Slaves - INMWT Stage
Slaves tear up the tent at the Big Weekend
On the sweltering afternoon of Saturday the 23rd of May, Radio 1’s Big Weekend started off with the biggest bang to a festival I have ever experienced - Slaves. This two piece punk band from Kent have worked their way through the ranks. November 2014 saw them playing their first ever sold out gig at The Owl Sanctuary; they went on to support Palma Violets on the NME tour in February, and finally playing to a crowd of 10,000 plus, with their most explosive set to date at the Big Weekend. They kickstarted their performance with White Knuckle Ride, a huge tune that got the crowd completely ready for the day ahead, dancing and moshing from the word go. The more comical songs like Where’s Your Car, Debbie? and Feed the Mantaray were completely on point, with chants of these memorable tracks ringing throughout the In New Music We Trust tent. One of the best things about Slaves live is the connection and inclusive chemistry between Isaac and Laurie. Their energy bounces off each other and their synchronisation and comedic tendencies make them unmissable,
However, the UNBELIEVABLE and fantastic surprise Slaves had in store for this day was absolutely phenomenal and stole the show. After a Radio 1 Live Lounge cover of Skepta’s Shutdown 2 weeks prior, everyone in the audience was hankering to hear this amazing rendition, and Slaves performed it perfectly, the crowd going absolutely wild. But what made the audience even more excited was the mid-way explosive appearance of Skepta himself bounding on stage to join Slaves for the rest of the song. We were speechless; the crowd responded with aggressive dancing. After Shutdown, Slaves finished their set with the fast paced Hey, absolutely smashing this song and the crowd to pieces.
A perfect start to the weekend, Slaves are a band you do not want to miss out on seeing live (and if you didn’t get a chance to see them at Big Weekend then get a ticket to their UEA show on the 18th November)!
