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| Photography: Ken Leanfore |
27 February 2012
Olympic Park, SydneyFebruary 26, 2012
Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, The Used and the most Australian bands Soundwave has ever offered (five) made up a small portion of the stellar lineup to play under an overcast sky in Sydney yesterday.
Fans in the fluffy leg warmers and fish net crop tops had faith the standout act of the festival would be Slipknot, but most punters had Manson or System Of A Down pegged for the crown. Over a one-and-a-half-hour set, Slipknot took us through a brutal reminder of why they are still one of the most talked about metal acts to come out of the US.
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Dressed in the same orange jumpsuits and original masks they wore when they first they first started in 1995. Slipknot played Wait and Bleed, Liberty and Heretic Anthem within the first twenty minutes. For Spit It Out, the eight-piece requested the crowd to sit down, and backed by high hellish flames, Clown screamed “get the fuck up” before the bridge. At one point Sid, Clown and #3 (aka Mr. Picklenose) were all in the mosh with us, bleeding and sweating with their maggots who had supported them for 17 years now. As the groups DJ Sid limped back onstage and the number 2 floated on the screen behind them it was understood there may have only been eight of them but they still held the strength of nine men.
On the same stage before them, Limp Bizkit‘s set was more a humble apology and a bashing of Big Day Out for negligence than nu-metal anarchy. Half way through the set a banner was dropped which read “Jessica” while her father George from side-stage. The whole performance was dedicated to 16-year-old Jessica Mickalik who died at the same venue during Big Day Out 2001. Covering Faith and performing all their most notable tracks sans Break Stuff (the song during which Michalik died), Australia should anticipate another return of the band, as they seem to have made their peace with the country.
Meanwhile over at the metal stages (4a and 4b), Mastodon forwent between-track banter to include as many tracks as possible. The continuous bouncing of the Georgian band’s grey-speckled beards through songs like Capillarian Crest and Spectrelight teamed with the bassist’s sporadic munching on his guitar strings were more than the crowd needed to stay sonically satiated. In fact, the only sentence spoken was at the very end when drummer Brann Dailor approached the front mic and thanked the crowd before inciting a mosh-brawl when he threw his sticks in.
Earlier in the day at Stage 3, pop-rock veterans Unwritten Law and newer band to the genre You Me At Six both offered equally impressive sets. Unwritten Law performed for the first time in the country without long-time guitarist P.K - his heavily tattooed replacement a marked reminder of the argument with frontman Scott Russo that lead to his departure. With just two new tracks performed (Starships and Apocolypse and Nevermind) the four-piece know what’s expected of a festival gig. Russo even tipped his hat to Phil Jamieson when he mentioned their track Up All Night was 'written' while doing drugs with the Grinspoon frontman at a Bondi hotel.
UK band You Me At Six conjured the first proper circle-pit for the day at Stage 3 when they called mostly on third album Sinners Never Sleep. Opening with single Loverboy, frontman Josh Francechi appeared gobsmacked as he spoke of their last festival visit in 2010, which attracted just 500 people. The singer even brought his parents onstage shouting, “give them something to fucking look at!” before the rousing Bite My Tongue.
A Day To Remember, the one band with the genre-crossing epithet brought the same wild energy they encompassed during their 2011 visit but this time each member appealed more svelte. Calling on each of their past four albums, this was one set where instead of foot stomps and intermittent head-bangs the crowd were seen jumping and dancing with the toilet paper the band’s crew had flung at us.
Massachusetts band Four Year Strong were one act that proved just because you make radio-ready singles with heart-on-sleeve lyrics, you don’t have to dress like you do; beer guts and full beards were the front that orchestrated chaos at Stage 3 as crowd members bounced and surfed under large white signs with orders to do otherwise.
The most anticipated act proved the most disappointing for those not fully aware of the apparent genius shock-rocker Marilyn Manson provides. Visually, Manson’s set was appealing, black, wet-look clothing, platform boots and more makeup than all Soundwave’s females put together, this could have easily sat high on the festival’s top three of the day. But his unwillingness to actually err, sing, teamed with the brattish attitude coming from the 43-year-old was disappointing to say the least. After a slurred, short performance poem Manson left the stage, his band looked irked, he wasn’t chanted back on. He did return however, for an almost redeemable performance of Beautiful People; showing he is one of the most talented men in show business when he wants to be.
Back on Stage 3, The Used’s Bert McCracken almost rivalled Manson, proving you can still deliver a vigorous set if you have a drug addiction. The most notable moment came when he asked us to sing him a happy 30th birthday and he scolded a teen for showing her breasts. “Don’t get your titties out, I’ll tell your mum,” he said. “Bring her next time, she’s got bigger ones.”
Afterward, on Stage 6a, British electro-rock band Enter Shikari expertly weaved dubstep through their brand of punk and metal from new album A Flash Flood of Colour. The set’s highlight came with Sorry You’re Not A Winner, which fuelled the hilarious crowd contrast of aggressive thrashing whilst holding glowsticks.
Angels and Airwaves closed the night for fans more inclined to sway their way through the next hour. Through tracks like Call To Arms and Dry Your Eyes, Tom Delonge and friends (with new drummer Ilan Rubin) marketed love and kindness to end a Soundwave that more than lived up to the very highest of expectations.
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