Slam Dunk Festival
Artist: Slam Dunk Festival
Date: 30 May
Venue: Leeds University Union
Rating: ***
First up was Random Hand on the Vans stage; guitars and a trombone literally never sounded so good. With a set that instigated my First Circle Pit of the Day, they had the entire room skanking and headbanging in ska-punk ecstasy. As I grabbed a quick drink at the bar, I had the misfortune of seeing the abomination that is Millionaires. They’re kinda like Daphne & Celeste but with big scene hair, more swearing and even less talent. Unsure if they’re joking, but convinced that my ears were about bleed, I sought refuge back at the Vans stage. Sonic Boom Six had arrived and their punk-rock ska-rap fusion went down a storm, especially old favourites such as ‘Sound of a Revolution’, ‘Monkey See Monkey Do’, and their revved up version of Puretone’s ‘Totally Addicted to Bass’.
I then strolled down to the Atticus stage, excited for Against Me!. Instead I was greeted by whiny emo-inspired mediocrity masquerading as post-hardcore, courtesy of We Are The Ocean. I waited painfully through four songs, realising that the delay in stage times meant forfeiting Against Me! in order to catch Skindred. Skindred didn’t disappoint as they tore up the stage with their unique blend of punk, metal and reggae. Standout tracks included ‘Bruises’, ‘Nobody’ and ‘Pressure’, and they ended triumphantly to a soundtrack of Pantera’s ‘Walk’, before suddenly switching to Sean Paul’s ‘Gimme the Light’ (somehow it worked).
As the tweenagers scuttled off to watch New Found Glory, the rest of us geared up for the highlight of the night: the one-off return of Capdown. The ska-punk legends made no promises of any future gigs, so the crowd revelled in their past classics – and through the chilled ‘Bitches and Nike Shoes’, the riotous ‘The Neverlution,’ and the circle pit rousing ‘Cousin Cleotis’, we all wished they were back for good.
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