Slamdunk 2012

Let's get a few things straight before we start: Slamdunk is a pop-punkish festival, and is one of the biggest shambles when it comes to organisation/location ever imagined, it is also full of annoying hipster dickheads and a beer is a soul crushing £4, but it is also one of the few "bigmini" festivals that I enjoy these days (Turtle Power/Hevy/Slamdunk/Royal Rumble) so I can look past it's niggling faults to the beauty that is inside.

Me, Patch and our lovely friends Sam and Holly got on there an hour before the gates opened and the queue was around 2 and half hours long, but thanks to some sweet talking and some Facebook stalking we ended up right near the front and got into catch the very beginning and these are the bands that I saw (which everyone also saw I think...)

• Our Time Down Here: having only heard them the day before I was surprised at how good they were on cd and they were just as wild and exciting live, like a non-shit Set Your Goals so good going lads!
• Upon a Burning Body: a generic slice of mediocre bendercore which resulted in my kicking Holly's drink out her hand (sorry again!) but asides from that, woefully generic but still hilarious to watch.
•  Zebrahead: saw half a song and realised that they are so atrocious it confuses me as why anyone would watch them willingly
• Lower Than Alantis: never liked this band and I don't think i ever will, but they sound okay live and people were vibing off them so can't complain.
• Say Anything: having not been familiar with any of their material aside from two singles I  sort of stood around just watching, but they sounded good and Sam assured me that it was a really good set and I value his opinion and  agree, 'Alive with the glory of love' sounded amazing
• Motion City Soundtrack: having reached peak drunkenness at this point I forcefully sang the songs that I remembered into everyone's ears whilst they stood around me looking embarrassed. But I didn't care, sweet setlist and good sound if typically quiet vocals.
• The Audition: my teenage mind lost it's marbles the minute they came on, all their material including dubious new stuff was excellent and Danny Stevens still knows how to turn on the charm to a disturbingly old aged audience.
• Cancer Bats: stood round for them to play sabotage then left as i had more pressing matters to attend to being....
• Funeral for a Friend: I got back in time for the last 3rd of their set where it was just the hit parade and spent the entire time throwing Patch and Sam into headlocks (sorry about that too!) whilst Roses for the Dead played, it felt like my teenage years had culminated at that moment
• Capdown: the room for Capdown was woefully empty due to ETID and TSSF but it didn't stop me hitting the pit and skanking around and having the cringiest/best conversation with some dad punk about how good the song "Pound for the Sound" is, drunk dancing like a drunk punk dad was a definite highlight
• Taking Back Sunday: after some initial nastiness and a hilariously violent crowd surf by Patch, I got really into the vibe and basically ended up like a 15 year old hormonal girl and fluctuating between crying and singing along and thinking about how hunky John Nolan is, and the fact they played Spin still makes me smile when I think about it.

I missed TSSF, transit and HTL at slamdunk but saw them at their own micro tour 5 days later and they were so much better than they looked at SD2012 so I'm happy I gave them a miss to see Capdown instead.

After sobering up and hitting the train home, I slept for 3 hours before having to go to university for a presentation which I basically mutter through before going home again and passing out. Slamdunk 2012, it was fun and I will see you again next year where i might be less drunk and more manageable \m/


Owen
xoxox