Soundwave 2014 - Melbourne, 28th Feb 2014
Words: Courtney Jones
You always have a moment at a festival, and that moment comes when you’re standing in the middle of a crowd of sweaty strangers and you feel unified; an innate sense of togetherness. That unifying force is music, though that particular moment at Melbourne’s
Soundwave Festival doesn’t come during a band set. It is, in fact, during the wait for headlining act Green Day; whoever was behind the genius decision that was playing Bohemian Rhapsody to thousands of eagerly waiting fans deserves a medal. As soon as “Is this the real life or is this just fantasy...” drifts over the crowd there’s a collective sigh, a communal tide of voices joining together to sing every single word, epic exaggerated gestures and exuberant dancing included.
There was always going to be issues following up the festivals tenth anniversary super-sized celebration from last year whose headliners included Metallica, Linkin Park and Blink 182. More than likely there was going to be a lot of people disappointed with the line-up, not to mention the seemingly overwhelming amount of bands that pulled out, among them Sevendust and Stone Temple Pilots. The latter being replaced at the last minute by local legends and home-grown heroes, The Living End.
There’s that famous saying though, the show must go on and Soundwave 2014 kicked off with the most perfect of perfect Melbourne days. It was the predicted sunny twenty four degrees and hopefully the kids lathered themselves up with sunscreen otherwise they’d be one of those poor unfortunate souls whose sunburn seems to glow as dusk sets in. Of course, you might have looked like that regardless if you’d been in the Gwar pit earlier in the day, whose liberal use of fake bodily fluids sprayed on their fans marked them for the rest of the day. Not to mention the creative fashion in which said fake bodily fluids were spewed forth; let’s just say, it’s not often one gets the opportunity to use the words dildos and Tony Abbot decapitation in the same sentence.
A seemingly never ending stream of mostly black clad or band tee wearing horde (with the occasional boiler suit and that one guy in all fluoro pink), took over public transport in the direction of Flemington Racecourse. It’s good to see that Soundwave decided to permanently relocate to this venue since last year. The green grass and trees (and therefore infinitely more shade) are a sight more pleasant than the dustbowl of the Showgrounds, definitely a plus when it comes to sitting and watching the main stages’ big screens, certainly for the large number of girls wearing seemingly extra short shorts. Cheeky glimpses of butt cheeks are apparently the new side boob.
Soundwave Festival doesn’t come during a band set. It is, in fact, during the wait for headlining act Green Day; whoever was behind the genius decision that was playing Bohemian Rhapsody to thousands of eagerly waiting fans deserves a medal. As soon as “Is this the real life or is this just fantasy...” drifts over the crowd there’s a collective sigh, a communal tide of voices joining together to sing every single word, epic exaggerated gestures and exuberant dancing included.
There was always going to be issues following up the festivals tenth anniversary super-sized celebration from last year whose headliners included Metallica, Linkin Park and Blink 182. More than likely there was going to be a lot of people disappointed with the line-up, not to mention the seemingly overwhelming amount of bands that pulled out, among them Sevendust and Stone Temple Pilots. The latter being replaced at the last minute by local legends and home-grown heroes, The Living End.
There’s that famous saying though, the show must go on and Soundwave 2014 kicked off with the most perfect of perfect Melbourne days. It was the predicted sunny twenty four degrees and hopefully the kids lathered themselves up with sunscreen otherwise they’d be one of those poor unfortunate souls whose sunburn seems to glow as dusk sets in. Of course, you might have looked like that regardless if you’d been in the Gwar pit earlier in the day, whose liberal use of fake bodily fluids sprayed on their fans marked them for the rest of the day. Not to mention the creative fashion in which said fake bodily fluids were spewed forth; let’s just say, it’s not often one gets the opportunity to use the words dildos and Tony Abbot decapitation in the same sentence.
A seemingly never ending stream of mostly black clad or band tee wearing horde (with the occasional boiler suit and that one guy in all fluoro pink), took over public transport in the direction of Flemington Racecourse. It’s good to see that Soundwave decided to permanently relocate to this venue since last year. The green grass and trees (and therefore infinitely more shade) are a sight more pleasant than the dustbowl of the Showgrounds, definitely a plus when it comes to sitting and watching the main stages’ big screens, certainly for the large number of girls wearing seemingly extra short shorts. Cheeky glimpses of butt cheeks are apparently the new side boob.
Amon Amarth kicked off the day over on Stage 4. Even for those who have no knowledge of them or their music, it was easy to be sucked into their Vikings ‘R Us shtick (seriously, they had a ship on stage, with eyes…that glowed. How does one not get sucked into that?). They were followed by first time visitors Mushroomhead, who know what they’re up against; most of the lingering crowd are just waiting for Five Finger Death Punch, but they did pull in some impressive crowd participation by adding “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!” into Born of Desire. It’s basically impossible to not belt out the “Oi! Oi! Oi!” response. One might even speculate that it’s almost unAustralian if you didn’t. When Five Finger Death Punch did hit the stage, they opened with Under And Over It, with lead singer Ivan Moody grinning maniacally the entire time.
Over at the tent housing Stage 5, Less Than Jake were up to their usual pranks, jokes and awesome tunes. By far, out of all the bands this reviewer saw, Less Than Jake had the most gusto out of any performance. The pit was urged to make a “human catwalk” by linking arms and have fans walk along it. Points were given for ingenuity and nudity (the female variety implied). Another song along and a guy whose expression of severe boredom caught the eye of vocalist and guitarist Chris DeMakes, was pulled from the crowd to the stage to have a beer and make out with a random volunteer. This was, apparently, severe boredom dude’s first experience of Less Than Jake. Probably the best introduction to a band he’s ever had. Following Less Than Jake on Stage 5 was Alkaline Trio, but after such a high-energy performance from Less Than Jake, Alkaline Trio’s performance was subdued and fell flat.
Over the years, the selection of food that was on offer has greatly improved. in between the expected hot chips and dim sims was local cult faves Beatbox Kitchen and Taco Truck, and there was never a point during the day that the Korean Twist Chip line was less than seven deep. The grassed area where most of the food was located, between Stages 3 and 4 was heavily populated with a battle between Asking Alexandra and Testament, on who could make the most noise to be heard the best.
Davey Havok, of AFI, can only ever be accused of being a dedicated and consistent frontman, delighting fans with his Jesus walk onto the mosh during I Hope You Suffer. They blasted their way through a set that felt entirely too short for their impressive repertoire of songs spanning nine studio albums. Girls Not Grey proved a favourite but the loudest screams were for Miss Murder, after which, they abruptly (and slightly early) departed the stage to a crowd confused as to whether they would return for a one song encore.
Over at the tent housing Stage 5, Less Than Jake were up to their usual pranks, jokes and awesome tunes. By far, out of all the bands this reviewer saw, Less Than Jake had the most gusto out of any performance. The pit was urged to make a “human catwalk” by linking arms and have fans walk along it. Points were given for ingenuity and nudity (the female variety implied). Another song along and a guy whose expression of severe boredom caught the eye of vocalist and guitarist Chris DeMakes, was pulled from the crowd to the stage to have a beer and make out with a random volunteer. This was, apparently, severe boredom dude’s first experience of Less Than Jake. Probably the best introduction to a band he’s ever had. Following Less Than Jake on Stage 5 was Alkaline Trio, but after such a high-energy performance from Less Than Jake, Alkaline Trio’s performance was subdued and fell flat.
Over the years, the selection of food that was on offer has greatly improved. in between the expected hot chips and dim sims was local cult faves Beatbox Kitchen and Taco Truck, and there was never a point during the day that the Korean Twist Chip line was less than seven deep. The grassed area where most of the food was located, between Stages 3 and 4 was heavily populated with a battle between Asking Alexandra and Testament, on who could make the most noise to be heard the best.
Davey Havok, of AFI, can only ever be accused of being a dedicated and consistent frontman, delighting fans with his Jesus walk onto the mosh during I Hope You Suffer. They blasted their way through a set that felt entirely too short for their impressive repertoire of songs spanning nine studio albums. Girls Not Grey proved a favourite but the loudest screams were for Miss Murder, after which, they abruptly (and slightly early) departed the stage to a crowd confused as to whether they would return for a one song encore.
Placebo are one of those bands that don’t benefit from playing in the middle of the afternoon in the glaring summer sunshine. Something about their music screams dark and moody and their rendition of hit Every You, Every Me felt off. Meanwhile, Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco, a graduate of the Davey Havok school of flamboyant frontmanship, was a fan of the vocal aerobics (there was an impressive falsetto during new single Nicotine), not to mention actual aerobics, with an impressive backflip from the drum kit during Miss Jackson. He also stunned and impressed the metalheads when he whipped out his screamo voice, which dedicated fans would know from his “Positive Hardcore Thursday” vines. They ended with that song, you know the one; it has something to do with closing the goddamn door.
Bowling For Soup played those three songs everyone knows, going in with Girl All The Bad Guys Want and outro-ing with 1985, and their cover of Stacey’s Mom somewhere in the middle. Songs that everyone knows so well you find yourself unconsciously singing along, they also apparently created the tour’s first queef pit. Still haven’t exactly worked out what that is.
Festivals like Soundwave are always great places to discover great new bands. Clutch was one of those. Their blues infused rock style was solid and enjoyable, and well worth investigating for those who aren’t aware. ††† (Crosses) took the stage with †hholyghs† and, from the angry gestures to the roadies, some difficulties with the mic. Vocalist Chino Moreno (better known for Deftones) powered through the late afternoon, delivering a flawless set, his voice and ear for melody continuing to be the definition of sex. Relatively atmospheric but based in electronica and with a heavy bass line, the mosh lacked the franticness of the heavier bands, with there not being a circle pit in sight. But that doesn’t mean that not every single person there wasn’t moving, dancing almost unconsciously to that little seductress beat.
Bowling For Soup played those three songs everyone knows, going in with Girl All The Bad Guys Want and outro-ing with 1985, and their cover of Stacey’s Mom somewhere in the middle. Songs that everyone knows so well you find yourself unconsciously singing along, they also apparently created the tour’s first queef pit. Still haven’t exactly worked out what that is.
Festivals like Soundwave are always great places to discover great new bands. Clutch was one of those. Their blues infused rock style was solid and enjoyable, and well worth investigating for those who aren’t aware. ††† (Crosses) took the stage with †hholyghs† and, from the angry gestures to the roadies, some difficulties with the mic. Vocalist Chino Moreno (better known for Deftones) powered through the late afternoon, delivering a flawless set, his voice and ear for melody continuing to be the definition of sex. Relatively atmospheric but based in electronica and with a heavy bass line, the mosh lacked the franticness of the heavier bands, with there not being a circle pit in sight. But that doesn’t mean that not every single person there wasn’t moving, dancing almost unconsciously to that little seductress beat.
Not always can you gauge a performance on the reaction and involvement of the fans. Jimmy Eat World’s set was tight but seemed to only start to receive a response from the small crowd during the last three songs, Bleed American, The Middle and Sweetness
respectively. A disappointing outcome for a band that deserves so much better. Surprisingly, it wasn’t The Middle that got their chief reaction despite it being their biggest song, it was instead Sweetness, the voices of the audience drowning out singer Jim Adkins with a chorus of whoa-oh-oh’s.
And then it was time for headlining act Green Day and their epic three hour set. Already the masses of fans are pumped (afore mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody moment) as Billie Joe and co walk on stage to the Bee Gee’s Stayin’ Alive, launching into their set with a rousing rendition of 99 Revolutions. Green Day make the absolute most out of their present fanbase, plucking a girl from the pit to be baptised during East Jesus Nowhere. Heading into the Dookie portion of the show, Billie Joe let the crowd know that they’re celebrating Dookie’s 20th Anniversary. If that doesn’t make you feel old, consider that there were kids at Soundwave who weren’t even born then. Let that sink in for a minute while you listen to Longview.
Bruised, blistered and sunburnt, yet oh so satisfied, Soundwave Mel-buuuuuuuuuuurrrnnnn drew to its conclusion for 2014. Heavy on the music, evident from static filled eardrums, light on the drunken arseholes and smelling of that unique festival smell, a concoction of sweat, sunscreen and “the marijuanas”, the masses headed home to wait out another year to do it all again.
respectively. A disappointing outcome for a band that deserves so much better. Surprisingly, it wasn’t The Middle that got their chief reaction despite it being their biggest song, it was instead Sweetness, the voices of the audience drowning out singer Jim Adkins with a chorus of whoa-oh-oh’s.
And then it was time for headlining act Green Day and their epic three hour set. Already the masses of fans are pumped (afore mentioned Bohemian Rhapsody moment) as Billie Joe and co walk on stage to the Bee Gee’s Stayin’ Alive, launching into their set with a rousing rendition of 99 Revolutions. Green Day make the absolute most out of their present fanbase, plucking a girl from the pit to be baptised during East Jesus Nowhere. Heading into the Dookie portion of the show, Billie Joe let the crowd know that they’re celebrating Dookie’s 20th Anniversary. If that doesn’t make you feel old, consider that there were kids at Soundwave who weren’t even born then. Let that sink in for a minute while you listen to Longview.
Bruised, blistered and sunburnt, yet oh so satisfied, Soundwave Mel-buuuuuuuuuuurrrnnnn drew to its conclusion for 2014. Heavy on the music, evident from static filled eardrums, light on the drunken arseholes and smelling of that unique festival smell, a concoction of sweat, sunscreen and “the marijuanas”, the masses headed home to wait out another year to do it all again.