Slam Dunk Festival Midlands - May 28, 2018

Templeton Pek
These three gents told the tale of the tough go they have had after their manager ran off with all their money and yet they are still at it. The only band on the lineup properly from Brum - rehearsing in the Jewellery Quarter no less - they did a decent job of representing to a sparse, early-afternoon crowd out in the open air. Playing straight ahead punk rock they were solid.

Woes
Only managed to catch the last song Never Change, the group had a couple youthful singers bringing out the energy their pop punk. Keep it up!

As December Falls
Out on one of the up and coming small stages, this female-fronted five piece stayed on the rock side of punk and did an alright job of it, without breaking much new ground. The guitarist with the dazzling white axe on backing vocals stood out as doing a better than average job.

Guttermouth
It has been a long, long time since I used to listen to the aptly named Guttermouth on my discman in high school and I’ve done a lot of growing up since then. The singer of this band has not. Well, besides judging by the look of him, in which case he has aged significantly. This may be why he’s the only (barely) standing original member unless the others have somehow taken an age-defying elixir. Appearances aside, there was more quote-unquote "banter" in this set than actual music - and definitely more laughter than intelligible lyrics from the ringleader. Before even singing a note he was going around the crowd and taking the piss out of everyone and everything that he saw. Then once the band kicked in this commentating just continued, as he’d mumble some of the lyrics and then either break off into titters on his own, pointing at anything walking by or trying to have an interaction mid-song. It got old fast. It was borderline funny from time to time but mostly just inane, and besides, this was a concert not an amateur comedy night. On top of that, they didn’t come prepared and so were inefficiently choosing songs on the go, either out of the air or from crowd suggestions. This meant we didn’t get much - Destroying the World and Slam were some slurred highlights, if you can call them that. At one point the singer declared they’d sing Lucky the Donkey twice in a row. And after 4 minutes of its juvenile and crass lyrics it ended and there was some silence. They looked at the drummer who was looking back at them expectantly for direction when they said “Lucky.” He responded with “I thought you were kidding...” and when they assured him they were indeed going to waste another few minutes of this half-hour set on it, he went ahead. Maybe my opinion was further soured by being singled out soon after this for standing near the front with my hands in my pockets. “What - this isn’t forwarding your liberal agenda?!” the singer jabbed at me before essentially telling my to lighten up. “We just sang about my mother fucking a donkey!” he continued, to which I retorted “Yeah, twice” and walked out. (Or at least wished that I’d been that quick.) Don’t meet your quote-unquote heroes, kids.

The Audition
I’ve never been an Audition fan but decided I'd give them a check. They were playing some slick rock, fronted by a very earnest, long-haired singer. Apparently they’ve been away for awhile and at least the front man was very happy to have the opportunity to strut in front of a few hundred people, sometimes pandering to us but seeming to be keeping the good times going. Can’t say I’m converted but it wasn’t bad.

Four Years Strong
Four beards strong were Four Years Strong. With a couple of different singers they played good guitar rock, at times reminding me of Rise Against. Later in the day two of the members played a separate acoustic set of which I caught a couple tunes which goes to show I was well enough impressed. The acoustic were from their recent acoustic release aptly titled something like “Some of you will like this, some of you won’t.”

Save Ferris
A group that I’ve been aware of forever, likely because of the obvious Ferris Bueller reference, but have never caught or properly listened to. This was my chance and it started with all the right elements - a punk rock band with a proper ska section and a mature female lead who gave us something to look at. The tunes were fine, not super high-energy ska but some middle of the road stuff, and the crowd liked it well enough. It was the singer though that started to grate on me with her over-the-top flaunting of her sexuality, giving it more of a burlesque feel than a punk rock show. I don’t like to think of myself as a prude but after the third costume change, which came across more like a strip tease each time, and gratuitous ass-shaking I couldn’t take it anymore and left.

Creeper
Joining this set partway through there was a woman playing acoustically by herself before trading off to a male who started another song before all six of the band members came back in. The final song, Misery, seemed like it had the structure for greatness with the opening solitary guitar but the singer spoiled it by barely singing at all and leaving it on the late afternoon crowd to carry it. As a not-yet fan I’d have been more won over if he’d actually pulled it off instead of shirking it off.

Capdown
Capdown had the odd juxtaposition of screamo and ska. It was exactly what I was expecting though. Judging by the crowd that these guys have built up over the apparently many, many years it was what the crowd wanted too. Utilising the trumpet to add the brass element from time to time, the singer would usually be screaming if not playing it. They weren’t bad but again I was listless and strayed before they finished.

Twin Atlantic
Here are my notes “standard rock group. sounded alright”

ROAM
Only catching the end of their set it was what you’d expect from the youth at a punk rock festival and gives hope for the future.

Zebrahead
I’m sure I’ve caught these guys in decades past opening for the likes of Goldfinger and yet never got much into their catalog. This day they were pretty silly - first coming out with two guys dressed as beer bottles who mostly just drank, danced and then had a weak chugging contest. The music was throwaway so when they started “celebrating” the royal wedding by bringing out Meghan and Harry for surely some other immature gag I hightailed it.

Sleeping with Sirens
SwS were the best set of the day to this point - a sentiment overheard as the lights came up that I could wholly agree with. They just were tight when needing to be, played really well musically and made it enjoyable so that the crowd got into it with a big circle pit. At times sounding like Coheed and Cambria, I was very impressed and will keep my eyes open for another shot.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
After a day that had been marked by decent-to-disappointing, Frank was a breath of fresh air - no, a true shot in the arm to get the evening portion going. Dressed like a tool in his massive leopard fur I thought he was going to be an absolute lad, and yet the things that he said and the way that he lead the set were anything but. He commanded us from start to finish but did so in a way that endeared us to him. Whether he was stood atop the crowd singing, moshing with the mic, or running out into the centre of us to direct first the biggest mosh pit (not quite around the sound booth cuz that was WAY at the back) we ran lengths for him. Well, at lease until the first dickass stopped moshing and started trying to take a selfie and then the circle pit chaos turned into touch-the-singer chaos to which he shouted my favourite quote of the night “Stop touching me fuken head; I’m not a leprechaun!” His music with The Rattlesnakes is some loud rock that isn’t extraordinary in any certain way but the energy that they bring to the set really is. The guitarist also took a turn standing on the crowd and playing a solo. Frank dedicated one song to the women and invited only them to crowd surf if they wanted to, especially if they’d ever wanted to but were too nervous and he promised that the men would treat them with respect “not because they could be your mother, sister, niece or cousin but because they are your equal.” I don’t think I stopped putting women up for the full song. On another he spoke of mental health. Overall it was a solid set where not only did we have the biggest circle pit but also the most circle pits. You try not having fun with thousands of like-minded people all running in tight circles around each other with reckless abandon.

Trash Boat
I'd caught these guys opening for Seaway a year or two back and if anything they’ve gotten even better. Only got to see one tune at the end of their set this time around but it was a very good one. This back Signature Brew stage seemed to be doing the trick by churning out these young punks.

Goldfinger
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen Goldfinger but it had been awhile and in this interim an apparent rift has left Feldman standing alone with a mix'n'match backing band from the old punk world. Bass now covered by a guy from MXPX, while guitar is from Story of the Year, and apparently the drummer from Atreyu learned the entire set in a day and a half for this gig. I decided to get over my feelings of betrayal to Darryn Pfeiffer and the rest and enjoy myself. They actually played a new song, Million Miles, early in the set and it went over well but also included plenty of “classic” GF, even having the brass from Reel Big Fish. “Those guys played my wedding twenty years ago!..I’m old!” recalled Feldman. Of course they did Superman so everyone could skank to their fave Tony Hawk jam, Wake Up - a song that helped me go veg, and he even played the first half of Fuck Ted Nugent solo as a lead up to an obvious and almost obligatory “Fuck Donald Trump.” Not planning to stay through to the end, there I was hearing the opening of 99 Red Balloons anyhow. Good fun all around even with the replacement cast - including a German speaker who sang the classic Nina verse on the finale.

Taking Back Sunday
In leading up to this fest I’d really been digging back into TBS yet the unexpected full set from Goldfinger plus the massive hike from one end of the NEC to the other only allowed me to catch two and a half songs. On the bright side one of those was in my top two requests - Cute without the E (Cut from the Team). The finale was not my other request but their hit from their next album chronologically. It was pretty good too. And I tell ya, they were really solid and I would have enjoyed the set I’m sure but you can’t win all the clashes.

Reel Big Fish
Somebody said Reel Big Fish had to be the most entertaining band going and I say, they do not disappoint. Not only is there the music, but the comedic banter, and the combination of both in the hilarious lyrics such as on Everyone Else is an Asshole. Naturally this was a newer tune but they knew to pull back I Want Your Girlfriend To Be My Girlfriend, and their classic cover of the classic tune Brown Eyed Girl. They’d joked earlier asking why there were so many of us there in the crowd. “You do know Jimmy Eat World are playing in the arena just over there? Good Charlotte are playing The Anthem right now, probably” at which point the brass section filed out to go watch. Jokes aside I did nip out early as I’d seen them play last year and a few times before that, but had never seen the two aforementioned bands.

Good Charlotte
I cheated and checked the set lists from the previous days of the festival to try and come up with my attack plan for splitting Good Charlotte and Jimmy Eat World, who were playing at exactly the same time in two rather different places. In the end I had to pass up a couple JEW bangers to just get a taste of GC. I think it was worth it to see Benji and the boys burst on stage to confetti cannons and pyro blasts for The Anthem. I was halfway back of the arena in order to duck out the side door but I liked what I saw, though probably would have tired of it before they reached Boys and Girls 90 minutes later. I heard he jabbered through a lot of the set anyhow. So off I went.

Jimmy Eat World
This band got a lot of backlash back in the day, I assume simply because they were super popular and this was high school. Because really they’re a good rock band that know how to write a song. Much less pomp and circumstance than GC, they used their instruments to entertain. To be honest, I knew only about half the songs while I may have heard the rest in passing but it didn’t so much matter. The other guitarist took the reigns for Blister and did a swell job of it. Futures was excellent and I had forgotten just how nifty that riff on Sweetness is. Even without checking set lists I could have told you The Middle would shut it all down and I ran to the train-replacement-bus floating on nostalgia.

Another Perspective of Arcade Fire [Guest Post]

Here's a slightly different perspective of that same Arcade Fire show in-the-round from Lauren Armstrong:

Arcade Fire is one of those bands where upon discovery, I wanted to buy thousands of CDs so I could take to the streets like a religious zealot and convert everyone. The fluidity of this band and its ability to test new waters is reminiscent of David Bowie, another musician I hold in high esteem.

Coming off the back of seeing Arcade Fire at Best Kept Secret 2017, when the announcement came for their Everything Now roundhouse tour, I was bursting with excitement to see the gig and snagged tickets a whopping seven months ahead of it.

The opener, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, seemed like an odd choice but upon their introduction to the stage, I began to beam and bop along to the beat of the six piece New Orleans jazz pumping into the arena. With the usual riffing off one another that comes with jazz, the master cap jumped from the piano to the sax onto the upright bass, to the trumpet, trombone and drums. My favourite of the troupe quickly became the jovial trombone player. His deep voice, playful whop whop whopping of his trombone with a plunger, alongside sliding and dancing along on the stage was just the trick to win me and likely the rest of the crowd. This band did a great job of amping up the audience ahead of the spectacle Arcade Fire were sure to put on.

Waiting alongside the ever growing crowd, we were met with fake ads for electric blue, the neon bible, and USB fidget spinners. A cosmic-faced cowboy was having us chant "Everything Now" while the roadies were busy putting up wrestling ropes around the circumference of the stage. Finally the lights dimmed and on came the song A Fifth of Beethoven (by Walter Murphy) while the members of Arcade Fire began making their way to the stage. Régine, wearing a sequined hoodie and shadow boxing stole the entrance as the crowd pushed to get closer.

The center of the stage began to revolve two drum kits and a piano while each band member took their initial spot on stage, quickly jumping into the single Everything Now. Having fun and moving about the stage, Win Butler quickly discarded his Everything Now bomber jacket only to be wearing an Everything Now shirt underneath.

Everything Now transitions into Rebellion and had us shaking our bums and singing along. This song never gets old; just feels like a longtime friend has come for a visit. A surprising amount of back catalogue songs were played, Here Comes the Night Time and No Cars Go before they moved swiftly into the current album for Electric Blue and Put Your Money on Me and then swiftly back to classics like Neon Bible, Suburbs, and more. The energy on stage, as well as the excellent light show and video boards kept the crowd on pace. Most of the audience was belting along with their favourite tracks and all in all the Brummie audience behaved themselves with no beers thrown or overly rowdy behaviour.

Not one to like goodbyes, I became blue when the eventual conclusion of the night came and the encore hit the stage, with the reappearance of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. I think the band felt similarly since they made a bit of a parade around the arena and had the crowd chasing them to the back stage.

Arcade Fire, NEC, Apr 15, 2018

Taking full advantage of the ‘in the round’ format Arcade Fire hammed it up with the full boxing ring intro. It wasn’t as tacky as the digitally-face-removed cowboy MC on the screen that kept trying to hype us with the prerecorded messages. As one crew they wound their way through the crowd and towards the stage/ring with an entourage of camera men and security parting the crowd so they could slip right by us. Numbering nine for most of the performance they entered through the actual boxing ropes and took up their starting positions for the rousing Everything Now opener. Of course, I say starting positions as throughout the evening they swapped instruments and roles in a well-coordinated dance. Getting to the goods early they went straight into Rebellion (Lies) before Here Comes the Night Time. During this track's frenetic breakdown they swapped out of the boxing formation for varied laser beams flashing from corner to corner above the stage which opened up things up even further. The drum set was centre stage and on a revolving platform so you really could see the majority of things from most vantage points. My only complaint is that personal fave, Richard Reed Parry, didn’t come to visit as often as I’d have liked though we did get a lot of Win when he was singing, as in the glow of our phones for Neon Bible, or guitaring, There was also Regine on keys and leading Sprawl II (along with her streamer routine) to wrap the mid-set Arcade Fire Presents the Suburbs that also included the title track and Ready To Start. The crowd sang and danced along throughout the night making it a joyous occasion for band and fan alike.

Considering it was the Everything Now tour the setlist did not seem overwhelmed by this, perhaps due to the band being self aware that it is not their strongest material. As Win admitted recently "Part of me hopes that this record is our stinker, our horrible record...If it’s the worst thing we can possibly do then I’m at peace.” That said Put Your Money on Me was actually stuck in my head for a week after the tour and coming back for the encore with We Don't Deserve Love really worked. Although we didn't get any special guests like London their musical hype man did a good at keeping us up and having the Preservation Hall Jazz Band rejoin them onstage and then winding back out through the crowd for Wake Up was an energetic move, even if obvious for how well it worked. Even after a couple of hours featuring career highlights I still wanted more and chased the band to the end of the arena as the Wake Up chorus continued right to the eventual back stage.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Rather than another indie upstart AF have this decades old jazz band from New Orleans do their thing as the opening act and let me tell you they nailed it. A very fun, bombastic set of popping jazz that people seemed to really warm up to. How could you not love the trombonist giving it all he's got? They may not have utilized the stage as the headline act but I was on the proper side so I wasn't complaining.

Setlist
Everything Now
Rebellion (Lies)
Here Comes the Night Time
No Cars Go
Electric Blue
Put Your Money on Me
Neon Bible
Rococo
Normal Person
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Suburbs
The Suburbs (Continued)
Ready to Start
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Reflektor
Afterlife
Creature Comfort
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Encore
We Don't Deserve Love
Everything Now (Continued) (with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
Wake Up (with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
Wake Up Chorus (with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)