Well, this would be my first album swap review in some time now. Today I am writing a review of my day out in Leeds on Sunday May 24. I hope you enjoy it.
We got to the Leeds University at around 3 o clock I suppose. It was very busy, and there seemed to be loads of different queues - none of which had any obvious purpose. So rather than joining one we sat on a wall and watched a ticket tout. I think we made a friend there.
After some time, people started to flood into the Student Union, so we hopped onto the end of a queue and got into the building. This is where the trouble really started.
Being from Knebworth, I am very unfamiliar with the layout of the Leeds University Student Union. Which I think is fair enough. Apparently the organisers don't find this acceptable, and once you arrive in the building your instructions are simply 'go'. So we had to literally hunt to find the stages - and there were six of them. By the time we had found the stage we were looking for, the second band of the day was just about to start. I was outraged. All the place needed were a few signs, or just some arrows would have done.
However, we had just arrived at the 'Fishing for Eskimo' stage. This was where I planned to be all day, so I didn't have to worry about hunting for other stages.
All Forgotten kicked off my first Slam Dunk experience, and it had been some time since I'd seen them. They played a pretty decent set, and it was quite refreshing in a way as I had been starting to forget how much I enjoyed them live. The crowd seemed pretty poor to me though, and I don't think All Forgotten had many fans present. This means that for all these 'hardcore' kids they have to swing their fists around until they've knocked out half the audience everytime the music changes or Johnathon Thorpe (Singer of All Forgotten) starts screaming. Once All Forgotten departed the stage, we headed towards the bar and took a seat. A wise move as The Urgency were up next.
We sat on our comfortable little sofa whilst The Urgency played out their set. I found myself very bored by the music, and I didn't like what I was hearing at all. Looking back though, I wish I had stayed down by the stage - I'm curious now as to how the crowd took to the music, and also wanted to know what they looked like. Perhaps it would be unfair to score The Urgency, as part of a live score has to be the experience. After they were done, though, we went back down to see Hollywood Undead.
I've only heard little bits of Hollywood Undead. I also find their popularity with this sort of scene unusual. After a bit of preparation, the stage was filled with smoke and then lit up in a red light. Six masked men then appeared on the stage (well, five, as one was already there). I liked their masks - it gave them an element of mystery, and it was exciting. These pretty scary masked men were putting on an incredible live show for me, and I didn't even want to know what they looked like - A problem I have always had with Slipknot.
The band had fantastic interaction with the crowd, and they really knew how to get everyone moving. All of a sudden, though, after I'd been having some fun in the crowd, I looked up in horror to see that they had all removed their masks. Now I look at six pretty normal looking men on the stage. I've got no problem with normal men...but I had lost a lot of the initial respect I had for the mysterious group.
Soon, member Charlie Scene found himself plunging into the crowd where he stayed for quite some time. His presence on stage didn't seem missed, and the band managed fine to play their songs and keep the crowd full of energy. When they departed the stage, I felt like the rest of the day could only go downhill. I enjoyed their set so much, I even bought their album on the way home.
We Are The Ocean sort of proved that to me. I used to be a very big fan of WATO, but after a while I got really bored of their music. I was hoping that today I would find that enjoyment I've been missing from them. They opened their set with a song I hadn't heard, I presumed it to be track one from their forthcoming album. They've gotten heavier since last time I heard them, and this new song sounded like the band were taking a step in a new direction, away from the post hardcore scene they usually find themselves at the centre of. A few old songs and I found myself bored of them again. I don't know why it is, perhaps it's the fact that I have been listening to different music lately, but I can't listen to We Are The Ocean anymore.
In fairness to them, I liked some of their new songs, so maybe their upcoming album will be something worth investing in. Unlikely, though, as I was forced to walk out of their set and head upstairs to find the merch room. On the way, we found a few more stages. Conveniently.
After a little break from the action, we headed back down to the Fishing for Eskimo stage to watch Silverstein. This was my second experience of Silverstein, only this time I knew a few more songs.
Silverstein played an immense set, there aren't many words I can use to describe it. Though I didn't know their newest or oldest songs, I did know their middle two albums which was good enough for me. Silverstein had a lot of fans in the room, and I had a great time watching what were certainly the band of the day.
After Silverstein it was that time of day; Headliner sets. There were six headliners of Slam Dunk festival, one for each stage. Obviously. This was a problem really, as I didn't want to settle with just one. So reluctantly I headed over to the Glamour Kills stage to see youmeatsix. We waited for a while, and eventually the room was packed full of kids and the band had a very impressive intro and kicked off their set with Jealous Minds Think Alike. 'Handy' I thought, as this is the only youmeatsix song I like. After this I dashed back to the Fishing For Eskimo stage to see the second half of The Blackout's set. I always love seeing The Blackout, there's something about the way they play that makes me keep coming back for more. However, I got there a little too early, and I was made to do the worst thing I've ever had to do. And this was the second time they've made me do this.
"I want everyone in the room to kneel down" announced Sean Smith. I shook my head in disappointment and got down onto my knees. The problem I have with this is that because every 10-year-old in the room hangs on Sean Smith's every word, if I didn't get onto my knees I would probably be kicked out of the venue. So, the whole room is on their knees, except for dictator Smith and his band of unimportant musicians. After a little bit of singing, Sean shouts "Get the fuck up!" which is our cue to, well, get the fuck up.
After this the set did improve, and I found that same love for the band that I usually have. Sean Smith also announced that they would be playing the Festival Republic stage at this year's Reading and Leeds festival. They ended their set on an old favourite of mine, 'I'm a Riot? You're a fucking Riot!' so I left a happy person. On the walk over to the Vans stage, though, I realised that I am starting to tire of the band. I purchased their new album on the way home though, so maybe I'll start to enjoy them some more.
I walked into the Vans stage to catch Anti Flag's set. This was my third time seeing Anti-Flag, and it's never been intentional. By that I mean that I have never gone to a gig to see Anti-Flag, they just happen to be around. Their music was good, the crowd loved them, another impressive show was going on from Anti-Flag. However, between songs they don't shut up about politics and God, and I couldn't handle it.
"Those Demons are in your heart, and by jeebers are we gonna get them out" Chris #2, Anti-Flag's bass player, told me as I walked out on him.
I headed back to the Glamour Kills stage, feeling pretty lost. I got back to see youmeatsix halfway through a song. I can't remember what it was, but I remember what came next. Josh Franceschi announced that they would be doing a cover of the incredible 'Killing in the name' by Rage Against The Machine. First off, this was a massive lie.
"Fuck you I won't do what you tell me" Josh says repeatedly through the breakdown of their song. He then stops and finishes his song. All he did there was have a crowd of 14 year olds ruin one of my favourite songs. It wasn't even a cover...
The band then went on to finish their set, and by the time it was over I felt disgusted. I don't like youmeatsix, I've seen them live before aswell and didn't like them then either. All this did was cement this.
The retarded Slam Dunk organisers then decided to shut the main doors and eject everyone out of the building via some narrow corridors. This was chaos, as all of the youmeatsix fans apparently had to get out of the building before each other, so were trying to push people to speed up the queue. What they were actually doing was slowing it down, as little gilrs fell over, grabbing their friends and forcing them to stop and help them because they had lost their mini mouse purse (or whatever the kids are into these days). After a good half an hour, I finally got out of the Leeds University.
Overall, I had a good day out. I saw a load of very decent sets from very decent bands, and the only real downside was the venue. Which was a shame, because all it needed was a bit of organisation.
To summarize, here are some scores:
All Forgotten: 4/5
The Urgency: n/a
Hollywood Undead: 5/5
We Are The Ocean: 2/5
Silverstein: 5/5
The Blackout: 4/5
Anti-Flag: 3/5
Youmeatsix: 1/5
Slam Dunk Festival 2009: 4/5
The Urgency: n/a
Hollywood Undead: 5/5
We Are The Ocean: 2/5
Silverstein: 5/5
The Blackout: 4/5
Anti-Flag: 3/5
Youmeatsix: 1/5
Slam Dunk Festival 2009: 4/5
