Bank holiday Sunday. A day where many of the working masses can revel in the notion that tomorrow morning, they will not have to go to their dreary jobs and boring Monday morning routines. However, for the people here at Leeds University, this bank holiday is much more than just a stepping stone to a well deserved 24 hours off. It is instead a day to enjoy an excellent selection of bands, across eight stages, blast their own individual array of music, at the waiting public. Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, Capdown, L’amour La Morgue, The Rocket Summer, Rolo Tomassi, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, the selection of bands and acts is endless and the variety across this packed venue is wide. The anticipation for this event had been set to an all time high since the very first announcements were made but thankfully, the day for Slam Dunk quickly came around and after queuing for what seemed like an eternity, it was time to get stuck into some great live action.


The first band of the day for Altsounds is Moneen (after missing The Skints due to the underestimated long queuing time and lack of direction), over on the Atticus Stage. Hailing from Toronto, Moneen demand attention from the crowd, who seem to be made up of half curious onlookers and half credible fans, all of which look to be enjoying the Canadian quartet’s brand of hardcore punk/ emo style rock. However, twenty minutes into the set and its time to run over to the Imperial Clothing Stage, leaving behind an audience who may not be going wild, but aren’t walking out either.


The next band on the agenda is Flood Of Red. Having only heard of them a few days prior to Slam Dunk and having heard many good things about them, it was time to listen to a band that would have probably escaped under this reviewers radar, were it not for this festival. Entering the Imperial Clothing Stage, the heat, the sweat and the atmosphere hits straight away, as does the sheer volume of the people that are packed inside the room, one of the smallest in the venue. Why so many people are congregated here, quickly becomes obvious as Flood Of Red’s set begins and ends in blistering fashion, with songs such as 'The Place Before The End' being real crowd pleasers. A point to prove Flood of Red may have, but an audience to win over they don’t, as 80% of the people here today don’t stop dancing or singing. As for the rest, they may not be belting out the words or thrusting their arms in the air, but most if not all, certainly look pleased with what they are seeing in front of them. A great set from a band that should and most probably will become bigger and better in the next few years.

Random Hand are up next for Altsounds, at a packed out Vans Stage, full of Ska Punk enthusiasts and very active fans that are clearly revelling in the party spirit that encloses the room around them. Up front quickly becomes a sea of colours and bodies whilst Random Hand deliver a set full of charisma, enthusiasm and confidence. Coming from just around the corner, Keighley to be exact, Random Hand were always going to fair well and with home appreciation working in their favour and the songs to back them up, Random Hand not only manage to entertain everyone within the small and rather sweaty room that they have been allocated, but they also manage to create the biggest circle pit of the day. Finally the last note signals the end of Random Hand’s set and everyone in the room looks over-joyed with what they have seen and heard.


Next up on the Vans Stage are Manchester based Sonic Boom Six who in the last few years have blossomed into not just a mature and gifted band on record, but a great live act too and after seeing this show it would be hard to find anyone who’d argue with this sentiment. The atmosphere is exhilarating from the off and its hard not to get sucked into the fun. Lalia K and Barney are a formidable team on stage, whilst the band behind them provide the music for them to lovingly rap, bark, screech and sing too. 'Strange Transformation' gets the biggest crowd reaction that is until Lalia K announces that they will be doing a cover for us, which turns out to be Puretone’s 'Addicted To Bass'. With cover songs, some bands get it wrong, but not Sonic Boom Six and soon enough a pit erupts engulfing most of the room. Bodies fly through the air, stage diving joins the chaos and a massive attack of skanking fever shakes through the whole room and its inhabitants. Everyone around looks to be having a great time and when last song 'Piggy In The Middle' ends the set, Sonic Boom Six leave to a mass sing-along, an even bigger pit and thunderous applause.



Over to the considerably bigger Glamour Kills Stage, where headliners New Found Glory will be making their way later on this evening but first, it is time for San Francisco sextet Set Your Goals to take to the stage, where they are confronted with a room filled to the brim and an audience poised and ready. Thankfully, these boys from across the pond are not fazed by the large amount of beating hearts in front of them, instead they embrace the large numbers and go on to smash through a raucous set, featuring songs such as 'This Will Be The Death Of Us' and 'To Be Continued' whilst the crowd happily join in at any opportunity. For a band that have only been together for six years (not that long a time considering the bands still in today’s industry!), the crowd, energy and the music they have managed to conjure tonight is rather impressive and for anyone considering seeing this band in action, they should definitely stop considering and start booking.


After a break involving some food, drink and air (which there is a considerable lack of) it is time to watch the mighty Skindred do their business. A late start to the proceedings means that a first row view is ensured and whilst at the time this seemed like a wonderful idea, the full implications and the dangers of watching Skindred from the front were not something that were known at this point. Soon though it became clear and after chanting and screaming for Skindred to hurry up and take to the stage, the time finally came for Benji and his mob to do their worst. Complete and utter mayhem. The only words that can truly sum up such a brutal and equally amazing gig. From the off the Skindred crowd are bouncing from what feels like the ceiling to the floor, stage diving and crowd surfing doesn’t manage to hold off for long and by the time favourites such as 'Rat Race' and 'Pressure' are unleashed the room is thrown into a full blown, wild and somewhat animalistic state. The response however is not surprising and after hearing the buckets of praise aimed at this band because of their live shows, the actual reality is so much more than anything that could have been expected. Vigorous, engrossing and just basically fantastic, Skindred know how to not just pull out a great performance but put on a great show too and at the centre of it all is frontman Benji Webbe, who with his brilliant live vocal performance and charisma to match, could easily be one of the best frontmen in modern music. Unfortunately, due to the late start, with heavy hearts and the feeling that something special had just erupted not just on stage but within too, the time has come to leave; front row bruises and all.


The reason for leaving such an amazing gig however needs to be good and thankfully it is as Alkaline Trio are scheduled to take to the Atticus stage at any moment. However, upon arrival we do not find three men on stage, delivering their brand of punk anthems to the throng of beady-eyed onlookers but instead a four man piece from Florida, going by the name of Against Me!

An obvious delay in the stage’s time schedule had occurred here and whilst at first this does come as a bit of a disappointment and case for annoyance, Against Me!, prove to be a band well worth stumbling upon. Energetic, commanding and thoroughly entertaining, Against Me!, do not look like a band who have been together (for the most part) for over a decade. Fresh, new and exciting, Against Me!, look and sound like a band still enjoying each other’s company and relishing in the opportunity to play live for a public who’s appreciation and commitment for them is clear for all to see. A surprise they may be, but Against Me! are certainly no disappointment.

Finally though it time for the band that most of the crowd in this packed Atticus stage have been so obviously waiting all day for: Alkaline Trio. As “Trio, Trio, Trio” begins to chant all across the room, the three boys from Illinois finally grace us with their presence, to the sound of deafening and ear piercing screams. The atmosphere turns electric and everyone here tonight knows that something special is going to happen and indeed it did. Impossible to do justice on paper, tonight’s show isn’t just good or great; it is magical. With a whole arsenal of tracks to choose from and an adoring public to play them for, Alkaline Trio are a band who let their work do the talking for them and whether new or old, all the songs they play tonight get the same frenzied reaction as the next one, whether it be fresh out of the box tracks such as 'This Addiction' or an older gem like 'Armageddon' it doesn’t matter, as both get the same riotous display of affection whilst other songs such as 'Calling All Skeletons', 'Dine Dine My Darling' and 'Emma' turn the front end of the stage into a mash of people bouncing off one another, hands held high, mouths wide open. As for the men on stage, throughout the show they seem to be more than happy to be in front of this crowd, who clearly worship them and their music, in every way. Every word is sung back to them, no matter what song, no matter how long and when 'Stupid Kid' is flung into the mix, the people below became human pogo sticks and beating megaphones.

All throughout the set, the faces around are set to delirious, the volume is set to roaring and not once is there a moment when you wish or hope that the end is near. However, everything good must come to an end at some point Alkaline Trio’s time, was unfortunately nearly up. As 'Radio' kicked in, the room went head first into overdrive with Matt Skiba thrusting the microphone into the fans direction, letting them sing his song back to him, which they do with all the passion and fervour they can muster up in their bodies. Sadly, what felt like a show that could go on forever, is now over and as people look at their watches and realise that New Found Glory will definitely have closed their final curtain by this hour, it would appear that the time has come to go home and say goodbye to Slam Dunk for another year.

A criticism of the day it must be said, is the late starts that we had to endure and in some cases very late starts, that annoyed many people and meant that some members of the public (Altsounds included) didn’t get to see some of the bands that they would have liked. Queues and the sheer volume, heat and lack of oxygen inside Leeds University could also be added to this list, but these are only minor glitches and expected problems, when coming to event with the sheer amount of bands and stages that Slam Dunk has.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience with some great bands including the amazing Alkaline Trio who stole the day and proved why they are still one of the best punk bands around. At £25 a wristband, Slam Dunk this year was truly a bargain and when considering the memories of all the great shows seen, the individual amount each band would cost to watch live and the new bands that some people will have found and will gradually begin to love, Slam Dunk becomes a day that is inescapably priceless.