Live Review: Billy Talent & Sum 41

The quintessential gateway band of the early 2000s, who provided a gracious link somewhere between Good Charlotte and Blink 182, never really defined their sound. Through their youthful exuberance, Sum 41 pogoed between pop-punk, metal riffs and schoolyard battle rap, releasing five elusive albums that flirted with the mainstream. In Australia for Soundwave, having played the event three years prior, despite releasing their fifth album in 2011, not much has changed for the Canadian band; the goofy stage names, synchronised moves and crass banter still ever present.

Tonight singer Deryck Whibley, now 32, is dressed in a red T-shirt, vest and black necktie, an ensemble presumably picked up from ex-wife Avril Lavigne. He looks and acts like a teenager, as the band burst into 2002 single, Motivation, transporting the audience back in time. They lift songs from each of their albums, with Fat Lip and In Too Deep from their debut, clear favourites, though its title, All Killer, No Filler, seems a short-lived prophecy as songs from their more recent albums fall short.

After opening their Sydney sideshow two nights earlier, the democracy of friendship sees Billy Talent headline tonight. Last in the country in August, the four-piece have since released their fourth album, Dead Silence, from which their setlist is heavily drawn. Frontman Benjamin Kowalewicz is renowned for his high-pitched voice. It's a point difference, particularly when pegged against similar bands on the festival bill, but when isolated on a two-band line-up, it becomes grating.

Drawing from the enthusiasm of a young crowd and full of energy, the band race through their back catalogue that spans ten years. “We're an appetiser for your main course tomorrow,” says Kowalewicz, in a throwaway line that rings true: two mid-tier bands and regular visitors to the country using the show as a warm-up and keeping plenty in reserve.