Photo by Jared Chesnut

Jared Chesnut – BlazeRadio Operations Manager
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Day One

Between iron casting, tributes to artists who’ve passed the torch and giant cat heads with stunner shades, there was a ton to take in and only so much time to do so. Here are a few highlights from Saturday’s offerings.

The Joy Formidable onstage. Photo by Jared ChesnutThe Joy Formidable

With the heat index at its apex, the Welsh three piece’s return to Birmingham (the band last played at Iron City in the middle of 2014) truly lived up to the trio’s name as they put on a hot hour-long set in the midst of some blistering heat. From beginning to end the band played with an unquenchable energy and even a couple of minor technical difficulties couldn’t burn out the enthusiasm put on display by Ritzy Bryan and company. Some distortion and reverb-heavy rock and “weird grainy delayed synth s—” combined for an aural attack that left me wanting more at the end of the set. All in all, a strong performance that would make even Gareth Bale proud. 

Glass Animals

Sloss Fest marked the Birmingham debut of the indie rock band out of Oxford, England and if this performance is any sign, they would be a lot of fun to listen to in a more intimate setting like Iron City or Workplay. With some really sensual, chilled out pop rock, the band cooled things down to kick off the evening sets, mixing hits such as “Gooey” with new material from their upcoming album “How to be a Human Being”and a particularly soulful cover of Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown.” A great crowd and a flawless hour long run leads to some hope for a return in the future.  

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

A bit more of a toned down affair as the sunlight began to wane, Harper showed an understated showmanship compared to the day’s poppier acts, letting amazing technical proficiency and a seamless flow through soul, rock, blues and reggae grab the crowd’s attention. Ending the set with a ten-minute jam session that featured Harper grabbing a chair and playing some lap steel and bassist Juan Nelson took center stage with some amazing solo work and “Peter Gabriel by way of James Brown’s tour bus”-style vocals may have been the most fun singular moment of the entire day.

Grouplove

It’s mostly due to the fact that most of the other acts on Saturday were so on point but the band from the City of Angels’ performance felt a little bit flat at times in comparison to the tight technical abilities and pitch-perfect deliveries of prior performers. Regardless, the band maintained a high level of energy and stayed engaged with the crowd throughout, getting a crowd of people nearly a hundred yards wide to wave hands, sway to the music arm in arm and create what may have been the best example of a festival atmosphere on Saturday. In the middle of the set lead vocalists Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper eschewed their indie rock roots for a minute as the band broke into a cover of “Sabotage,” one of the Beastie Boys’ more renowned hits. Their rendition kept up a frenetic energy and attitude that would make MCA smile down from heaven. One of the group’s larger hits, “Tongue Tied” got a solid pop and closing out the set with “Colours” felt like a good choice. With the band talking about a fall release for their new album and dropping hints on a possible return to Birmingham, there’s a chance we’ve yet to see Grouplove’s best.

Overall day one was impressive from beginning to end. Day two looks to build even more on that, with some potentially great performances from The Flaming Lips, Fitz & The Tantrums, Sylvan Esso and more. Stay tuned into our Twitter feed @UABKscope for up to the minute updates and check back here for recaps, photos, videos and more!

Sunset over Sloss. Photo by Jared ChestnutDay Two

It’s hard to believe that the weekend passed so quickly, but here we are. Though Day 2 brought an hour long monsoon alongside the hours of music and entertainment, the Sloss crowd still mustered up some enthusiasm for some strong performances on Sunday to make up for it. Here are our highlights for Sunday.

Junior Junior

With some cloud cover rolling in to give a brief respite from near 100 degree temperatures, lead singer Daniel Zott shared a tale of how Ryan Adams “stole his girl,” then cheekily pulled a page from Ryan’s performance the previous night by adlibbing his own song, playfully throwing some shade while strumming a ballad about a bathroom tryst. While the early parts of the act were a bit slow going, business began to pick up once Zott let his hair down, putting some oomph on their catchy pop rock and toeing the line between retro cheese and old-school cool, due in part to hits such as “Gone” and “James Dean.” Mid-set the band gave Birmingham a rendition of Sweet Home Alabama that was drenched in synthy butter. Much like the inspiration for their previous moniker, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., the performance might not have won Sunday’s race, but ran strong and had some strong support from the fans in attendance.

Steel City Jug Slammers

While in the middle of a brief layover between sets, I happened to find myself at the Redmont Distillery tent and standing inside the pop-up speakeasy were a group of gentleman in newsboy caps and suspenders, playing instruments as vintage as their attire. The group from Birmingham was a throwback to country pickers of yore, doing bluegrass and folk by way of banjos, mandolins and old-fashioned jugs. It was a fun change of pace from the bombast and sheer volume of the stage acts, and with some more local shows lined up this year, there’ll be more chances to catch a local act quite unlike most.

Ghostland Observatory

The swan song to Sloss Fest 2016 alongside Ray Lamontagne, the dark of night at the Shed stage provided the perfect setting for the Austin-based duo. With cape-adorned Thomas Ross Turner behind the controls and Aaron Behrens front and center on vocals and guitar, the next hour was a mix of fog, flashing lights, lasers and some vibey electro/black wave in the vein of Kool Head. With a packed full shed of people writhing about in tune to the music, the ambience was that of a super posh dance hall, not of a century old blast furnace.

Photo by Jared Chesnut
The Flaming Lips

More than any of the other headliners, the Lips’s reputation as a live spectacle preceded themselves and led to huge expectations for Sunday night. While it wasn’t the religious experience some would hyperbolically claim, Wayne Coyne and company certainly lived up to the hype. Though the crowd was strangely quiet to kick off the show (a combination of the effects of the early evening’s storm and 20+ hours of festival,) the band was adamant about their desire to give everyone a good time, willing out some more of the crowd’s energy with “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots”. From there, the energy present at the Steam stage seemed to change, and a proper beginning was marked with some trademark Lips embellishments such as giant balloons and inflatable suns, rainbows and aliens, alongside some less typical things (put simply, Wayne Coyne’s probably on the Pokemon Go train as well.) The stage design was as over the top as Coyne’s tin foil suit, a myriad of lights and colors, psychedelic video going full blast as confetti cascaded in from above. The band largely stayed away from their latest material in Embryonic and The Terror, focusing instead on their early naughts period from “The Soft Bulletin to At War With the Mystics.” In between classics such as “Waiting for Superman” and “The WAND”, the band led into the opening measures of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” before Wayne stepped out in his giant bubble, walking above the crowd while crooning a message to ground control. It was a moment in time that gave me chills, and, lost in the sea of people who clapped and sang along in unison, I began to understand what made the experience so special, a point driven home by the multitudes chanting “LOVE” as one for several minutes. As “Do You Realize” sounded a goodbye over the speakers, I noticed that my soul felt just a bit lighter, a testament to how well the band can engage with people on an emotional level. As Oklahoma City’s current reigning best squad, I found myself glad to have been able to be a part of the spectacle, a bit melancholy that it had to end, and excited for the possibility that the Lips’s journey would bring them back here again.

The Struts

The Struts stage. Photo by Jared Chesnut Picture this: Heavy rains roll in out of nowhere and delay performances for almost an hour. Everyone’s waterlogged, weary and trying to find some excitement left in the tank. Then, with the greatest of ease, a man in a garish blouse walks on stage, says a few words and has the crowd eating out of his hand, making the exhaustion from earlier a long gone memory replaced by headbanging, fist-pumping euphoria. The Struts play a style reminiscent to the golden age of UK rock & roll standards such as Def Leppard and Judas Priest, and in the confines of Sloss Furnaces, it truly felt like British Steel was reforged stronger than ever. Frontman Luke Spiller slinked about with a flamboyant charisma on par with the likes of Jagger and Iggy, and may well be one of the best showmen going today. I can’t think of too many people who can make an entire crowd duck to their hands and knees then have them pop up in unison without so much as a “please.” Shredding riffs from Adam Slack built on a solid foundation built by Jed Elliot and Gethin Davies completed the package that was an amazing live act and beyond a doubt the best act of the festival, let alone the biggest surprise.