

In fact, the band is nigh-on perfect and they even manage to give an airing to a song from their forthcoming new album too – if that song reflects the rest of the album, we’re going to be in for a treat. The only gripes on their set are the awful acoustics in the room and the shockingly low turnout to watch such an incredible band. Not that the band are bothered, as they plough their way through, including a glorious run-through of Floater. As they bring things to a close, Jordan again dips into the crowd. This time, Keith commands them to ‘crowd surf him to the march desk’, which they proceed to do, carrying the guitarist the length of the room on their shoulders like a rock and roll king and depositing him at their merchandise table, to then be rewarded with high fives and bear hugs from the man himself. A thrilling set to wrap up an excellent stage, and a quite brilliant way to say happy birthday to Slam Dunk. DM

The Story So Far

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As soon as the first notes of opening song Heavy Gloom hit their ears  the crowd were roaring,  and the pit a confused mass of of security and surfers. While the stage was high up and speakers were in the way, the lighting was good. Parker Canon (Vocalist) has an edgy talent driving  a satisfying set list and carrying the atmospheric show from start to finish. The crowd and Canon were singing in unison to many of the tracks, this being one of the liveliest crowds of the night, maybe edged by the Zebrahead fans. The Story So Far always put on a good show but I felt at times that their fans were much more up for it than the rest of the crowd. CB

Panic! At the Disco

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Let’s cut to the chase, the packed out Genting Arena floor for the start of Panic! At the Disco are here to see Bendon Urie. Would the thronging, screaming girls know (or even care) that he’s now the only remaining original band member? Probably not. Would they notice that despite lineup changes, the band’s formulaic emo sound is still a facsimile of early 2000’s pop-punk? Certainly not. Did that men that Urie wouldn’t have the crowd eating out of his hand from the outset? Absolutely not! As front men go, Urie knows his craft, from his look and the leather trousers he was almost wearing, to the interactions with the crowd between songs and the vocal performance that shouldn’t be possible with the energy he puts in to careering around the stage — it’s all polished to a high sheen. For me, that’s what let things down — where was the punk in this self-proclaimed pop-punk outfit? Does a back flip from the drum riser a rock n’ roll show make? Not in my eyes.

I don’t want to be completely negative though, the extensive set was everything that a Panic! fan could have wanted and the crowd seemed to lap up every moment, the stage looked great and the pyrotechnics added a little dramatic flair. In many respects Panic! were absolutely a fitting headline for the Slam Dunk main stage, I just hope that going forward the festival takes a bit of a chance and books a head liner with a little more bite. SK

 

So there we are – thirty-five bands covered and a highly successful Slam Dunk 2016, in spite of the controversial move from Wolverhampton to the NEC. Our guys really enjoyed themselves! Check out Part One and Part Two of our Slam Dunk coverage!

 

Slam dunk 2016 words and photographs:

Dave Musson (DM), Chris Bowley (CB), and Steve Kilmister (SK)

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