Tag: we are the in crowd

When And Where To Catch Bands From Slam Dunk Festival 2021 Next Part 1

Wow. Slam Dunk Festival is done and dusted for the first time in two years after a few pushbacks but it finally happened! We’ll get to the actual review of things in another post because there was just so much emotion on the day, I’m still finding the words for it all.

But now, there’s a question of what’s next for the bands that played the festival less than a week ago? That’s what this series of posts is for! We’re going band by band to see where and when in the UK they’re going to play next as well as any music they’ve released recently.

The Bottom Line.

Slaying the Main Stage for the first time ever at the festival and with the latest tracks ‘Long Time Coming’ as well as ‘Broke’, the bands stock is at an all time high and will continue to rise!

In the last few days the quartet released the details of what will be the bands only headlining show for 2021 which will take play on October 10th at The Camden Assembly in London.

Roam

The Eastbourne quartet had a hell of a time with all the crowd surfers as the second band to take centre stage this year. Let’s just say they know how to put on a show!

At the time of writing, currently there’s been no announcements of any upcoming tours or music but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an announcement soon and if there’s any new music going, it’ll be pretty good to say the least!

HelloGoodbye

After setting off the Main Stage to some well received applause, the festival faves are set to tour the US up until the second half of October. In addition there’s been no word of new music but the latest release came in the form of the 2020 single, ‘God Only Knows’.

As It Is

Wherever you turn, As It Is seem to be up to something, whether it’s a show, Music Video or a new music release.

Just in time for Slam Dunk this year, they managed to do two of those things playing warm up shows in Brighton and Swansea which I heard were absolute carnage! Also, they dropped the double headed ‘ILY, How Are You? / IDC, I Can’t Take It”.

So I guess that could possibly mean a new record is on the way? I’ll let everyone know if and when that information becomes available but there is a new music video coming later today at 3:45PM!

As for touring news, there is none announced in the near future but if their activity is anything to go by, I’d assume maybe something soon? I’ve got my fingers crossed for that one!

Creeper

Another British band with a lot on their plate is the ever fantastic Creeper. With their latest record ‘American Noir’ which dropped earlier in the year providing a fair bit of new material, they’re keen to get everything out in the live show format with their upcoming December 2021 run of shows set to go off in amazing fashion which will act as a sort of Slam Dunk Festival 2021 reunion with Holding Absence, Wargasm and Static Dress all set for support slots on the tour.

Here’s the dates.

December 2021

15th – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

16th – Concorde 2, Brighton – SOLD OUT

17th – O2 Institute, Birmingham – SOLD OUT

19th – Garage, Glasgow – SOLD OUT

20th – O2 Ritz, Manchester – SOLD OUT

21st – Stylus, Leeds

We Are The In Crowd

After six years since their last UK show, it was emotional to say the least to be watching We Are The In Crowd once again. With that being said will we ever see them again? The short answer is we’re not sure.

As far as anyone knows, this is the last time we’ll see the band as they are because there’s no new music, tour dates or announcements posted and their socials are a little bleak. However they did post a message to their Instagram account which you can view below.

Mayday Parade

Another band who absolutely got the crowd going were the ever impressive Mayday Parade.

With the band releasing ‘Bad At Love’ last month in time for the festival shenanigans, there was plenty to be buzzed about for this bands set.

At the moment, they’re on tour with Microwave until the end of the month with some other dates sprinkled

State Champs

just announced uk tour

Right so these US faves have been all over the place at the moment! They’ve released two new tracks, ‘Just Sound’ & ‘Outta My Head’ to rave reviews from fans where they did perform both tracks at the festival!

Just after the festival wrapped, literally less than twenty four hours after the conclusion of the Hatfield date, they announced they’re coming back in 2022!

Here are the dates below!

May 2022

8th – Marble Factory, Bristol

9th – Engine Rooms, Southampton

11th – Electric Ballroom, London

12th – Electric Ballroom, London

14th – SWG3 Galvenisers, Glasgow

15th – Ritz, Manchester

17th -Beckett Students Union, Leeds

18th – Institute, Birmingham

Waterparks

Hitting up the UK because we just love them so much, Waterparks had to come across to cover Leeds and Reading after a few of the bands had to drop out due to Covid-19 restrictions. That meant they had plenty of warm ups (including a SOLD OUT Key Club show in Leeds) before being the penultimate band to play at this years SDF.

Now the trio have got a lot of shows before they make their way back to the UK for their rescheduled dates for 2022 in June of next year and there’s a lot!

But nevertheless, here’s their rescheduled dates you’ll be waiting for.

June 2022

17th – O2 Academy, Leeds

18th – O2 Academy, Manchester

19th – O2 Academy, Glasgow

21st – Rock City, Nottingham

22nd – O2 Brixton Academy, London

23rd – O2 Academy, Bristol

25th – O2 Academy, Birmingham

uk 2022

Don Broco

Main Stage headliners Don Broco put on a huge display at the closing of both dates of this years festival and currently have a new record on its way!

Sadly their upcoming record, ‘Amazing Things’ got pushed back to October 22nd but it’s going to happen!

Now this means the in-store signings have been pushed back and will be rescheduled but the dates haven’t been confirmed as of yet.

The bands full statement can be read below.


“Hey guys, we’ve got some important news to share with you regarding the upcoming release of our album ‘Amazing Things’. We’ve been told this week that due to Covid related vinyl delays, we have no choice but to delay the release date to 22 October.

We want everyone to be able to experience ‘Amazing Things’ all at the same time and are gutted we have to wait a little longer, but promise it’s going to be worth it. Thank you so much to everyone who’s pre-ordered the album so far.

Unfortunately, this means our in-store signings at HMV won’t go ahead. We understand that HMV will be in contact directly with any fans who were planning to come. Our Banquet Records show at Pryzm in Kingston will be rescheduled, news to follow.

This has even us the opportunity to restock some of the sold out and low stock vinyl variants, including the Manchester Super Reds special edition back on our store now. Thanks so much for your understanding & super watch out for the Uber video coming this week x”

Now for the UK tour dates

The band are set to tour their upcoming record this October / November as well for a run of headlining shows plus they will be taking tot he stage at Esquires in Before on November 23rd with all the proceeds going straight to the venue to help with their support.

Here are the tour dates for Don Broco:

October 2021

O2 Academy, Newcastle

27th – Barrowlands, Glasgow

28th – Academy, Manchester

29th – Academy, Manchester

31st – Guildhall, Portsmouth

November 2021

1st – Rock City, Nottingham

2nd – Rock City, Nottingham

4th – UEA, Norwich

5th – O2 Academy Brixton, London

6th – O2 Academy, Brixton

23rd – Esquires, Bedford

Until next time Slam Dunk Festival which is set to take play in June of 2022.

Slam Dunk Festival 2021 Review

So Slam Dunk Festival got moved around a handful of times and nearly didn’t happen but our prayers were answered and everything got to happen as scheduled!

They came out on top but they ultimately had to lose a number of bands due to covid restrictions but…. do we really need to complain? The show went on at both dates in Leeds and Hatfield as scheduled!

The day was in a nutshell, inspiring, exhilarating and emotional to say the least where in fact for some bands for the first time since the pandemic began to a fully live audience!

Okay so firstly just getting there, everything ran without a hitch. With the coach service to the festival running more smoothly everything was off to a good start.

When the floodgates opened shall we say…. there was just an absolute collective rush of energy which had been building for the last eighteen months. People running off to get their spot for their favourite bands, such. sight!

So after the little work of figuring out who to go see, first up on the day was The Key Club stage with For You The Moon. The newcomers to the scene did get people going, even if they were on the softer side of things for the day but it made me all the more hungry to want more from them. Speeding over to the Jägermeister stage for the the end of Blood Youth, you could feel the energy in the pits as well as the emotion for what was would be what was frontman Kaya Tarsus’s last show with the band. Who can blame them for a YOKRSHIRE chant? What I was quite surprised by was how full that crowd was because I don’t think the tent was less than half full for a single band on the day! Way to show your support people!

Shifting across back to The Key Club Stage for the The Hara, this was a band full of energy and genuine craziness.They’re one band on the day which just gave me everything I wanted and more which fed in well over to Doll Skin, with some powerful tracks at their disposal and one performance that is simple but it works so well, with a few acrobatics on it as well. Leading into the special guests which were… (drumroll please) MCFLY! Quite a few people were surprised to say the least but I found myself quite shocked at how heavy they sounded considering they’re quite a more pop orientated band. But realistically, they have to book McBusted for next year right?? It’s the only logical option.

After a little food and watching As It Is from the grass on the Rock Scene Stage I did manage to catch Creeper where they prove just how far they’ve come over the years. Last time they set the festival alight and they’re carrying on that trajectory and I give it maybe five years or so and they could be potential headliners to the whole thing.

Moving back over for The Key Club stage in Static Dress, I do have to say they were a little disappointing not really hitting the mark because of technical difficulties plaguing their set where they compensated with the amount of energy from frontman Olli Appleyard.

It was from this point, I ran into a few problems. The first was being for Funeral For A Friend as well as Trash Boat because I honestly couldn’t get into the Jägermeister Stage! Now it’s amazing to see that there was so many people off to watch them but I don’t think the festival organisers were anticipated the crowd. Nevertheless, I managed to hear a few tracks while I was talking to one or two people and honestly, it was exquisite.

Heading across for the highlight of the festival over to the Rock Scene Stage (even though they were plagued by twenty minutes of technical difficulties) and making their first appearance of a band for six years were We Are The In Crowd. Now I’m not going to lie, thirty seconds into their set, I was nearly in tears, mainly because it felt so good to have this band back, and also because they opened with The Best Thing (That Never Happened) and that song is just so great to listen to.

Now, moving back quickly for the last of Wargasm as well as Lizzy Farrall over on The Key Club stage, there was plenty of energy about again where the terrible twosome of vocals for Wargasm were nothing short of amusing yet amazing. There’s something always so atmospherically charged when they take to the stage and oh so amazing to watch where I’m pretty sure there was a music-gasm during their set but we’ll let the audience decide on that one..

Now onto Lizzy Farrall, one of the festival veterans having played multiple times where previously the artist has only played acoustically here but with her full band debut it’s always so utterly fantastic to watch her play. It feels as if the release of her record ‘Bruise’ really stepped up her game where her sass and banter just come out in full force.

Moving across back to the Rock Scene Stage for State Champs, I wasn’t sure what to expect really but for them the performance was just effortless. They got into the swing of things so quickly and had people up and down as if it was too easy for them. with he added tracks to their catalogue of ‘Just Sound’ and ‘Outta My Head’, these only helped strengthen the emotion of their set just in time for some crowdsurfing.

Rushing back across to The Key Club Stage for the last few tracks in Normandie’s set, the Sweedish band show you they show you why they deserve your attention. Fans will know their music is a lot of build and not just rise and fall where the vocals of Phillip Strand just add to the experience of what you’re witnessing.

Last up on The Key Club Stage were Holding Absence, the Welsh protégées who’ve refined their sound into what Post-hardcore is and when ‘Celebration Song’ hit all I heard was people going absolutely crazy for them and possibly a few pits, I’m fifty-fifty on what I saw there. Nevertheless, their performance showcased the melodic genius of their latest record, ‘The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’ which is uplifted byhow much love they’re getting from the crowd that’s come to watch.

Don Broco were the last band of mine to watch on the day and honestly, one I was looking forward to the most where it’s safe to say that I didn’t leave disappointed with the band putting out some variety across their now lengthy catalogue of tracks. With the production of their set, no expense was too little with laser displays as well as pyro sparking up, and even the inclusion of Waterparks’ Awsten Knight and While She Sleeps’ Loz Taylor joining the band on stage for the UK live debut of Action. Some tracks you just wish you could see live again because as you hear it in another way it stays with you and that’s exactly what the band did with Automatic, Technology and more.

Despite the technical difficulties through the day, it felt so good to be back at Temple Newsman and now next year, hopefully some of the bands which had to pull out can make it back and we can watch in full force with more madness!

Don’t forget check out the pics I took from the crowds below!

4 Bands To Check Out At Slam Dunk Festival 2021

Hello everyone! How are you all enjoying festival season? We’ve got it back in our grasp now within the UK. We’ve had the Download Pilot, Bloodstock as well as Reading & Leeds but now, we have Slam Dunk Festival!

Taking place first at Temple Newsam in Leeds then at Hatfield Park, there’s some fantastic bands set to play the two day event!

With all the changes that have happened due to international restriction, I bet you’re wondering who there is to check out! We’ll here’s Almost Anythings top four picks for the lineup!

The Bottom Line – Rock Scene Stage

Okay, this band have been nothing short of amazing this year. With their sound solidified with their huge new tracks, ‘Long Time Coming’ as well as ‘Reasons’, the band feel they’ve brought something amazing to just what the UK scene needs right now and they’ll be sure to have as much crowdsurfing as possible as they’re one of the first bands to play on the day.

Static Dress – The Key Club Stage

With their visual style quite unlike anything I’ve scene over the last few years, the noise grunge outfit is one I’ve been dying to watch live for a while now. If you haven’t been able to check out their support slots on their recent run with Boston Manor, it’s as if you’ve got quite the pairing there.

We Are The In Crowd – Rock Scene Stage

We may be a little bit biased here but it’s safe to say the UK has missed these Pop-Rock mainstays in the last few years since the announcement of their hiatus (if you don’t count the shows from 2019 where vocalist Tay Jardine brought her solo project SAINTE over for a few shows) but nevertheless, this will be one to watch even if it is just for the nostalgia.

Loathe – Jagermeister Stage

I thought I’d save the best for last on this list. Loathe have been making quite the name for themselves from their 2020 record, ‘I Let It It In And It Took Everything’, to their latest release, ‘In Awe’ but from my perspective, they always seem to be one of the more underrated bands on people’s radar when they’re a crushing and powerful force to be reckoned with. Be sure to catch them because they will be blowing up soon.

Slam Dunk Festival 202 is taking place on September 4th & 5th 2021 at Temple Newsam Leeds and Hatfield Park.

Tickets are still available for the days via the following link.

Listen To Two New B-Sides From We Are The In Crowd

Remember We Are The In Crowd? They had some absolutley great tracks, especially on their 2014 record, ‘Weird Kids’.

The band were set to appear at Slam Dunk Festival this weekend which would have been their first shows since their reunion last year.

Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this meant that the festival wouldn’t be taking place.

However, they do have a massive surprise for us.

We Are The In Crowd have released two tracks which are B-sides off the record! They originally only previously were available on certain physical copies (I checked my copy of ‘Weird Kids’ to see if they were on. They weren’t) but now, they’ve been released into the world!

Check out ‘Perfect Reason’ and ‘Waiting’ below.

Tay Jardine Posts Sainte Update

Two shows in and Tay Jardine and co are back as Sainte in full force. They’ve had this in the pipeline for around two years and we as the fans couldn’t be happier she’s back to the world of music with her first shows in London and Manchester.

Here’s what went down.

Now the frontwoman has posted an update(which can be viewed below)  as she travels back home, we couldn’t be produer after seeing the results of the two shows. What happens next though? Only time will tell.