Soundwave is all about international acts – in fact a handful of bands aside, it’s pretty much all US acts and that seems to be the way fans like it, however heading up the bill and fresh from their Triple J unearthed win are Anchors with their fast, frantic and fresh hardcore blend to get proceedings started for all early comers. Then it’s head first into a sea of American accents commencing with MXPX. You may or may not know that MXPX and the Ataris have pretty much the same members on different instruments, so arriving to hear MXPX announce “This is our last song”, to then witness them all remain on stage and start playing again, was somewhat confusing, but kind of fun. MXPX is the fast, punkier side of the line up whilst the Ataris are the slower more anthemic side, as they seem to be touring together, you get two for the price of one!
Monster Magnet are good old fashioned, old school heavy rock, dirty, simple, uncluttered, crazy, drug fuelled lyrics and damn good fun. Front man Dave Wyndorf growls his way through the set, a guitar strapped around him the entirety that he plays for about 20 seconds of every song; a crowd member claims it’s ‘to hide his beer gut’. The rest of the band are also what you would expect, greying long hair, tattoos, denim and loud. Compared to Bullet For My Valentine who are setting up on the stage next door, with their extraneous set up and equipment (it is still only 2pm) it’s an interesting comparison of old school simplicity vs. modern clutteredness and what difference it really makes.
Gang of Four are one of the odd ones out on the Soundwave line-up, not only because their jagged, angular new wave rock is very different from the louder, messier fare on offer at the rest of the festival, but also because they’re one of a handful of acts who aren’t American. Their Englishness stands out an (English) mile as American acts, even at their roughest and most sloppy, always seem to posses a sheen and presence that is just so… American. Gang of Four take most of their set to warm up and get the oil flowing in their rusty knees, the first handful of songs a little flat, despite the bands’ manic dashing about the stage and on stage antics it feels as if they are going through the expected motions as opposed to really feeling it. However by the last three songs the band have started to find their way, the sweat is dripping and the crowd are getting it just as everything comes to an end, we want more, but this is a festival slot in the middle of the afternoon and the band are already being ushered off the stage.
Immediately following are Social Distortion who are an intriguing band, they’ve been going for one hell of a long time with a large and loyal fan base and whilst their rough and gruff style of punk rock is appealing and engaging, it’s fair to say that their songs are very samey and never seem to change pace. Front man Mike Ness also seems to be in an incredibly grumpy mood, a few fun loving folk sending a couple of cans onto the stage result in him telling them “If you don’t stop, I will take you back stage and rape you”, nice. Primus are a band that most either love or hate. Their overly complicated, ‘look-how-clever-we-are’ brand of geek-rock will either whole heartedly engage with your musical soul or grate against it like finger nails on a blackboard. As the rain starts to fall their treble heavy sound suffers and it’s time to move inside and into the dry for something completely different.
Less Than Jake have been coming to Australia for three decades and lament the fact that whilst the exchange rate is currently shitty for them and the drugs have got worse, the girls have got better. Either way they manage to stage a performance that is not only one of their best, but so far, one of the festivals’ best. It’s straight ahead three chords, three-minute punk rock with a two-piece brass section added for good measure. The crowd don’t need much encouragement to dance, mosh and stage dive, an ensuing 10 metre wide circle pit confuses security to comic levels, the eyes of one guard dashing left, right and centre attempting to keep up with what’s going on.
Whilst waiting for the ageing guitar legend that is Slash to emerge onto the stage, 30 Seconds From Mars are in their last song and are doing a sterling job to keep the younger members of the audience entertained by inviting about 40 of them up on stage, probably much to the annoyance of security. The song is rather unoriginal and repetitive, but despite the boos and hollers from Slash’s growing fanbase, the kids are loving it, so let them enjoy their 15 minutes. What needs to be said about Slash really? Possibly one of the best guitarists of the past few decades, responsible for some of the most recognisable guitar lines of the past few decades, who has been, well, a little quiet until recently when he emerged with a new act and a revolving door of musical cohorts. His sound is instantly recognisable and his band are solid, but sadly the songs don’t quite live up to Guns n’ Roses calibre and the band ends up sounding like something of a Slash tribute act instead as he does ‘the Slash thing’ time and time again.
Overrunning before one of the main bands that most attendees have come to see is a bad idea. Especially when you’re a band not many people have heard of and you’re not actually that good. Ill Nino are treading on dangerous water and despite their intriguing sounding blend of flamenco guitars, multi lingual lyrics and Latin roots, it’s actually just a bit of a noisy mess. As the crowd anticipating Slayer grows and grows and the band are still on stage, growing numbers in the crowd start to give them the finger and tell them to, err, leave the stage. Unsurprisingly Ill Nino are not happy about this and finally leave the stage, telling us “You lose Melbourne, you lose!”, making the way for Slayer who nearly never made it to Soundwave, having cancelled several shows in the lead up due to front man Tom Arya having an ear infection, which doesn’t sound very rock and roll but they are advancing in years. Their set up is ridiculous and pure metal, two banks of marshal cabs, four cabs high flank either side of the drum kit, effectively making a wall of amps, most of which probably aren’t even switched on, but hey, it looks impressive. Slayer were and still are a groundbreaking thrash metal band, it’s raw, fast and the ample crowd are highly appreciative.
Back over on stage one and time for a sit down as one woman proclaims from the audience, “Oh my god, it’s the singer from Rage Against The Machine, he’s awesome!” Yes indeed, One Day As A Lion is one of Zack de la Rocha’s many post-RATM projects with former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore. The duo combined with a keyboard player produce an awesome dark rap-rock hybrid that is pretty much what RATM could and should have done next. Another highlight set of the festival and it’s clear that Zack is having a ball, a cheeky grin across his face for most of the time as his boundless energy sends him flying about the stage for the majority of the high octane set. Afternoon has long set in and the sun is slowly starting to set as Queens of the Stone age take to the stage for a flat start, so it feels time to have a quick dash around a few stages before settling down to the festival’s headline act.
Mad Caddies are squeezed into an agricultural shed (it is the Showgrounds after all), their ska bass lines making the windows rattle and the skanking crowd rather sweaty. The Melvins and the Bronx do an awesome job in rousing the crowd with their respective stoner rock and hardcore sounds but by now the majority of the festival’s crowd are all starting to make their way over to the main stage for the festival’s main draw card, so it’s hard for either to pull a massive crowd. Melvins’ bassist, Jared Warren pulls of a particularly amusing ‘rock move’ of note, looking like he was about to smash his bass on stage, but instead, packing it into its case and leaving.
Judging by the sheer number of Iron Maiden T-Shirts on display at Soundwave, the band make a fortune out of merchandise sales and there are a hell of a lot of people here to see them, including one very cheerful and sentimental looking police officer. What can you say about Iron Maiden that three lead guitarists and a stage set up that includes UFOs, stone structures and enough lights to guide an aeroplane landing doesn’t say? The band work their way through a solid set of classics and newer songs, it’s not everyone’s thing, but they’re legends, and English, so cut them some slack. It’s an early 10pm finish, time to head home and let the bands get some rest, after all most of the day has been spent watching our Dads and eccentric uncles, time to let them head to their hotel rooms and drink some cocoa.
– Chris Chinchilla
