Following last-minute changes to the lineup, Soundwave 2014 kicks off this weekend – in Brisbane and Sydney.
The annual hard and heavy festival then continues in Melbourne and Adelaide the following weekend before making the trek to Perth, and its new Arena Joondalup home, to wrap up Soundwave 2014, but it could be the last edition of the festival in the WA capital.
Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah says that Soundwave could be “East Coast only after this year,” in an errant tweet to a Perth fan concerned about timetable clashes in the revised Soundwave 2014 set times.
“You won’t need to worry about any of this next year,” Maddah tweeted in reply before giving his ominous assessment that Soundwave may not be returning West in future.
@paranoirmodel @ThatAshChickk I think we’ll be east Coast only after this year.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 18, 2014
It’s not the first time that the promoter has voiced concerns over the presence of music festivals in Perth, and judging by what happened to Big Day Out’s presence in the West, Soundwave could be about to follow the same pattern.
Last month, Maddah predicted there “will be zero festival going to WA in 2015” before confirming that the 2013 Perth Big Day Out was “definitely the last” visit from the iconic national touring festival to the city after more than 20 years.
While discussing Big Day Out 2013’s “ugly” financial losses, Maddah said the decision was owing to poor attendance, the high costs of travel and staging, and ongoing battles with local and state government which also triggered the Perth BDO’s last-minute venue change to Arena Joondalup.
Soundwave has already followed in the Perth footsteps of Big Day Out; it mirrored the same venue change – moving away from the Claremont Showgrounds to Arena Joondalup following battles with Claremont Council – and swapping with Future Music and Frontier Touring’s Good Life Festival, booked for the same day.
“So excited! Finally no ridiculous sound restrictions or thugs closing down stages!” enthused Maddah recently of the venue change to Joondalup.
Claremont Council have been particularly antagonistic in their vendetta against music festivals, and Maddah has already clashed with them over curfews, noise complaints, and most prominently, power cuts to the 2013 Soundwave WA leg before skipping Perth entirely for the Aussie return of the Vans Warped Tour last December. “Due to the ill health of a close family member, Desaparecidos have been forced to pull out of the upcoming Soundwaves Festival in Australia.”
In related news, the Soundwave 2014 lineup recently lost Desaparecidos – the fiery band of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst – due to “an issue of personal nature.” An official statement on the band’s Facebook page elaborated on the cancellation: “Due to the ill health of a close family member, Desaparecidos have been forced to pull out of the upcoming Soundwaves Festival in Australia. We apologise to our Australian fans and intend to reschedule these shows as soon as we are able to.”
Desaparecidos are the fifth band to pull out of the Soundwave bill, (following on from Whitechapel, Megadeth, Stone Temple Pilots, and Sevendust) and Swedish metal band Hardcore Superstar could be the sixth.
The group are unhappy with their scheduled 11.30am slot on Stage 6 at the festival, with Maddah saying they “threatened to cancel if they don’t get a late spot.”
Despite the lineup troubles, the Soundwave 2014 lineup recently grew with the addition of the five winners of the Triple J Unearthed competition, who will open the hard and heavy festival in their respective hometown.
Soundwave 2014 Set Times – Brisbane
View/download the Brisbane Soundwave Map here
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Soundwave 2014 Set Times – Sydney
View/download the Sydney Soundwave Map here
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Soundwave 2014 Set Times – Melbourne
View/download the Melbourne Soundwave Map here
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Soundwave 2014 Set Times – Adelaide
View/download the Adelaide Soundwave Map here
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Soundwave 2014 Set Times – Perth
View/download the Perth Soundwave Map here
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Soundwave 2014 Dates, Tickets
Saturday 22nd February – Brisbane, RNA Showgrounds
Sunday 23rd February – Sydney, Olympic Park
Friday 28th February – Melbourne, Flemington Racecourse
Saturday 1st March – Adelaide, Bonython Park
Monday 3rd March – Perth, Arena Joondalup
Tickets on sale via: soundwavefestival.com, oztix.com.au & other outlets
