Festival Review: Slam Dunk Festival North 2023
Summer skies, skatepark anthems, and queues longer than an emo kid’s phase; this could only mean the return of the pop-punk community’s annual celebration. Welcome back to Temple Newsham for an interesting day at Slam Dunk North.
Welcoming people to the festival was Zand, a popstar in production who’s personal brand of “ugly pop” is taking over the UK scene one freak at a time. Being someone who embraces the weird, the outlandish, the grotesque, they bring the green-and-black S&M aesthetic to the Amazon Rock Scene stage with the help of their back-up dancer. A masked-up, scantily-clad model bringing the moves to the artist’s grooves. The creepily seductive pair prove to bring out a visual and audible sensation that will never be replicated for the rest of the festival’s run.
Busting out the hits such as the trans-positive autobiographical ‘Freak’ and the ultra-empowering track ‘Slut Money’, there is a charm to indulging in the ugly side of music. “I hate Zand”, the artist goes by on social networking profiles; never will there be a bigger lie. They have commanded the love and adoration of every single person in that crowd - the power of crude confidence.
Following their introductory set is Scottish team-up Vukovi, making their Slam Dunk return after two years and the successful release of a space-age concept album by the name of NULA. Taking their time to bring out the physical energy that their music demands, once the jumping starts and vocalist Janine Shilstone gets herself up close and personal with the crowd, everything feels complete and actualised. Promoting their latest offering with tracks such as ‘KILL IT’ and ‘I EXIST’, it grants the audience a glimpse into what the band have been bringing to the masses on their latest touring adventures. A festival set should always highlight the biggest and best parts of a band’s live performance and their own personalities, and despite warming up gradually in the first part of the set, they rose through the ranks and got to where they needed to. They earned that closing-number power that was unleashed with the rendition of their most well-known number to date, ‘La Di Da’. An incomparable crowd-pleaser that saw Shilstone being embraced and worshiped on the other side of the barrier, it will never fail to close a Vukovi set in the most fulfilling way. May the world always be saying “see you later” to this dynamic duo with the chain of “la di da”s.
Now for a turn for the heavier side of alternative rock as the crowd welcomes St. Albans’ Trash Boat, a group that have never failed to get a crowd hyped and get a pit moshing. With the special help of their record Don’t You Feel Amazing?, they were able to get feet off the field and fists in the air. When it seems things can’t get even more hardcore on this sweet Sunday afternoon, the group decide to pay tribute to the late great Chester Bennington with a rendition of Linkin Park’s ‘Given Up’. A fantastic feature that fits in so well with Trash Boat’s own musical style that one could believe it was a song of their very own; a taste of their personal history and a representation of where they gather some emotional and melodic influence. The newest generation of rock, metal and alternative is safe if they follow the blueprints how Trash Boat do.
Leading the show out with an outstanding trilogy of ‘Alpha Omega’, ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ and ‘He’s So Good’, this captures the beauty and banter of live music: calls and responses in the chorus for ‘Alpha Omega’; frontperson Tobi Duncan joking about feeling happy and sexy as the flow into ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’; and Duncan showing off the love and acceptance from his heart to his queer fans with the ever so powerful ‘He’s So Good’.
Formerly taking the place of warming up the Enter Shikari crowd on the headliner’s 2021 tour, the thought process of placing Trash Boat as one of the first acts of the day is obvious but also a successfully working idea. History repeats itself in the best ways, and this is one of the ways.
One of the biggest crowds of the day is awarded to the most highly-anticipated acts of the entire weekend. Someone who won over the world of TikTok and took over her native United States by storm, she’s raging the pink sparkly sequined hurricane across the pond. With giggles and screams, let’s bow to the one and only Scene Queen.
Being a fresh face in the scene, she won over men and women alike with her own-brand genre of “bimbocore”. The values of this genre are clear: be kind, be fierce, be friendly, and most importantly, slay. From broadcasting her sex positivity in ‘Pink Hotel’, to being out and proud in the lyrics of ‘Pink Panther’, there will always be one standout song of the set. Addressing a common but unspoken problem within the punk scene, Scene Queen months prior released a catchy PSA of a single titled ‘18+’ and took that song to her live performances. Enforcing her shows to be a place of safety and shenanigans - anyone for a twerkle pit? - there was something heartwarming about the attention she gathered on this day. It was reassuring to see that there is a change happening in the male-dominated industry of heavy music, and she’s leading the army with leather, lace and handfuls of glitter.
Returning to the Rock Scene stage to capture the electronic nu-metal revival stylings of Wargasm. A band that has been here, there and everywhere over the last few years, everyone and their dog probably knows at least one song by them - but this doesn’t diminish their efforts or the validity of their appearance at festivals such as Slam Dunk. Coming out in sunglasses and bunny-eared balaclavas, the duo didn’t waste a single beat not bringing the madness to the masses.
Showing they have the right to be big and bad, their big-headed personalities show that the old-school punk mentality has never died or ever been retired. From Sam Matlock degrading the fans for being apathetic in creating a mosh pit, to Milkie Way getting a call and response going for ‘Fukstar’, they’ve shown that all their times around the globe and hitting every stage to be set up has taught them a thing or two about being icons of the industry.
Even just one time, at a festival, always give a band like Wargasm a go. They just might pull a few rabbits out of their musical hat.
Moving on to the Kerrang stage, taking refuge under the tent, the people were waiting for Blackpool’s biggest band, Boston Manor. Marking their 10th anniversary as a band this weekend, commending it as their last live appearance of the year, they didn’t need any bells or whistles; no special decorations or retina-burning light shows. All they needed was each other and their instruments, and it worked wonders.
The standout performances of the set are opening track ‘Carbon Mono’; ‘Passenger’, which led to a tent of diehard fans screaming the chorus louder than frontman Henry Cox ever could with his own microphone; and the fan-favourite conclusion of ‘Halo’. A song with a chorus that repeats like a hymn, a praise from the fans to the band and vice versa, it’s been a staple for the band since its release back in 2018 and is such a demonstration of the power they have gathered in their decade-long career even in just the latter half of such. Everyone can see their halos, but they’re not falling. They’re glowing brighter than the summer sun.
As the afternoon glides along, the queues only increase and the food and drink supplies decrease, the evening rears its head and it’s time to take a break from the loud and angsty sounds of punk and metal. Have a giggle, have a dance, clap along and even wave, as here comes the band that waves back, Bowling For Soup.
There is always something memorable about a Bowling For Soup set, and it’s usually more the jokes and puns rather than the actual tunes they’re belting out. From the most confusing mum jokes from frontman Jaret Reddick, to attempting to organise a successful “square pit” and failing miserably, to taking a dramatic pause in the middle of ‘Almost’, there is always a barrel of laughs with this ferociously funny four-piece. From performing songs about a man’s closest love in ‘My Wena’, to the most destructive ex-girlfriend in ‘Emily’, and closing the set with smash hit ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’, taking the place from the internationally loved ‘1985’ for the first time in goodness knows how long.
There is always something to take away from a Bowling For Soup set and is always worth experiencing at least once in one’s gig-going career. Just prepare for aches from big grins and belly laughs once the show is over.
Now for the moment of the entire night. What everyone was waiting all day and night for. Cannons loaded, screens brightened, lights beamed: the calling card for Enter Shikari has been dealt.
Coming fresh from the chart success of their recent record A Kiss For The Whole World, the St. Albans act brought the visual element in spades, to match the drama and electricity of their own music. With laser beams, streamers, and escapology-inspired stage theatrics performed by frontman Rou Reynolds to lead into recent single ‘Bloodshot’, there was so much for the eyes to feast on. Enter Shikari were always a band that wanted to be seen as much as they wanted to be heard, and they worked this in the most extreme methods over the years. Whether within venues on headline tours, or in the open air at festivals, they find a way to keep the crowd watching, waiting, gasping and cheering.
One of the highlights was bringing fellow Slam Dunk mates Wargasm on stage to perform their collaboration ‘The Void Stares Back’, which made the crowd lose their collective minds by the sheer power of such a performance. This brought the set to its peak and met the momentum that other tracks gathered, such as the eternally dance-worthy single ‘Anaesthetist’ and the newest iteration of their club favourite ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’.
Winding down with ‘Live Outside’ and ‘{ The Dreamer’s Hotel }’, the day comes to an end and Enter Shikari give the crowd the final goodbyes for the night before the face the obstacle course of leaving the grounds and heading to their respective hometowns. The time, the aches, the strains, they are worth it for what was granted in terms of live music. However, they were not worth it for other elements of the day outside of the seven stages.
Slam Dunk Festival has always been a home for the outcasts. The leftover lot. The kids who never found a home where others were housed. This festival means so much to so many people around the UK and even beyond, as it stretches beyond borders this year to the likes of France and Italy. However, there may be changes that are needed to ensure everyone is safe, happy, healthy and most of all, listened to.
The troubles that have faced the weekend-long festival this year, from parking confusion to continuous traffic to a non-abundance of food and toilet facilities for attendees. Many people were left hurt, hungry, dehydrated, and emotionally exhausted after using so much time and spending so much money for half a day of their schedule. Many of these many swear off Slam Dunk until all issues are addressed and changes are made. This is because for a festival that should be a shining beacon of looking after a music-based community, it became the complete opposite for these people who hold these values near and dear.
Slam Dunk is a unique experience every single year, nearing almost 2 decades of these annual events. Do not let it drown, do not let it burn, do not let it die.
Words by Jo Cosgrove
Photography by Maryleen Guevara
