Talk To Frank.

So the 24th of May was Slam Dunk Fest and to be truthfull i wasn't looking that forward to it. None of my favourite bands were there, and all of the good bands that were there i had seen before, so i thought there was nothing to be excited about and that the day wasn't going to be that good. But i was wrong. It was red hot and as we walked in to see Hey Monday playing on the main stage room, were there was no air con, we knew it was gonna be a hot and sweaty day. A few bands surprised me at how good they were live, Hollywood Undead put on a great performance as they graced the stage in their masks, We The Kings, who i'd been told wern't very good live, were one of the best of the day i thought, playing through all their hits aswell as a cover of Jimmy Eat World's 'The Middle'. Kids In Glass Houses wern't too bad but after playing the same songs for over a year now they're kinda getting a bit boring, as were Cobra Starship who although have some good tracks seemed to take up most of their slot talking to the crowd and not getting much from them. YouMeAtSix put on a good show too ,as always, playing through their album as well as playing their new track 'Finders Keepers'. However i think the defining moment of the day for me was meeting and geting snapped with Rob & Rou from Enter Shikari and FrankMusik, who's song 'Better Off As Two' hasn't been off my playlist for the past 3 months. I also got to see Paul Griffiths getting dragged out of the bar his clothing range was sponsoring by security which musta sucked. So to be fair this years Slam Dunk rocked for me, thanks to meeting some of my favourite artists. I think I'll definatly be going next year. can't wait.

"Let me introduce you to a new idea..."

It's called Henry Priestman. You've probably never heard of him. Like i hadn't, until about a month ago when i stumbled across his album on spotify. Being a fellow child of Hull i decided to give it a listen and was hooked. The stories that run through the songs present a bleak existence of redundancy and relationship break-ups but through the use of catchy melodies you can't help but sing along. The stand-out songs have to be "Don't You Love Me No More?" a tale of redundancy and a feeling of being cast aside, and "It's Called a Heart" a catchy tune that's forever on repeat on my iPod. Although the songs may seem to be about situations only the older generations may have experienced, the song-writing allows anyone of any age to emphasise with the singer, and therefore is definatly worth a listen. Clik the link to listen on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/5d6cqUAsfrPKc56ZhBvcci

And if judgement day started tonight....

"...at least i'd know i was right, and i'd be laughing at the end of the world." I think that if judgement day started the night i saw 'White Lies' i'd be pretty happy knowing that my last memory would be of one of the best gigs i've been to. As the band took to the stage wearing their usual black outfit, with Harry upsetting the balance wearing a white shirt, the atmosphere was electric. The thumping beat of 'A Place To Hide' kicked off the gig, to a more than excited crowd of all ages which included Simon Rix from 'Kaiser Chiefs'. And from that moment the band took us into their world of lost love, death and all round misery, with their story-telling songs and catchy guitar riffs. Playing through their entire album as well as a B-side and a yet untitled new song, the band ended on my favourite song 'Death'. As the drums kicked in for this final song the crowd errupted into cheers, jumping along to the beat and thrusting their arms into the air for emphasis, of which i was included. And as the song ended and the band walked off stage, me and my friend agreed that there was only one word to sum up the gig, EPIC!