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It’s the final night of the Slam Dunk Winter Jam Tour, and the bill is so good that it’s inspired us to leave the house for our first gig of 2024.
Opening the show are Millie Manders and The Shutup. “We’re the warm-up band for the warm-up band for the warm-up band,” Millie tells the crowd - although this four-piece are so tight that they will be headlining their own shows to crowds this size before long. Kicking off with ‘Broken Record’, the band is anything but. Their tunes are infectious, upbeat and guaranteed to lift your spirits. That is, until a song called ‘I’m Bitter’, which sees Millie convince the crowd to sing back ‘I’m Bitter’, when we’re reminded that the fun tunes were not always written from a happy place. A couple of songs in, bassist Georgina ends up on the floor, which looks like part of the show, but, at the end of the song, Millie tells the crowd that she has to “pop her knee back in,” and “every bone in her body back in.” “This is normal. I’ve seen her dislocate every joint possible, and she’ll still get up and dance. She looks like a teddy bear, but she’s as hard as nails.” We spotted Georgina before the show with a walking stick, so it’s a real testament to her strength to get on stage and give it her all every night. She smiles from ear to ear; you can tell she loves what she gets to do. With crowd participation in songs such as ‘Rebound’, Millie Manders and The Shutup do a great job at warming the crowd up, as well as inspiring you to grab a ticket for their upcoming headline tour. Job done.
‘Jump On Demand’ is the perfect song for tonight. It’s energetic, doing what it says on the tin, and not allowing anyone to just stay standing still. [Spunge] originally formed in the 90s and, 30 years later, they are still going strong. The Tewkesbury band call Birmingham their second home, and have a lot of support here. ‘Don’t Ruin My Day’, ‘Roots’, ‘Some Suck, Some Rock’ and ‘Idols’ are dynamic, sounding better now than they did when they were first written. They get a long set with the ‘Skanking Song’, their cover of ‘Monkey Man’, and the infamous ‘Kicking Pigeons’ at the pinnacle. “Make a lot of noise if you think that Slam Dunk Midlands should come back,” they say. We definitely do. But, even if it doesn’t, this is a great evening for pop-punk fans that helps bridge the gap.
Teenage Bottlerocket have a rowdier punk rock sound – and rowdiness appears to be the name of the game, as the band have to stop the show a couple of songs in when a kerfuffle kicks off in the middle of the crowd. “Everybody be cool to each other,” frontman Ray Carlisle says to the crowd, before they continue with ‘Bigger Than Kiss’. Raw riffage, chanty vocals, and powerhouse drums help stoke up a rapid-fire circle pit. Ray jumps from the drum riser numerous times, while bassist Miguel Chen does a headstand at one point.
‘They Call Me Steve’ and ‘Radio’ are fist-in-the-air anthems, while the quartet speed things up for the belligerent ‘Fatso Goes Nutzoid’. Their influences come out in the form of The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, they play their guitars behind their heads, and ‘Necrocomicon’ ends the set with more tempestuous instrumentation.
“We are mother fucking Zebrahead,” calls out frontman Ali Tabatabaee, as the Californian headliners step onto the stage and launch into the full-on, frantic rampage that is ‘When Both Sides Suck, We’re All Winners’. The band now includes Adrian Estrella on vocals and guitar, who contributes melodic vocals and rhythm guitar playing. His smooth singing tone helps ‘No Tomorrow’, ‘Hello Tomorrow’ and, especially, ‘Lay Me To Rest’, to really bloom and shine. A member of the crew sprays bubbles over the front of the audience with a bubble gun, as the crowd bathes in the delightful pop-punk tunes. They’re asked to crouch down before jumping up again, and sway arms from side to side.
Ali tells the room, “I want to see a huge circle pit right here,” before the band charge into ‘The Perfect Crime’. The band’s family friend Dylan, stood at the back of the stage, is celebrating his 19th birthday, so the band invite the crowd to join in singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. He gets to chug a beer before ‘Mike Dexter Is A God, Mike Dexter Is A Role Model, Mike Dexter Is An Asshole’. Ali’s rap-style vocals, mixed with Adrian’s melodic tones, give the song a lot of character and quality. The band have always had a uniqueness due to incorporating many styles of music into their arsenal, and this is highlighted now more than ever.
Old favourite ‘Rescue Me’, with its infectious sing-along chorus, is played for the old school Zebrahead fans. “Woahhh,” the crowd repeats after Ali. ‘We’re Not Alright’ is another punchy, skate-punk gem, with a catchy reprise of ‘We’re not alright, we’re not alright’.
Bassist Ben Osmundson thanks Birmingham and jokes that he walked to the Bullring and almost got stabbed four times, while the pounding beat of ‘Homesick For Hope’ makes way for the jubilant ‘Anthem’, which the band say they want to see the world’s biggest circle pit in. The crowd are happy to oblige.
‘All My Friends Are Nobodies’ sees 19-year-old Dylan surf over the audience on an inflatable watermelon, while the band end with ‘Falling Apart’, which begins with a wall of death. Zebrahead are far from falling apart, with new member Adrian really helping to solidify the unit, making them stronger than ever before.
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