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Emeritus
Reviews 300
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Last Active 11-16-18 8:49 am
Joined 03-06-08
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| DaveyBoy's Soundwave Festival 2010
The 26th of February 2010 marked the day of yet another tremendous music festival for yours truly. It is Australia & it is summer which means it's damn hot. Melbourne was no different on this day with the temperature reaching a maximum of the mid-30s (that's mid 90's for you northern hemisphere-ites). I seriously could hardly make any complaints about the day... Anything would be nit-picking. It was that good! And in comparison to the recent Big Day Out, the major advantage of SoundWave is being comfortable, while still getting a great vantage point. The lack of a D-Barrier at the main stage significantly helps this. | | 1 | RX Bandits
It should be illegal for the opening act of a festival to be this good! Come on, it should be some little known local act, not 4 guys that have completed a thesis in how to play their instruments. As they came on, my better half shot me a who are the 3 hippies & why do they have an I.T person with them? look, but then they started playing... And it was near-perfect. Chris is a fantastic drummer, while Matt & Steve were like a well-oiled machine on their guitars. How Matt can do what he does on guitar & still sing to such a high quality is beyond me. 3rd best act of the day & may have been higher if they had a longer set. | | 2 | Set Your Goals
I thought this set was going to be a disaster after 2 songs. I've never been a huge fan of the singer with the whiny vocals and he simply could not get his voice above the music initially (which is no wonder since he looks like he weighs about 50 pounds). Thankfully, as the songs got a little catchier & the mixing was adjusted, the set improved. Not bad, but not great either. | | 3 | Taking Back Sunday
Cute Without The E kicked the set off on a huge high, but I'm unsure they reached those heights again. The main problem was that Adam's voice was pretty much gone and it's always difficult to get around that, no matter how hard he tried. This put additional vocal pressure on Matt Fazzi who performed admirably, while I also thought Matt Rubano's bass-work was top-notch. Why they had an extra (3rd) guitarist out there is beyond me. Their newer songs werent a patch on the Louder Now tracks either. | | 4 | Alexisonfire
After grabbing a bite to eat (which was much easier than last year), we returned back to the main stage for the Dallas Green show... Ooops, I mean Alexisonfire. In all seriousness, George is actually a pretty good front-man live, but it was still difficult not to concentrate on Dallas' silky smooth voice. They performed a super solid set that was a good combination of everything which should have pleased their fans. | | 5 | Paramore
The 2nd largest crowd of the day greeted Hayley & Co and it seems most of them were unaware just how cramped it gets down front at a rock gig. LOL! I was quite impressed with their live show since the band are solid and Hayley's vocals are stronger than I could have imagined. I occasionally lost interest, but it was nothing major and there was always a hit just around the corner. The fact that quite a few of their songs have a sing-along factor also helped the entertainment factor. | | 6 | Placebo
Who are all these people? This is a trio, yet there are 6 people on stage! This included a lady who played keys, violin & a theremin. Thankfully, it was all worth it since the sound they made was nothing short of fantastic. While I'm certain there were a few attendees who felt they just stood there and played, who cares when they get their sound so right. From oldie Special K through to new single Bright Lights, Placebo hit all the right notes. My only minor gripe was that their best song Every You Every Me was performed as a fast rocking track. It was still great, but it took me so much by surprise that I only got into it towards the end. My highlight of the day! | | 7 | AFI
Another great set from another great band. While I know longtime fans would prefer more old stuff, I think they have fashioned their setlist just right (well, with the exception that they do not play Torch Song, which will remain a mystery to me). Davey Havok is a fantastically entertaining front-man, while it is still difficult to get over the fact that a guy with a fringe and name like Jade can play a guitar as good as that! Right up there as one of the best acts of the day. | | 8 | Dance Gavin Dance
Over to the indoor stage (otherwise known as Daveys annual sauna) to sweat out some weight to DGD. Thankfully, they began with my favorite song of theirs (Carl Barker) and their energy and enthusiasm did not stop from there, despite an overall inconsistent set. Some of this had to be put down to the fact that they were down to one guitarist and this put a lot of pressure on Will, since the guitar-work and screaming is such a huge part of their act. He performed like a trooper though. | | 9 | Jane's Addiction
I am not the hugest fan, so I only caught 4 songs from these guys (the first one and the last 3). Dave (I don?t own a shirt) Navarro was impressive on the guitar, while the weird Perry Farrell was entertaining more than anything else (along with the 2 semi-naked woman brought on stage). Difficult for me to comment overall as the lack of hooks are not my thing, but I did like the acoustic closer (Jane Says). | | 10 | Jimmy Eat World
Here is another band that should release a Greatest Hits LP. What a deep set they had. From the woh wohs of opener Sweetness through to the fantastic sing-along closing quartet (Hear You Me, Bleed American, Pain and The Middle), this was just a fans dream setlist. A nice combination of rock and pop, I was surprised at how much lead guitar Jim plays. The weakest songs were their most recent, but Always Be was helped immensely by some redhead named Hayley coming out to sing with them. Too many bands shy away from ballads at rock festivals and J.E.W proved why that is a mistake. Hearing 23 and Hear You Me while the sun was setting was a fantastic experience. My 2nd best act of the day and I hope they do not take so long to get down under next time around. | | 11 | Faith No More
In a word, these guys were tight. It is difficult to believe that they have not been playing together for a decade or so. Pretty much everything was spot on from a musical standpoint, and with Mike and Roddy, you know the entertainment value will also be high. As with their albums, they perform such a wide variety of songs that there was some inconsistency to the set, but the slow spots were usually replaced with the band being live on something on the web called ChatRoulette (which we could also see on the large screen). It was annoying that they were paying attention to it at first, but it soon became an acceptable part of the show. A nice close to the day and a worthy headliner. Bring on SoundWave 2011. | |
DaveyBoy
03.03.10 | Damn it, I can’t get ‘Sweetness’ out of my head now… Woh woh woh woh woh, woh. | cvlts
03.03.10 | So you prty much had a subpar experience to all the bands that I like. :-( | DaveyBoy
03.03.10 | Well, that wouldn't be too many... Because I didn't hate any band. The most disappointing was probably TBSunday & I can forgive them due to Adam's voice issues. | AtavanHalen
03.03.10 | Jane's were one of the best of the day. Fucking awesome. | Captain North
03.03.10 | Seems you enjoyed your day more thoroughly than I did (I had complaints that weren't just nit picking and there WAS a D-Barrier which sucked balls). But I got to see more bands =P and it was a fucking great day. | DaveyBoy
03.03.10 | Yeah Tom, I was reading up on how they screwed up your day once more. It was a surprise they had a D barrier there & not in Melb. I also saw that there were all sorts of problem with lack of water, lack of shade & distance between stages. No such probs at all in Melb. | TheyTookOurJobs
03.03.10 | my friend said that anti flag were really solid. | Captain North
03.03.10 | Yeah free water was only one tap near one of the entrances, and security guards near the pits. Only one shaded area (lots of people with cardboard boxes on their heads), and there were HILLS between the stages. They just suck at organising Sydney. But its okay, the main stage delays ended up being a positive xD | DaveyBoy
03.03.10 | Sorry JD, I can't comment on Anti-Flag. Didn't even see one song of theirs.
That sucks about the water Tom. There was almost too much in Melb... Seemed like a waste at times.
Sounded like AJ has had enough with Eastern Creek, so maybe you're in line for another venue change next year. | Douglas
03.03.10 | Better late then never Davey!
JEW would have been so swell. | Vooligan
03.03.10 | Saw Isis at a side show, that was enough for me. Was an awesome night. | KritikalMotion
03.03.10 | Needs more glassjaw
JEW were really boring from where i was waiting for FNM.
top for me was
glassjaw
sunny day
fnm
dont know if i cbf making a list | Phil
03.03.10 | I saw a lot more metal than you, apparently. I like the indoor tents as it was rather hot and it happened to have awesome metal bands such as Isis and Meshuggah. I saw a bit of Glassjaw, Paramore and was heard JEW (which was only 'cause Faith no more were on the stage next to it). Jane's Addiction was indeed fun. Faith No More was pretty cool, I was only three rows from the front. Probably need to as I was coughing up dirt for about half hour afterwards. Good day. | Deviant.
03.03.10 | Sup Australia | Phil
03.03.10 | Sup NZ | DaveyBoy
03.03.10 | You're a tough man Dougie. It wasn't even a week ago.
Wandered past Isis at one instance Billy. Didn't sound very metal for the 30 seconds I listened to them.
KM, if JEW were not a late replacement for MCR, I don't think they would have got the position before the headliners. They would have either been 2 sets previous on the main stage OR stage 3 headliners. While they really had no stage antics, they weren't boring. Way too much sing-along to be boring.
Phil, we don't have a tent in Melb., it's a hall basically. It gets very very hot with very little circulation. Thankfully, I don't like metal as much as you do. | ThePalaceOfWisdom
03.03.10 | Must agree on your point about people not understanding how cramped the front of a stage gets. I had two girls complain I was standing on their feet at AFI. Which as far as I'm concerned was their fault for not wearing proper shoes. | DaveyBoy
03.03.10 | I still can't get over how many people wear thongs or sandals. I think that at least 6 pairs went flying during every main stage act that I saw. Just stupid.
But yeah, if it was cramped all the way back to the sound booth, then you may as well be cramped up the front. But when all you had to do was walk back a measly 10 metres & you could swing your arms & still see the band, then walk back 10 metres! | Captain North
03.04.10 | Anti-Flag and Gallows won the day for me. | DaveyBoy
03.04.10 | I should have gone seen a half-set of Gallows (during Set Your Goals) just to see Frank crowd-surf for what was apparently about 10 minutes. | Captain North
03.05.10 | We had a human pyramid, which was awesome. Some guy tried to jump on top, missed and landed on his back on the metal grating. | DaveyBoy
03.05.10 | OUCH!
In Melb., they played in the tin shed hall which has 2 openings to get in & out. Apparently, he tried to crowd surf out one door & in the other. | DaveyBoy
03.05.10 | Didn't everyone? | DaveyBoy
03.05.10 | So was mine. | deadinholywood
03.05.10 | Hang on, hang on.... Who said that ISIS wasn't Metal?? | tombits
03.05.10 | Not seeing Glassjaw was a HUGE fail, but it sounds like you had a great time anyway man. | Piglet
03.05.10 | One of my friends had backpasses to go meet Meshuggah personally.
| DaveyBoy
03.07.10 | I knew someone would mention the Isis comment. It was literally only a minute U heard them for and they were doing some atmospheric like jam.
I still have yet to give Glassjaw a listen Tombits.
Are Meshuggah as scary in person as they look? | Vooligan
03.07.10 | Silly Daveyboy | DaveyBoy
03.07.10 | With regard to what comment Billy? I know there's many of them which could result in me being silly! | Vooligan
03.07.10 | It was more just a general statement to be honest. | Powerban
03.07.10 | This Is Hell
Baroness
Isis
-Alcohol + Weed-
Eagles Of Death Metal
Alexisonfire
Bit of Paramore then some food
Placebo
Meshuggah
Shinedown
Trivium
Jimmy Eat World
Faith No More
-----------
Some surprising acts like Trivium who I don't even like much at all. Baroness/Meshuggah/Shinedown and Placebo took the best of for my day. I even got to talk to the singer of Baroness in the crowd when Isis were playing.
Isis were only dissapointing because they played the same set that they played 2 days before, just shortened and only Wavering Radient tracks. Oh well.
| Captain North
03.07.10 | Apparently at sydney the crowd was throwing stuff at Shinedown and telling them to get off the stage. | Piglet
03.07.10 | [b]Are Meshuggah as scary in person as they look?[/b]
Apparently! | Powerban
03.07.10 | Throwing stuff at Shinedown huh. I don't even like them much but they're great live. I don't know if you should believe those accusations as if there were lots of people hating them. I seen a shoe thrown at nearly every band in brisbane. | WhiteNoise
03.07.10 | at least YOU saw Paramore and Faith No More!
All my mates saw A Day To Remember lol. I was like, BUT FAITH NO MORE!!
sounds like you had a brilliant day, sadly I couldn't go since I've had a hell of a lot of gigs recently including Big Day Out. | DaveyBoy
03.07.10 | I'm just generally silly Billy.
Great to hear you saw placebo & liked them Powerban. Sounds like your day was pretty darn varied.
As for Shinedown, I actually saw one song from them waiting for Dance Gavin Dance. Strange band in a way because they seemed heavier than the songs I've heard of theirs. During the final song, the lead singer was encouraging the audience to do something; high-five or hug a stranger or something like that. It was weirding me out.
As for Faith No More vs A Day To Remember, I really feel that the promoters got that clash 100% right. Having the main metal acts on just before FNMore (during JEWorld) was a masterstroke & I don't think there would have been too much crossover of ADTR & FNM fans.
It was a brilliant day WhiteNoise. I'm unsure if you have been to a SoundWave, but like I said in the intro, it's so much more comfortable that BDO... At least, it is in Melbourne anyway. | WhiteNoise
03.08.10 | yeah, Big Day Out in Melbourne was my first festival and I got by alright. Can't say I've been to soundwave yet though. | Fugue
03.08.10 | Sounds cool. Would love to have seen RX, Alexis, AFI, Dance Gavin Dance, Jimmy Eat world and FNM. | DaveyBoy
03.08.10 | Depending on which state you are in WhiteNoise, I would definitely recommend it next year (Sydney has been chaos both years unfortunately, but the other states run fairly smoothly).
Yeah Rosco, that's the great advantage of festivals like this. I'd pay to see a single gig from half of those bands, so to get them all on the one day is such a huge bonus. |
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