Soundwave Festival 2013 @ Bonython Park, Adelaide

[hellboy]

It was a long day yesterday, but overall a good one, though still not topping the previous Faith No More Soundwave. 

The day started off with the usual fight against traffic.  Not sure why, but for some reason half of the road leading to the venue was completely closed, making already busy traffic a complete pain in the ass.  The closed off part didn't seem to be used for anything - no roadworks or pedestrian use.  The only purpose it served seemed to be to piss off everyone driving in.

Anyway, despite plans to be inside for Red Fang at 11:20, I missed half the set but after a quick pitstop at the bar (which was thankfully very quick) I managed to get a pre-lunch beer and see the last 5 songs of their set.  As expected, they were excellent, and I really hope they're able to do a pub tour here sometime soon.

Next on the agenda was Anthrax, minus a whole bunch of members that dropped out in the last few months.  They were good, Joey Belladonna's vocals were excellent considering his age, and the band seemed to be pretty into it.  Sound was a little average though, so after the first few songs I decided to make my way over to the stage where Puscifer were to perform shortly.

Puscifer were in the only stage covered by a large tent, so the shelter was quite nice, and it also gave Junior the opportunity to play with some lights.  There were large video screens either side of where Maynard and Carina stood which showed projections throughout the show.  I managed to get a spot more or less right on the barrier on the right side of the stage.  Crowd seemed pretty good for Puscifer, though no doubt being in the shade brought in a few extras.

The show itself was excellent, Maynard's vocals were great and clear in the mix, Carina's however were a little lost.  Other than that the sound was flawless.  There were many boxes full of bags of peanuts handed out - at least half a dozen.  Not sure how many were distributed at previous shows, but seemed like an inordinate amount!  I walked away with three (one I have to Liz) and could have easily grabbed dozens of packets.  I presume they were getting rid of them all as it was their last Australian show.  One of the highlights of the day, even though I thought the material off the new EP wasn't very exciting to watch (Balls to the Wall was good though).

Left before the end of Puscifer's set to catch Tomahawk.  It was a long walk between stages this year, but I managed to make it after only missing the first song.  Played a great set, with only a couple of tracks off the new album Oddfellows. Pretty much everything I wanted to hear was played, and Mike Patton's banter with the crowd was quite funny.

Kyuss Lives were up next, I couldn't really fault their show or sound, but nor could I really get into it so I left for a beer & lunch break.  Not sure the band looked particularly excited either, except for the bass player who was excellent.  Much better than Nick Oliveri I thought, and added an extra dimension to the show.  Came back to see the end of their set while waiting for Slayer.

Thankfully Slayer were loud this time around.  Back when they played a few years ago the sound was terrible, but no such issues today.  Pretty much a by the numbers set - playing all their hits and a handful of newer tracks.  Their new drummer sounded good (he'd also filled in for Anthrax), but it was a shame to see Lombardo given the flick once more.

Anyway, Slayer were a decent band to listen to while waiting for A Perfect Circle.  Once again I managed to get a spot on the barrier, right in front of Billy Howerdel.  Maynard was in good form, joking around a lot especially with Matt, stealing and drinking his beer.  His vocals were excellent as well, though to be honest the setlist didn't contain too many tracks to really stretch his vocal chords.  The set was reasonable - we seemed to get decent selection of their songs without too many eMotive tracks.  Neither By & Down or Passive really did much for me though, but the stuff of Mer De Noms and Thirteenth Step was all excellent.

The main downside of the set was the sound was below par.  James Iha may as well have not bothered playing guitar, as only Billy's could be heard.  Even Maynard's vocals were drowned in the mix.  All up, it was a good show, though Puscifer were better on the day.

Following APC I had a bit of a gap until the next band, so decided to grab some food and a drink.  After seeing line lines initially, I thought this was going to be a pain in the ass, but there were plenty of food areas that didn't seem to get a well frequented, so it wasn't such an issue in the end.  It was interesting to see that there seemed to be plenty of people willing/stupid/lazy enough to line up in massive queues, when bars and food stalls a few hundred metres away virtually had none.

After food and a quick sit down, I did a quick wander around.  Duff Mckagan was playing on one stage, he sounded good but my days of listening to former Guns n' Roses members play solo sets are over.  Cypress Hill were also playing on another stage, so I listened to a few of their tracks.

Cancer Bats were the next band on my list I really wanted to see.  They played an energetic show to small crowd, and despite sound issues I enjoyed it.  Didn't stick around for the whole thing though, as I wanted to catch some of Sick Of It All as well who were on a stage 300m away.  They were one of the highlights of the day, with a great high energy set, and the crowd was getting right into it.  Sadly the stage setup in that area was a bit weird, as there was plenty of noise bleeding from the other stages around it.

Had another short gap to deal with, so I went to check out Garbage, who played really well for the 3 songs I saw.  I was feeling thirsty however, so decided to head over to the main stage, grab a beer and wait for Metallica.  I noticed the D barrier was still open, so decided to head inside.  It was packed though, not sure who was in charge of running that area, but there were far more people inside that D barrier than I've ever seen at another festival before, and at no point did I notice the lights were red!  Interestingly enough, there were more people on the Metallica side waiting for them to play than there were watching Linkin Park.

Which is no surprise.  Linkin Park, while sounding good, were terrible.  Whoever told me they are ok needs to go have a long hard look at themselves.  Thankfully I only had to put up with a handful of their songs.  Most of the Linkin Park fans cleared out after Metallica, and all of a sudden there were hardly any people on the non-Metallica half.  That suited me, as I was able to get a nice seat without being 200m away from the stage.

Metallica were the main event for most, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the show for the most part.  The sound was flawless and the setlist was generally pretty good.  I thought it felt a bit flat at times, but when they played a few more classics like For Whom The Bell Tolls and Harvester of Sorrow it was pretty damn good.  A good way to end what was an excellent day.

[badkittygothgirl]

Thanks for the review.  It was an interesting read.  I have to agree with you in regards to the masses standing in long lines b/c they are not smart enough to see what else is out there.  Glad you did not have to suffer through Bohemian Rhapsody.

[hellboy]

I'll also add, I think Jeff Friedl is unfairly marginalised by some Tool and APC bands as being a shit drummer.  He's no Danny Carey or Josh Freese, and he certainly has an awkward looking style, but he performed every song yesterday with ease, not to mention pulling of some excellent drum fills.

[markuspoop]

I enjoyed reading that, thanks for taking the time to write that out.  Of course seeing you mention Cypress Hill gave me quite the boner.  Curious what songs you heard and if they broke out their like 10-foot bong while you were watching 'em? 

Other than Tool they're the group I've, voluntarily, seen the most.

[grr915]

hellboy1975 said
I'll also add, I think Jeff Friedl is unfairly marginalised by some Tool and APC bands as being a shit drummer.  He's no Danny Carey or Josh Freese, and he certainly has an awkward looking style, but he performed every song yesterday with ease, not to mention pulling of some excellent drum fills.


Not to mention he's a real down to earth guy, took my dad to the Puscifer show in reading......my dad being a drummer hit it off with Jeff for a good ten minutes (to the many in line waiting for an autographs disgust)

[ilikecheese]

hellboy1975 said
I'll also add, I think Jeff Friedl is unfairly marginalised by some Tool and APC bands as being a shit drummer.  He's no Danny Carey or Josh Freese, and he certainly has an awkward looking style, but he performed every song yesterday with ease, not to mention pulling of some excellent drum fills.


I like his drumming.  He's a lefty and maybe that adds to the perception he drums awkwardly. 

[doors]

Very good drummer - crystal clear and great fills.

[hellboy]

markuspoop said
I enjoyed reading that, thanks for taking the time to write that out.  Of course seeing you mention Cypress Hill gave me quite the boner.  Curious what songs you heard and if they broke out their like 10-foot bong while you were watching 'em? 

Other than Tool they're the group I've, voluntarily, seen the most.


I was a way back from Cypress Hill, and I'm not expert on their music.  Of the tracks I heard How I Could Just Kill A Man.  The rest sounded somewhat familar but I could put a name to them.  I didn't see the bong personally, but when I was seeing Sick Of It All the singer yelled out "look at the size of that bong!".  He also called them shit a few times as well - I guess NY Hardcore punks don't have much time for LA Stoners.

[MarryHanback]

Has anyone noted that Metallica have not played a single song recorded post Black album, this tour?

My theory is that they're gonna call it a day soon, hence no reason to bother promoting rehearsing newer stuff.

 

Also... Have a few pics I can post here if anyone cares. Can anyone recommend a decent host (that i don't have to fill out i bunch of forms to register with)?

 

[hellboy]

MarryHanback said
Has anyone noted that Metallica have not played a single song recorded post Black album, this tour?


No one has noted that because it's untrue.  In Brisbane they played one from Reload and one from Death Magnetic:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/metallica ... b2307.html

Imgur is the best site for uploading images imo.

[MarryHanback]

hellboy1975 said

In Brisbane they played one from Reload and one from Death Magnetic:


http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/metallica ... b2307.html


Ah ok. My mistake. Still... Significantly few compared with that of the first 5 albums.

 

Thanks.

[petemasterpete]

MarryHanback said

hellboy1975 said


In Brisbane they played one from Reload and one from Death Magnetic:


http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/metallica ... b2307.html


Ah ok. My mistake. Still... Significantly few compared with that of the first 5 albums.

 

Thanks.


THAT'S CUZ NOTHING BLACK, OR THEREAFTER, IS WORTH LISTENING TO... AND THEY KNOW IT!

[hellboy]

Metallica have already done a Death Magnetic Tour.   Rather than doing a tour of songs for an album no one wants to hear (hello APC) they're choosing to do greatest hits instead.  A wise move for a festival in my opinion, where a good number of the fans are casual ones.

I don't necessarily agree it's a sign they're breaking up though.  

[MarryHanback]

hellboy1975 said
Metallica have already done a Death Magnetic Tour.   Rather than doing a tour of songs for an album no one wants to hear (hello APC) they're choosing to do greatest hits instead.  A wise move for a festival in my opinion, where a good number of the fans are casual ones.

I don't necessarily agree it's a sign they're breaking up though.  


 

I agree, but still... The flip side is, if they were interested in promoting album sales for DM and stimulating interest in the new stuff, then they would at least throw in a few new tracks. To resign themselves to 'greatest hits' could be perceived as an implication that they are done. That, & i heard it from an almost mildly reliable source. Makes some sense given age & families etc, etc.

 

Not sure I can put APC in the same box. They are a different band, with a different philosphy towards their music, with a much smaller back-catalogue, and no plans to release anything new in the near future (or possibly ever). Even despite this, they still did a lot off of eMotive at the 2012 Vegas show rather than relying on the crowd pleasers.

 

Just my 2 cents.