Olympic Park, Homebush
Sunday the 23rd of February, 2014.
As the crowds rolled into the Sydney date of the Australia wide Soundwave Festival, the prior build up dramas of timetables, cancellations, additions and whines about clashes of favoured band appearances seemingly dissipated. Amongst a sea of black t-shirts and the odd pre Gwar white t-shirt, numerous members of the constabulary and their canine counterparts awaited anyone dumb enough to attempt importing vegetable matter and other gravity defying substances into the massive and partially concreted parklands. Once in the gates, the task of sticking to a pre-arranged scheduling of artists to catch live was met with the dawning reality of negotiating both crowds and distances. Armed with sunblock, running sneakers and a brain in tune with an algorithmic approach to coverage, the treasure hunt began in earnest.
Hitting the cavernous main stage, the comedic genius or Dad jokes power of The Porkers unfolded with ease. Be it a masked dancer, songs about Tiger Woods, a bleary eyed horn section, revelations that middle age men shouldn’t imbibe grog before lunch and the mash up of funk, ska, metal, punk and reggae, the band had anyone nursing a hangover wide awake and able to see the hilarity in things. Still, a quick check of the online timetable revealed that Amon Amarth were also currently onstage. Cursing Odin, dodging the horrid reflective glare of the field matting and grappling with the realisation that Viking warriors plundering all and sundry at the festival equivalent of sparrow’s fart meant a fast dash to find a whirlwind of hair, ramparts and a dirty great ship poking out of the stage. Reminiscing about a surprise morning inclusion of Fear Factory at the BDO in the same area ages ago merely enhanced the joys of missing most of their set.
Oh well, what was seen was suitably brutal unlike the nu-metal oddity that Musroomhead decided to impose upon us on the adjacent stage. At this point, the bass heavy mix of the metal staging area became all too obvious. Agro vocals mixed in with a clean chorus, masks, war paint, stage prowling and keyboard backings came across as an offspring of Slipknot and Faith No More which is commendable and overall not too bad. The prospect of checking Heaven’s Basement tail ending their set before Nancy Vandal hit beckoned and both acts managed to appeal to their respective crowds with tight melodies and a shirtless band member. Meanwhile on the main stage, Biffy Clyro and cohorts were also half dressed alternating between angst and ballads whilst any upturned shipping box was fair game to heighten the drama atop something whilst rocking out in red pants. Energetic and with an enigmatic front man, their appeal is understandable and also contained a melodic sense of song construction.
Five Finger Death Punch, on the other hand, might need to stop being so clichéd despite the powering twin guitar delivery. Back at the metal stages, they were unleashing a well rehearsed set with a striking backdrop and professionalism. But the banter felt a tad contrived in appeasing the craziest fans around, possibly unaware that Gwar would take that honour within in a couple of hours. They connect well with the audience and put on a tight display of riffage, percussive rhythms and with some screaming guitar solos but the pit opening request whilst flogging the latest record just lost some spontaneity. Sadly, they weren’t the only pre-scripted band on today.
Barreling back to the main stage for Alter Bridge and some Richie Sambora was both interesting and puzzling. Alter Bridge were really loud and knocked out some cracking songs with front man Myles Kennedy proving to be one of the most in form front men on the festival line up. Also, his guitar playing skills gave shred monster Mark Tremonti a good challenge. Live, this band rip it up and their latest album [Fortress] material went over beautifully in an arena. The video screens gave close ups for the guitar heads and allowed people ambling around the venue to peek in and consider seeing more. Richie Sambora, on the other hand, has probably never played to a one third filled arena, which is no reflection on his skills at all. Simply, his great band that included Orianthi in a side guitarist role was misplaced amongst the Cannibal Corpse t-shirts in the crowd. So much so that an INXS cover of ‘Don’t Change’ and a couple of Bon Jovi hits missed the mark because the targets weren’t present. The collection of valuable guitars displayed and the clear sound mix was impressive but when a big selling band member struggles to get a crowd to really invest their energies, it was kind of saddening. The man is an incredible rock and blues guitar player, to this day. Wrong festival for him, simple as that.
Back to metal town and it was time for Testament to rip the festival a new one. They did it multiple times to a crowd sweltering in hot conditions. The stage backdrop and iconic album artwork drapes promised a caning and it was done with classic tracks and recent songs flowing together given the personnel history of the band. Guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson traded wah pedal drenched solos or stuck to their lead and rhythm roles brilliantly holding guitars aloft for accenting parts. Vocalist Chuck Billy dominated proceedings as drummer Gene Hoglan demolished his kit. The mix for guitars was a bit out but the feel and vibe plus a wall of death invocation made this an SW14 highlight.
About half an hour later, the theatrical and vintage space invaders of shock known as Gwar landed with all the subtlety of an amateur autopsy as they disgraced the same stage with their fan driven puppetry lunacy. Fake blood was ‘ejaculated’ into the crowd with vigorous and relentless frequency as was an array of bizarre tirades mixed with slaves performing unmentionable acts on latex creatures. Imagine if the films Brain Dead, Conan The Barbarian and Metalstorm collided with Kiss, pantomime and a biased political rally. Both entertaining and perplexing, wondering how Gwar can play their instruments whilst unleashing the most juvenile blood and guts extravaganza imaginable is only enhanced by seeing them unload their act live. Targets of gory mayhem included the Prime Minister, the Queen and anyone in the audience within a thirty metre radius.
Returning to music, Volbeat took to the adjacent stage clearly aware of the previous antics and amused by the fake blood doused punters. The band is three quarters from Denmark and one quarter from New York with guitarist Rob Caggiano of Anthrax fame peeling off some loud, blistering leads. Covering Johnny Cash and then launching into heavier fast material again, their set was crisp and musically interesting. Great stuff.
A quick dash over to the not quite main stage area not far from the festival entrance saw a walloping of hardcore power from Pennywise whose banter at each other, the music industry and crowd stereotypes was both comical and as fast as their music. Loud, brash, and uncompromising, they ripped through material. Delving into old school tracks like ‘Same Old Story’ or dedicating songs to ugly motherfuckers, they were in top form.
Similarly, Filter, nestled in an indoors warehouse structure on the other side of the park, also dropped industrial classics. Not surprising since it has been a few albums since they were last here. ‘Take A Picture’ worked up the crowd as did the band’s launching song of ‘Hey Man, Nice Shot’. Front man Robert Patrick feigned irritation at being cut short from playing ‘Welcome To The Fold’ as a following tour sales pitch but regardless, Filter played a rollicking set that indicated their unique sound whilst being the closest thing to NIN on the day.
Catching one’s breath, a snippet of Trivium doing their best Metallica impersonation was both reliable and a little bit predictable. They work hard and their musicianship is undeniable but the reverb all over the vocals for their performance seemed odd. Trivium ripped into some known tunes and then dropped out ‘Strife’ from the latest album. It was largely galloping riffs, solos galore and crowd sing-alongs. The youngsters also took to A Day To Remember at the main stage as the band bounced across the stage like red cordial was going out of fashion. Their jackhammer drum style against large strummed chords was mixed with the usual, ‘make some noise Sydney’ cries which was amusing given the band was the one coming through the PA.
Sticking about for Alice in Chains was worth the wait. They opened with ‘Check My Brain’ whereby the vocal harmony and guitar drone from Jerry Cantrell worked wonders on the sun fried crowd who enjoyed water from the water crew since the alcoholic drinks were beyond overpriced. The vocal howl of William DuVall, sustained guitar lines, direct drumming from Sean Kinney and the beastly bass playing from Mike Inez was all intact. Amplifier cabinet stacks were huge as was that riff from ‘Man In A Box’ which that recognisable vocoder guitar sound. ‘We Die Young’, ‘Them Bones’ and ‘No Excuses’ sounded decent with the odd outdoor mix hiccup. Of course their abridged set was capped off with ‘Would?’ and ‘The Rooster’. Great songs deserving of their hour long set.
Contemplating three hours of Green Day meant some careful planning. Considering options whilst watching Korn resulted in some scheduling revisions. Sporting a massive backdrop parodying American TV culture and watched by a bursting crowd, the old material was naturally the focus, no doubt linked to their reunited status. Guitarists Head and Munky trotted out the guitar lines with ease as Fieldy lurched about with his low hung bass. Front man Jonathan Davis rolled into his leveraged microphone stand, dropping his seething anger into cutting lyrics whose ghosts must haunt the huge selling band to this day. We all know the lines of ‘shit’s gone way too far’, ‘shut the fuck up, man’ and so on but today, in the line of hot sun still peeking through the horizon to the stage, it just didn’t quite resonate like it once did. Maybe the fact that SOiL were setting up nearby on a tiny adjacent stage has some indication to the answer. Korn seem to lack the hunger but that is probably a trapping of huge and deserved, well earned success.
Trundling off to investigate other side stages on the way back to the main arena, the first port of call was to see a bit of Terror tearing it up. Trading vocalists between and during songs, their hardcore fury and almost motivational raps were like a thump to the noggin. Encouraging people onto the stage seemed par for the course. Not too far off, in the next cavern at the social Siberia end of the festival, Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats pulled out a musical cone and proceeded to riff on until they needed to change chords. Hair over the face, lyrics about climbing mountains and motorcycles worked on jamming over songs that tapped ten minutes a pop. A simple but effective time warp, baby.
Headliners Green Day had the main stage set up of a gargantuan stadium rock act because they are exactly that. Twelve guitar cabinets and eight bass cabinets with a huge drum riser in the middle and video screens pushing the latest album, it was as big a rock show as you’d want with a lighting rig of epic proportions hanging from the rafters. The venue appeared to be split between seated fans and the reasonably filled, huge floor area. The front section which throughout the day was patrolled by entrances and exit mechanisms was fully packed. But ambling around behind was not to difficult enabling a few sneak outs to catch other acts doing their thing.
The PA cranked out Motörhead, Devo, Queen and The Bee Gees with increasing volume before Green Day hit the stage to wild applause. It was call and response, rock show performance from the start. Guitarist and front man Billie Joe Armstrong’s recognisable vocals harness that pop sensibility with a nod to classic punk influences nestling underneath. The tight knitted unit of Billie Joe, bassist Mike Dirnt, drummer Tré Cool and to an extent touring lead guitarist Jason White was immediately evident as they locked in and followed each other’s cues. Even old tunes like ‘2000 Light Years Away’ got an airing as well as covering songs by Operation Ivy and Generation X. However, given that the live show antics of Green Day sometimes stretched out three minute hit songs into ten minute or more crowd involvement segments, ample time was available to catch nearby acts on other stages for those willing to explore.
Sadly, on taking such an adventure, it seemed that Rob Zombie spent more time complaining about his short set space yet filled it with admittedly impressive instrumental solos. So, the Zombie experience did not quite hit the mark. Be it too much running about a horror icons adorned stage or just a lack of focus, the main irritant was it sounded thin live compared to the crushing album material. Rob Zombie wasn’t bad and guitarist John 5 deserves notable mention but the performance somehow just didn’t live up to expectations.
By contrast, Avenged Sevenfold took the bombast option to the maximum with a faux Gothic gates stage set, pyro galore, oodles of guitar noodles and lashings of fireworks at the end of their set. The latest album track ‘Hail The King’ also ushered in a guitar solo spot which highlighted that Zacky Vengeance’s guitar skills are up their with some of the best in the world. Speaking of which, during the mammoth Green Day set, it was also possible to catch a peek at rock veterans Living Colour not caring about trying to impress anyone. Simply engrossed in their musicianship yet understanding performance, their hard rock and jazz fusion with a punk and even funk vibe almost took a turn into masterful free jazz. It was a refreshing change amongst the onslaught of screaming.
Back at Green Day, the wheels continued to spin. Listing the songs Green Day played is pointless as it was so full of memorable songs that virtually everyone knows and most of which harked back to their classic album from about twenty years ago known as Dookie. Their skill or possible problem, depending on tastes, is in drawing out songs with crowd participation. A notable moment mid way through was when an aspiring female guitarist, pulled from the crowd, got to jam on three chords with the band and was then given the guitar by Billie Joe himself amongst understandable hysterics and iPhone photos.
As entertainers Green Day are brilliant and as songwriters with a keen hook power, pretty bloody good at what they do. Alternating between a six piece and a four piece band, depending on the material, it was a choreographed show to the hilt that even included t-shirts being launched into the crowd. Even with numerous guitar riffs covered in quick bits of say ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘Master Of Puppets’ and Led Zep’s ‘Rock And Roll’, it was clear the band can play well yet also have a good formula for live concerts. Ending their epic set with ‘Good Riddance’ at their third encore using a backlit arena stage with only Billie Joe playing an acoustic guitar and singing, their simplicity in memorable songs and understanding live show performance explains their ongoing appeal across generations, judging by the crowd in attendance. So with that, Soundwave was pretty much completed for 2014 leaving many a sun burnt yet happy soul to wander off into the night having no doubt seen and heard something different than expected on a huge festival line up whose variety entertained.