After seeing OOS support Hey Monday last year I was fortunate enough to have something to compare tonight with. With that said this is probably about as well as I can imagine these guys playing at this stage in their career. They play a brand of semi-catchy pop-punk that goes down really well this evening and they look accomplished doing it. They seem more relaxed in a smaller venue and the kids (that’s not a derogatory statement, but a fact due to the age of most people here) give them all the encouragement they could possibly ask for. The delivery across the whole band is a lot more assured and evidence of a band feeling very comfortable in their surroundings.

Boys Like Girls soon follow and start with a short rendition of Black Eyed Peas’ ?I Gotta Feeling?. This soon heads us into the title track off the new album ?Love Drunk? as the crowd scream ?tonight’s going to be a good night?, let’s hope so! One could argue either way, I think it depends on your expectation. Their target audience is quite young and this is reflected in their performance. Energy is key within this ‘market’ and there’s plenty on show. There are times when it appears slightly forced and over the top, with Martin spending a lot of time on top of the speakers, but I don’t think you’ll find many complaining. All the singles and crowd favourites get a go tonight and with resounding success. ?Thunder? goes down particularly well, as it’s introduced as the first song the band wrote together. The set does close a little too soon for my liking and some will potentially leave wishing they’d heard more. The guys do apologise for this though and end on a high with the latest single ?Two Is Better Than One? and their biggest/most noticeable track ?The Great Escape?. The latter sending the whole crowd into a frenzy.

With the band due back in April tonight does feel like a ‘taster’. All things considered you have to take BLG with a pinch of salt as well. Not take them too seriously. In part that’s my downfall. They’re decent at what they do and are in turn very popular. It’s all a little too much for me though and I find the provocativeness on show among other things a little wrong, however it clearly sells so what do I know! It’s a shame I just don’t quite ‘get it’ live.

Jamie

PT: How are you today Paul?

Paul DiGiovanni: Very good, and you?

PT: I’m excellent. You’ve been over here with Fallout Boy playing some massive arena shows. How have they been for you guys so far?

PD: They’ve been great, we’ve had two so far, this is our third and final one. We’ve been over here a few times but we’ve never played places close to as big as this. It’s really good for us to be able to get loads of new kids to hear us. Everyone I’ve told back home that we’re playing Wembley has been freaking out, it’s awesome.

PT: How different is it playing arena shows like this compared to more intimate ones?

PD: Every show’s different once we get up there. Normally we’re on like a two month tour, and by the middle we’re in a routine, doing pretty much the same thing every night, but with these huge shows, there’s only a couple of them. There’s a whole load of emotions going on, especially as we’re going home tomorrow. It’s weird though, the past two shows we’ve gone out there and all looked at each other and just started laughing at how many kids were there watching!

PT: Your self-titled album came out quite a while ago now, over two years ago. Have you got plans in store for a follow-up and if so, what can you tell me about it?

PD: It’s funny you say that actually, because this is one of our last shows for this record tonight. After we get home we’re taking the next three or four months off to write and record the new record, hopefully we’ll have it out by early spring or as soon as we can. We’ve done a ton of writing so far, we’ve got a ton of ideas, now we need to sit down in a studio all together and make the final decisions that need to be made.

PT: Despite your self-titled album having been on the shelves for a while, it’s only recently that we’ve heard much about you over here in the UK. How important is it for you guys to build up a fanbase over here?

PD: Every time we come here, it’s important. We love our fans here, and we want to come back to the UK as much as we can. Once we get the new record out we’ll be right back playing more shows for you!

PT: When you’re over here do you have much of a chance to explore the cities you’re playing in?

PD: The first couple of times we didn’t. We didn’t really understand what it was like in the UK, we were all on bad sleeping schedules and it was raining, but this time around we’ve had a lot more free time. A few days ago we had a day off and we got to walk around London for like five hours, it was awesome. One of our old drivers took us around for a tour of the city, so we got to see a lot of places we wouldn’t usually.

PT: You spent the summer on the road with your ‘Soundtrack of the summer’ tour. What has been the soundtrack to YOR summer in 2008?

PD: Ha, that’s a tough one. I just got the new Copeland record that came out and I really like that. Every time we tour, we tend to listen to the bands we’re on the road with. For example we’ve all been loving the Metro Station CD ever since the Good Charlotte tour.

PT: Ok finally, you’ve got a new DVD coming out at the beginning of November. What can you tell me about it?

PD: A lot of bands come up with just live DVDs and they’re pretty cool, but we wanted to do a little more than that. It’s a bout an hour and a half long, half of it is a live show, half of it is behind the scenes stuff. We had a video guy come out for a little over two weeks on the last tour, so we’ve got all kinds of footage from that. I’ve also been recording stuff since we started as a band, gave him everything and was like ‘do whatever you want with this!’ It’s cool, it starts with us in the beginning, and just follows us to where we are now. What we wanted to do was let everyone know who we are personally, and how we work together. If you come and see our shows you never really get a feeling of who we are as people, so this will hopefully change that. The live show as well is the biggest show from our hometown that we’re really proud of, and really happy to include that in there as well/

I hear you’re doing a movie-style premiere for it’s release, how did that idea come about?

PD: Yeah, back home in Massachusetts there’s a brand new Cineplex opening. We thought it’d be cool and once we heard about the new movie theatre being built, we thought, ‘Let’s try and get that’, and we did. It should be a lot of fun, we’ll be talking to all the fans who come along and people can buy the DVD before it’s out and everything so it should be a lot of fun!

PT: How are you today Paul?

Paul DiGiovanni: Very good, and you?

PT: I’m excellent. You’ve been over here with Fallout Boy playing some massive arena shows. How have they been for you guys so far?

PD: They’ve been great, we’ve had two so far, this is our third and final one. We’ve been over here a few times but we’ve never played places close to as big as this. It’s really good for us to be able to get loads of new kids to hear us. Everyone I’ve told back home that we’re playing Wembley has been freaking out, it’s awesome.

PT: How different is it playing arena shows like this compared to more intimate ones?

PD: Every show’s different once we get up there. Normally we’re on like a two month tour, and by the middle we’re in a routine, doing pretty much the same thing every night, but with these huge shows, there’s only a couple of them. There’s a whole load of emotions going on, especially as we’re going home tomorrow. It’s weird though, the past two shows we’ve gone out there and all looked at each other and just started laughing at how many kids were there watching!

PT: Your self-titled album came out quite a while ago now, over two years ago. Have you got plans in store for a follow-up and if so, what can you tell me about it?

PD: It’s funny you say that actually, because this is one of our last shows for this record tonight. After we get home we’re taking the next three or four months off to write and record the new record, hopefully we’ll have it out by early spring or as soon as we can. We’ve done a ton of writing so far, we’ve got a ton of ideas, now we need to sit down in a studio all together and make the final decisions that need to be made.

PT: Despite your self-titled album having been on the shelves for a while, it’s only recently that we’ve heard much about you over here in the UK. How important is it for you guys to build up a fanbase over here?

PD: Every time we come here, it’s important. We love our fans here, and we want to come back to the UK as much as we can. Once we get the new record out we’ll be right back playing more shows for you!

PT: When you’re over here do you have much of a chance to explore the cities you’re playing in?

PD: The first couple of times we didn’t. We didn’t really understand what it was like in the UK, we were all on bad sleeping schedules and it was raining, but this time around we’ve had a lot more free time. A few days ago we had a day off and we got to walk around London for like five hours, it was awesome. One of our old drivers took us around for a tour of the city, so we got to see a lot of places we wouldn’t usually.

PT: You spent the summer on the road with your ‘Soundtrack of the summer’ tour. What has been the soundtrack to YOR summer in 2008?

PD: Ha, that’s a tough one. I just got the new Copeland record that came out and I really like that. Every time we tour, we tend to listen to the bands we’re on the road with. For example we’ve all been loving the Metro Station CD ever since the Good Charlotte tour.

PT: Ok finally, you’ve got a new DVD coming out at the beginning of November. What can you tell me about it?

PD: A lot of bands come up with just live DVDs and they’re pretty cool, but we wanted to do a little more than that. It’s a bout an hour and a half long, half of it is a live show, half of it is behind the scenes stuff. We had a video guy come out for a little over two weeks on the last tour, so we’ve got all kinds of footage from that. I’ve also been recording stuff since we started as a band, gave him everything and was like ‘do whatever you want with this!’ It’s cool, it starts with us in the beginning, and just follows us to where we are now. What we wanted to do was let everyone know who we are personally, and how we work together. If you come and see our shows you never really get a feeling of who we are as people, so this will hopefully change that. The live show as well is the biggest show from our hometown that we’re really proud of, and really happy to include that in there as well/

I hear you’re doing a movie-style premiere for it’s release, how did that idea come about?

PD: Yeah, back home in Massachusetts there’s a brand new Cineplex opening. We thought it’d be cool and once we heard about the new movie theatre being built, we thought, ‘Let’s try and get that’, and we did. It should be a lot of fun, we’ll be talking to all the fans who come along and people can buy the DVD before it’s out and everything so it should be a lot of fun!

The Slam Dunk Festival can rightly now proclaim itself to be the premier festival of it’s type in the UK. What started off as an outdoors event in Millenium Square, downgraded itself last year to one room and one stage. But this years four-stage, 3,500-capacity musical bonanza has really found it’s feet. While there were a few organisational issues (the merch area wasn’t big enough and too many people congregated outside the Atticus tent, blocking the entrance and stairs to other stages) the day as a whole was a brilliant success. Kudos for picking a solid line-up with themed stages meaning there was something for everyone, and kudos for picking a lot of UK bands. It was a combination which worked as two UK bands were among my top 3 of the day.

Spud and I kind of split ourselves to try and cover as many bands as we could. It just so happened that I covered the refectory bands, so here are my reviews of the Glamour Kills and UK Now! Stages:

GLAMOUR KILLS

WE THE KINGS opened up the main stage in the main room and while I think they’re a bit generic on record, they do what they do very well in a live setting. A lot of kids like this band, and I mean a lot, and that really surprised me (and the band when I spoke to them later in the day). They get a lot of kids singing and jumping and they’re really, really tight. ‘Check Yes Juliet’ gets the best reaction of the set, but truth be told they were really enjoyable and I’ve gone back to give the album another listen. (7.5)

I’ve waited a long time to see VALENCIA and they didn’t disappoint at all. Afterwards some people said they were disappointed as they thought they were boring, but I couldn’t disagree more. They raced through a set which featured newie ‘Holiday’ and ‘Que Sera Sera’ and again a lot of people sang along. Shane’s throat was clearly suffering from a few birthday bevvies the night before, but that made the live performance even edgier for me. ‘The Space Between’ was a cracker and it was all worth the wait for me. (9)

I missed THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS to interview Story of the Year. I’ve seen YOU ME AT 6 a fair few times now and found them hit and miss. They’re really good guys and I know they get a lot of shit – the last time I saw them, supporting New Found Glory, they were really off the mark. But today they hit the spot. The crowd loves them as they run through the set they’ve been playing for a while now. Ending on ‘The Rumour’ they have a very large crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. They desperately need to release that album, but today was very much more ‘hit’ than ‘miss’. (8)

Best crowd reaction of the day goes to KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES who were phenomenal live. On record they’re hit and miss for me, but live they managed to get the crowd whipped up into a frenzy and, with a The Movielife cover thrown in for good measure, literally had the venue bouncing. The singles go down like a hooker with a fistful of dollars – the future’s very bright for the Kids if the crowd reaction alone is anything to go by. (9)

I missed the majority of CUTE IS WHAT WE AIM FOR but what I heard sounded utterly dreadful – and judging by the fact half the crowd left halfway through it seemed many agreed. BOYS LIKE GIRLS stepped in to headline and their choreographed ‘rock show’-lite performance is very enjoyable but without much substance. They remind me of a weaker All American Rejects; there’s a lot of front and a lot of ‘f-words’ thrown around for effect. When the band are good, like on ‘Dancehall Drug’ and ‘Hero/Heroine’ they are good. When they slowed it down in the middle they weren’t so hot. Ending on ‘The Great Escape’ they again left the crowd battered and bruised and ended the main stage on a very positive note. (7)

UK NOW STAGE

The whole event was opened up by ALL FORGOTTEN who were very, very tight with a powerful vocalist. They reminded me of early Thrice and Spud of early Funeral For A Friend and while it’s probably heavier than stuff I’d normally listen to, it’s done very, very well. (7)

ME vs HERO suffered from horrendous feedback problems and while the big crowd which swarmed the stage went off for them, it really did cramp their style a little. As a relatively young band there’s room for improvement, and I’m being extra harsh so people don’t accuse me of any bias, but their performance wasn’t as good as some of the others. Still, ‘Hand Me The Keys To Massey’ saw an enormous pit and the boys can be proud of getting so many singing along. (6)

I only caught one ALL OR NOTHING song but their Daggermouth-esque sound impressed many I spoke to and, if their newest recordings are anything to go by, they’re getting better all the time.

Welsh boys ATTACK! ATTACK! were the surprise of the day. I liked what I’d heard on their myspace but live they blew me away. Infact everyone I spoke to who saw them was blown away. With a Jimmy Eat World-esque sound they raced through a set which had the small number of people who watched singing along. Ones to watch for sure. (8)

I’ve always thought FURTHEST DRIVE HOME were over-rated and they were the worst band I saw at the fest by some distance. The new material sounds like Maroon 5 and the singer was massively out of tune and unable to hit any high notes at all. They’re tight musically, granted, but it’s so wishy washy and generic I just couldn’t get into it at all. I know a lot of people like them, so fair play, but I don’t think they cut it live at all. (4)

Unlike TONIGHT IS GOODBYE that is, who not only piss on FDH from a great height, they pretty much pissed on every band who played all day. Truth be told I liked the first EP but didn’t love it, ‘Black Dress’ aside, but live they totally come into their own. They are energetic, aggressive and singer Ant West owns the relatively small stage. ‘Brain’ is better live than on record as TIG remind me a lot of The Academy Is. But better. I was intrigued to see them as I hadn’t before, but they totally exceeded my expectations – and for me were probably band of the day. Just. (9.5)

So that’s it. Bring on next year, that’s all I can say – great atmosphere, pretty good band selection and a good time had by all. Thumbs up all round.