Live Review: Soundwave Festival, Day One

Sometimes being prepared for the worst is the way to go since the traffic on the way in really ain't that bad. And anyway, as read somewhere through the week, "We're here for a good show, not good traffic." Natch. A benevolent chap whose mate fell ill this morning approaches the box office and offers up the extra ticket free of charge before cautioning the taker: "If you sell it, you go to hell, muthafucker!"

As expected, "the constabulary and their canine companions" sniff around the Soundwave entrance, but the festival website's entry information outlined this. Punters make plans to meet at "that pie" (in the sky) later in the day. The elated cheers of Apocalyptica fans from inside Showgrounds torture us while we queue. And as cheers herald the end of their set, we are wristbanded.

American band The Wonder Years have a small but devout following, so much so that the fact they’re celebrating their 10th anniversary of being a band and playing songs that span their career goes largely unnoticed. After cancelling an Australian club tour in September and issuing an ambiguous statement, the band seem out of depth in the outdoor festival environment. Unlike their pop-punk peers that have flirted with mainstream success, they lack any real hook to their songs, with many washing in to the next.

Lagwagon are the first of the nostalgic acts to take to Stage 3. Led by 48-year-old front man Joey Cape, they play to their role, delving into the decades to perform Violins from 1995, Heartbreaking Music from 2005 and songs from their most recent album, Hang, from late 2014. As a giant backdrop of a noose sits uncomfortably behind them for their set, they churn through the motions and struggle to inspire.

Bursting with personality, The Vandals grace the stage with their cynical take on the world through slapstick punk rock. In tune with the audience, they dedicate songs to “all the cashed up bogans up the back,” Ned Kelly and even Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson, of whom they cover his 1985 hit I’m An Individual. Playing their classics including Oi To The World, I’ve Got An Ape Drape and Live Fast, Diarrhea, as a storm looms in the distance, the group finish with a fitting take on Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now, defying not just weather conditions, but their age, proving their worth on the line-up.

Overhead at the bar, "What's vodka with cranberry like?" Oh, yes, Soundwave! You'd never hear that at Stereosonic. Welcome to Black Day preceding White Night. On Stage 1, Twin Atlantic tell us it's their first visit to Australia. The poor bastards melt up there while performing songs such as Yes I Was Drunk (they're Glaswegian). Cops on bikes cycle through the crowd. One benefit of exposing flesh in these roasting temperatures is the ease with which tattoos can be admired/compared. There's no timetables in the official programs, which kind of defies logic. And, phew! That indoor stage is a sauna! A mum in the stadium seats proudly displays the "Slash Army" banner she whipped up "in half an hour this morning".

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"Melbourne I need to know that you're with us today!" Tonight Alive's lead singer, Jenna McDougall, belts out as they catapult onto Stage 2 with enviable energy. She's sporting a t-shirt with "All Human (crossed out) Life Is Sacred" across the front and there's some hardcore fans down the front who clap along and obey all of McDougall's directions. The frontvixen even jumps down so that she can high-five crowd surfers who make their way into the pit, wisely thanking and getting a round of applause for the security guards at song's conclusion. McDougall asks us to repeat a mantra after her: "From this day I refuse to live in fear of someone else's judgement" - great message for the young'uns. Tonight Alive's cover of Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name is well received although McDougall's vocals could use an injection of menace. An accomplished outfit nevertheless.

There's a couple of punters wandering around, sweltering, in banana suits. Back over on Stage 1, All Time Low could use louder BVs. The guitarist with the skunk stripe in his hair (Jack Barakat) claims he needs a BJ (blowjob). Then the banter about blowjobs goes on for too long, which inspires a neighbouring dude in the crowd to yell out, sarcastically, "Eh! He said 'blowjob'!"

Godsmack attract a large throng over to the festival's most user-friendly Stage 4 (where there is stadium seating that's part of a bar). Straight Out Of Line is as brutal as we want it to be. Head-banging goodness. If anyone deserves blowjobs it's these guys. They play new single Something Different and frontman Sully Erna encourages us to "lose our minds". Scattered fat drops of rain, some lightning then there's no sound. An amusement ride momentarily halts with thrillseekers stuck high in the air. The speakers crank back into action, but the band struggle to regain momentum after that.

It's heartwarming watching fans engage with their heroes in Soundwave's air-conditioned signing tent. Although there's "No Posed Photos" signs everywhere, which is bad news for those wishing for fresh profile pics.

Over on Stage 2, Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix spends a generous amount of time in the photography pit, pressing the flesh with fans before embarking on an epic crowd-surf. Impressively, his quiff withstands the action. Shaddix commands, "Put your middle fingers in the sky!" He later explains it was drummer Tony Palermo, who pounds powerfully like an impatient toddler who wants his toy back, that persuaded the band to return to Australia. A big ol' circle pit materialises. Their set is victorious.

Having last played Soundwave in 2011, honouring the 10th anniversary of their somewhat seminal album Pennybridge Pioneers and performing the album in its entirety, this evening Swedish band Millencolin have one eye on the past and one firmly on the future. Belting out crowd favourite Bullion from their 1995 album Life On A Plate, before debuting a brand new song for the first time ever live, Sense & Sensibility, the four-piece craft a greatest and latest hits set that pleases fans old and new.

Note to international bands on touring festival line-ups: We really don't give a shit whether you mention what state you're in at present so just leave it out to avoid fucking it up. We get it, airports and hotels do all look the same.

Some Soundwavers have gone to the trouble of dressing like dodgy superheroes as per the festival's artwork this year. When a weather update announces we have "an intense hailstorm coming", it's cheers all 'round. The crowd assembled for Marilyn Manson swells to become the biggest of the day so far. He may be well known for his "award winning distilled spirits" as well as guest starring spots on Californication and Eastbound & Down these days, but Mazza's menacing presence is always welcome. Crazy carni intro music teases us, smoke covers the stage, then Manson appears and the sky weeps (it rains). He cradles his radio mic and performs expertly to the cameras, which makes even those viewing the action from the Stevie Wonder sections feel included. A commitment to sartorial elegance sees The Pale Emperor donning a long black coat for the entire opening song. Genius makeup connects the brow on one side of Manson's face to beard. Then suddenly we can hear Slash's sound check on Stage 2, which is baffling (and ruins several points of Manson's set). Mobsene reclaims us, though. And Personal Jesus is all swashbuckling sensation. Manson's take on Sweet Dreams gets a rowdy reaction.

Seeing family Soundwave outings is charming. When a dad behind us accuses his daughter of not knowing who Slash is, she responds irately, "He's from Guns N' Roses and he has a cool hat. And long, curly hair."

Judas Priest are running a little late to Stage 4 so impatient calls of "Priest! Priest! Priest!" go up, punctuated by double devil salutes. Playing Black Sabbath's War Pigs over the sound system temporarily silences the salivating masses until it's cut short and we're off! Frontman Rob Halford is an actual "human sacrifice" (The Devil's Child) through braving a leather jacket up there. Halls Of Valhalla is about right. Sound issues on this stage again? Halford uses the dead patch as an opportunity to go off for a coat change, returning in a silver, full-length cloak for Turbo Lover that makes him look a tad like Dr Evil.

Of Mice & Men combine hardcore punk with metal and as such draw audiences from each of the festival’s five stages. If merchandise is anything to go by, they are only rivalled by Slipknot in their popularity. Fresh from an extensive four-month tour with Linkin Park, the band are in fine form and know how to use every inch of the stage, with singer Austin Carlile holding the crowd in the palm of his hands, demanding they sing every chorus, punch their fists in the air and even create an enormous circle pit around the sound desk.

Backed by a line-up of musicians that feature members of Rage Against The Machine and The Killers, The Smashing Pumpkins offer Cherub Rock and Tonight Tonight early in the their set, before Billy Corgan introduces “a song from our new album,” to audible groans from the audience. They draw a huge crowd but without the aid of TV screens by the stage, they are a merely a speck in the distance.

Costumes, light show, pyro techniques, frightening backdrop, a stage that includes a staircase and most of all the songs to back it up, Slipknot are a physical assault on the senses; it’s the stuff of dreams and nightmares. Littered with highlights, including The Heretic Anthem and Vermillion, the band push everything to the extreme limit, with the standout moment of the set coming when singer Corey Taylor gets the crowd to sit down before going wild in Spit It Out. He later says it’s the best show he has ever been a part of, and though it’s easy to get caught in the moment, you couldn’t and wouldn’t argue with him.

As the first day of the festival draws to its close and each of the four headline bands finish at the same time, the wall of death that so many artists had asked for during the day inevitably happens, though at a snail’s pace, as tens of thousands of people converge on the confined spaces that are the exit gates. While the format of the two-day festival is uncertain in the future, the conversations about today’s event will continue long after the transport queues have disappeared, sunburn has healed and ears have stopped ringing, and for many years to come.

Live Review: Soundwave Festival, Day One

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