Soundwave Festival 2013– Sydney Olympic Park (Part 1)

It’s no wonder Big Day Out’s Ken West gets snippy about AJ Maddah’s Soundwave when you look at the quality of the line-up. No more are the big bills packed with HEEEUGE international talent the sole domain of BDO, as Soundwave, in it’s 10th year, sold out the entire tour and packed it’s bill with artists of the clout of Blink 182, Offspring, Linkin Park, and of course, headliners, Metallica. Not only did the tour sell out, but Sydney was bigger than ever this year, with 70,000 punters and stage 1 progressing from the Showground Stadium, to the big kahuna Olympic, or if we must call it that, ANZ Stadium.

I was feeling strangely low on energy and not in the best of moods as I wandered up at the unearthly time of 10.45 to the much improved entry point for the show. My energy levels can be blamed on the man flu I came down with the next day, and my mood was not helped by either the two absolute knobheads on the gate accusing me of having been drinking … at 10.45, or the subsequent non-appearance of Sharks whose gear hadn’t arrived from the previous day’s Brisvegas Soundwave. AJ Maddah’s day went to shit from here as he sought to resolve the rogue missing trucks and get Garbage and Paramore’s gear before their sets. Paramore eventually went onstage after Offspring, while Garbage had to cancel altogether. Such as shame, as I was looking forward immensely to them. Shirley and I have a festival relationship stretching all the way back to Reading 96 and her pink feather boa.

Anyhoo, onwards and upwards, the day got better for both Sharks and me. They got to play an hour long set in Garbage’s slot, and I headed off, much to my own surprise as much as anyone elses, to mostly eschew the punky outer stages for a day of main stage metal … hey it was boiling hot and frankly I couldn’t be arsed to walk all over the shop when there were some quality bands to watch.

First though, a detour for first actual band of the day, Red Fang. The force of Sabbath, Mastodon, Kyuss and Sleep is strong these chaps, and despite the oppressive heat at their indoor stage performance, they cheered the sizeable crowd with solid grooves, mucho banging of heads, great sound and riffs, glorious riffs. None more so than the fantastic closer of, ironically, debut album opener Prehistoric Dog. A great start, likely to only get better as i head off to the main stage to catch …

Anthrax. I’ve seen Anthrax many many times over the years, with Joey and with John Bush, with variously Dan Spitz and Rob Caggiano on guitar, but always with Scott Ian, Frankie Bello and, until today, Charlie Benante directing things from the back. Soundwave’s drummer curse started with Charlie having to stay back in the US for ‘personal reasons’ so Jon Dette has upped sticks as it were and Shadows Fall’s Jon Donais replaces Rob Caggiano on guitar. All this is seamless though as Anthrax just crush their way through a set full of classics. Frankie, Scott and, despite the cheese, Joey are constant cheerleaders starting and ending with all time ‘thrax classics “Caught In A Mosh” and “Madhouse”. Both songs are almost 30 years old but still sound fresh and vital. Surprisingly there were 3 covers in the set, but they’ve always been able to make them their own. In fact most think “Anti-Social” and “Got The Time” are their own songs anyway. No denying though that “TNT” isn’t theirs, but it guarantees a whole stadium singalong and their complete devotion too. Brilliant set.

From 1986 to 1989, my live journey through my teenage years continues with Mike Patton and Tomahawk. I don’t know whether it was the heat, the subdued crowd or Patton’s lack of engagement, but the first half of the set felt one paced and boring. However, as the first torrential downpour came down, Patton woke up and out came the quips, “hey, we’re one of the few bands here with our original drummer” (maybe a show of solidarity for Fantomas bandmate and erstwhile Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo), and the songs like old Mit Gas favourite “Rape This Day”.

The first enormous crowd of the day arrives for Bullet For My Valentine. In the interests of full disclosure, I have a soft spot for Bullet and, for the same reason Funeral For A Friend, as they’re from the same small Welsh town as me. Bullet have always been pretty weak on record for me, especially lyrically. I often cringe when listening to them, but live, when you see and hear the outstanding riffs, and sheer physical assault from the band it’s easier to overlook them. Even Temper Temper improved live, but most joy was reserved, in  an excellent, hit packed set, for crowd pleasing “Tears Don’t Fall” and “Scream, Aim & Fire”.

Kyuss Lives! were a fantastic surprise to me at last years’ Download Festival in the UK, so I definitely wanted to catch them here. Not a surprise in terms of songs, i’ve loved Kysuss for 20 years, but in the fact that despite the fact that they don’t have Josh Homme, (and since Donington have also rather carelessly lost Nick Oliveri), those songs still crush. In the afternoon heat here, steam rising after the rain, they fill the main arena with that beautiful, trancelike sound. Most people didn’t know the songs, but it didn’t matter. They’re moving on now with a new band name, Vista Chino, which is probably best for all concerned, but in the songs like “Thumb” and “Green Machine”, Kyuss still do live.

Due to my hypothesis that stupid masks = stupid band, and the fact thatI’ve never cared for their music I’ve never really been a Slipknot and therefore by association Stone Sour fan, but today Stone Sour bring it, and convert me. Corey Taylor has a great voice, and is a personable, captivating frontman. I also realised i knew far more of their music than i thought. Most pleasant surprise of the day .. Slipknot are still a stupid band though.

Most tarnished band of the day are undoubtedly Slayer. “Dave’s not here man” was the only reference to the absent, fired Dave Lombardo. No Lombardo? No future for Slayer, period. Yes the were bruising, yes Jon Dette (again, after his Anthrax heroics) was fantastic, but it all seemed so clinical, Slayer Inc. There was zero interaction between Tom Araya and Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman is also still absent. This was just a brutally efficient tribute act, which was enough for most of the crowd, but just left me hollow.

Ghost are late to stage, but it only serves to ratchet up the anticipation for this most mysterious of bands. Papa Emeritus II, replete in skull mask (ok ok, they’re probably stupid too, but good songs ) and his 5 hooded nameless ghouls have racked up a lot of friends over the last couple of years. Papa’s voice is the key, he genuinely sings with no need to shout, yet it’s power easily rides the waves from his charged, creative band. New single “Secular Haze” comes over particularly strongly and bodes well for further success.

And so i, like everyone else, head to the main stage for Metallica, in doing so catching the end of Linkin Park. Now, like everyone else, I though Hybrid Theory was pretty cool, and enjoyed it’s follow up Meteroa (or Hybrid Theory pt 2), but live they’ve always come across as way to formulaic and clinical. Everytime I’ve caught them at festivals, they’ve bored me. Maybe i was in a more receptive mood, maybe I was nostalgic, but i enjoyed, really enjoyed in fact, the half hour i saw. Walking in while “In The End” was playing helped as did the renditions of Numb and Faint. Chester Bennington is still a magnificent, powerful singer, (his stage raps haven’t improved any mind) and thankfully Mike Shinoda contented himself to a more backgound role for the bit I saw, while “One Step Closer” reminded me of why I once thought them such a good band, more raw and ragged than their most recent material. It was like meeting an old lover and remembering the good times.

Come back tomorrow for Metallica, they deserve their own spread. (SGSN Steve – SGSN Posts)

First published on Something Gold Something New