Opening a festival is always hard, especially if you are a smaller band. However, this wasn’t a problem for competition winners You Know The Drill. After being voted by the public to open the Rocksound Breakout Stage at the Midlands event, they already had a set of fans/friends ready at the stage for their big performance.
One thing to note is that at first, the performance lacked energy. Whether it was the crowd or the fact they were opening the stage, the energy was lacking during the first song or two. However, as the set progressed, so did the energy (and the technical issues). One thing we can’t blame You Know The Drill for is the technical issues that arose, but we can talk about how they handled it. Halfway through their set they broke the microphone, meaning vocals were a little quiet, but this was handled well with the band carrying on and making the best of it leading to quite a comical little performance. Another glitch was the insane amount of smoke coming from the machines at the side of the stage which sometimes made it a little hard to see, but didn’t hinder the performance.
As for stage presence, they certainly tried to connect with the audience, even through a little mid-set juggling show! Making the audience interested and entertained is something they can do well in quite an original way. At one point the guitarist and vocalist switched positions giving them a chance to try out a new entertaining way of performing.
Opening a stage is hard, and You Know The Drill did a good job. While there were the odd technical hitches and a lack of energy at first, they soon got into the full spirit of the show getting the audience involved and entertained at all times. If you didn’t catch them at Slam Dunk, make sure to listen to their EP ‘Losing Streak’!
Gig rating: 3.5/5
EUPHORIA OF BREAKDOWN 