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| Photo credit: Ken Leanfore |
Olympic Park, Sydney, NSW
As the sound of guitars and distortion merged between
stages and the hot steam rose of the thousands of heads at Olympic Park
yesterday, it was easy to forget the plethora of surrounding blemishes
in both the lead-up and the day of Soundwave Sydney 2013.
To all the detractors and naysayers who blame Soundwave
Touring for the drummers who pulled out or didn’t make it, for the
floods that forced Garbage off the bill and changed set times, or even
for the security who let people hiding flares in their bags into the
grounds - condemning promoters who put Metallica, Linkin Park, Blink 182
and A Perfect Circle all on the one tour only makes you a part of the
problem.
Here’s a few reasons why TMN found the tenth edition of Soundwave the best yet.
Periphery
In 2011, the Washington D.C. band performed in a living
room, with kids stretching back so far as… the kitchen. House shows may
be common in the U.S. but here’s a band who wouldn’t change their energy
with their surroundings. Frontman Spencer Sotelo was
the antithesis of cool, his blue-mirrored sunglasses and dopey dancing
were equally matched by his fans, some of whom were gathering bark and
throwing it into the air.
The Wonder Years
For fans of twee, short beards, pop punk, the eponymous,
early ‘90s television show and universal acceptance, you can’t go past
The Wonder Years. Performing tracks like Summers in PA, Living Room Song and Came Out Swinging,
the band had their modest crowd singing and hugging in the rain; a
sight apparently so adorable that frontman Dan Campbell needed to grab
his iPhone and capture it – for his mum.
Billy Talent
Canada’s most flamboyant punk rock band last toured with
the festival in 2010 and now with an extra album up their fans sleeves
(2012’s Dead Silence), Billy Talent were as on point as ever. Tracks like Fallen Leaves and Devil On My Shoulder
sounded as crisp and trained as they did on their respective records.
This was made more astounding by the fact Billy Talent were one of the
few bands on the bill to have their gear stuck in flooded trucks, they,
along with Sum 41 and Flogging Molly were forced to hire all new gear
for the day.
Sleeping With Sirens
Hearing the Florida band wax lyrical about unrequited love
and broken hearts, mixed with frontman Kellin Quin’s seraphic vocals
should have been enough for fans at Stage 3,; unfortunately the last few
tracks were shadowed with crowd members throwing Coke and water bottles
onstage. “We want you guys to song along,” said Quin. “In between
throwing.” Finally Quinn’s beat boxing in Roger Rabbit (from 2012 EP If You Were a Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack) the track he dedicated to “all the pretty Australian girls,” calmed their throwing arms.
Sum 41
Pop punk mainstays Sum 41 knew exactly what a festival set
was about: All killer no filler (pun intended). The Canadian band
performed well-known tracks like In Too Deep, Fat Lip, Still Waiting and thankfully little from 2011’s Screaming Bloody Murder.
Pint-sized frontman Deryck Whibley honed Johnny Rotten with his leather
vest and bright red hair, but unlike the Sex Pistol, he invited a few
of his zealots out from the heaving mosh onstage. The cover of Queen’s We Will Rock You was more awful than awesome but was a testament to the band’s modus operandi of getting their crowd to make waves.
Slayer
Slayer win the award for Best Shameless Self Promotion. A
few bands on the bill sported their own logos but each member of the
thrash metal legends donned their merchandise; utterly understandable
considering the current 360 deals artists are signed on to.
With the recent firing of drummer Dave Lombardo, the good
men over at Anthrax leant their own fill-in Jon Dette to the band.
Slayer are renowned as one of the leaders in their genre, a rookie
drummer couldn’t have even stunted the performance; thankfully Slayer’s
level of tension and demonic demeanor mastered every faster-than-fuck
riff with ferocious charm.
Linkin Park
A meticulous setlist, smooth sound and more heart than any
other act we caught, Linkin Park were the standout performance of the
day. Taking us through their weighty back catalogue with tracks like Somewhere I Belong, Waiting For The End, Breaking The Habit and One Step Closer,
the band didn’t treat us like another leg of a festival stint, it was
as if we’d all spent our hard-earned money on The Living Things Tour.
Chester Bennington halted the set at one point after someone caught his
eye in the crowd.
“Somebody's fucked up down here,” he said. The band anxiously waited until the fan gave them a peace sign before moving on.
Metallica
As a headliner, there are a few responsibilities you must
endeavor to adhere to. Your lights must not be outshone, your sound must
trump your predecessors, your back screen footage should take your
crowd on a journey, and your setlist should be lengthy and all
encompassing. If it weren’t for the dingus who endangered the crowd and
the band Bring Me The Horizon with his slippery fingers and a flare,
Metallica would have knocked this one out of ANZ Stadium.
Opening with The Ecstasy of Gold and Hit The Lights, complete with backing film from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Metallica wasted no time cementing their place as the Kings Of Metal.
“Do you feel good?” yelled James Hetfield. “I feel fucking great let’s see if we can make it better!”
For a two-hour set, the furious four knew how to make time
fly. The ‘Metallica family’ united and refrained from whining when they
played one new track. “See that wasn't so bad,” laughed Hetfield after Broken, Beat & Scarred. The band performed a rousing instrumental tribute to late bass player Cliff Burton and honoured current bassist Robert Trujillo who marked his tenth anniversary with the band this year.
Metallica kept their audience in pieces and their legend
in tact. To end a Soundwave Festival with such a behemoth act discounted
the fault-finders and confirmed the live juggernaut’s place as
Australia’s biggest live music event.
1 comment:
whoa, so many great band that i like there. wish i could be there.
thanks for sharing.
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