Check out all the Soundwave photos

As I made our way down to Bonython Park for the latest festival to include Adelaide on the tour schedule, I had my fingers crossed the turn out would be good enough to ensure Adelaide becomes a regular stop over for future festivals. With the amount of events going on in Adelaide at the moment and over the last week with Fringe, Clipsal 500, Laneway etc I would have been surprised if ticket sales didn’t suffer. However to my astonishment the parklands were packed and the size of the crowd made it feel like a mini BDO. I was also surprised by the number of older punters, particularly around the metal stage. I thought I might look like I should be chaperoning some of the younger patrons, but there were plenty of old-school rockers around.

With over 40 bands across 5 stages all from similar genres the festival clash was always going to be a problem and right from the get go there were decisions to be made. I follow 2 rules when it comes to the clash, firstly I watch full sets, as catching bits and pieces is frustrating (especially when the bands are only playing 40 minute sets) and miss too much running between stages, internationals take preference over locals (although with the amount of international bands on the bill this rule didn’t really help either).

My first stop for the day was at the black heavy stage to catch From Autumn to Ashes. After waiting about 15 mins it became apparent they weren’t coming on, they did come on and play later in the day, but at the time there were a few disappointed punters.

I only have a couple of complaints about the organisation of the day. One, they didn’t give out a program and the one that was on the internet was different to what was going on and two, the stages were too close together so unless you were down the front on the fence there was sound interference from other stages in the area. And I’m glad I’m a guy, cos the toilets were disgraceful.

So the first band I saw was Devine Heresy. Who blew me away, with some blistering old-school metal. They had a real Pantera like sound and stage presence which is always a good thing. They only played about 40 mins but it was action packed and full of highlights. Impossible is Nothing and Savior Self were crowd favourites as was when frontman Tommy Vext threw a plank of wood into the crowd for him to surf on. Divine Heresy finished with Royal Blood Heresy and the infamous wall of death which was brutally awesome.

I then had a bit of time to kill before the Plain White Ts, so I joined the massive crowd under the bigger of the two big-tops and caught the end of Sugarcult and their hit Bouncing off the Walls. By the size of the crowd and the reaction they were giving Tim and boys must have put on a good show.

I then decided to take my first trip to the main stage to check out the Plain White Ts and on my way decided to check out the food stalls. As usual the food was overpriced and over processed crap. It’s such a risk eating festival food, you never know when you are going to eat something that has you hanging around the facilities for the rest of the day, but I must admit my hotdog wasn’t too bad.

The main stage was packed, and it was no surprise considering the bands that were up for the rest of the day. Plain White Ts were great, their sound and stage presence was excellent. They had the girls in the crowd going nuts, opening with Hate I Really Dont, then had them in fits over their radio hit Delilah which had, by far, the biggest crowd response for the day thus far. If Tom Higgenson couldn’t pick up tonight, no one could.

It was then back to the metal stage to see From Autumn to Ashes, who showed up this time. They only played for 30 mins but their energy was high and they gave the punters who were previously disappointed a chance to see them. The highlight of the set was After Dinner Payback and the circle pit that opened up as a result.

Then it was back to the main stage for the big 5.

Thursday was up first and let’s face it are probably more famous for their billion dollar guitarist My Space Tom, but their music is pretty good as well. They played a short sharp set including Jet Back New Year and Signals Over The Air. The highlight was the Wall of Love, which had the same result as Devine Heresy’s Wall of Death, just a cuter name.

Then Motion City Soundtrack took the stage. The boys hit the stage running and flew straight into Fell In Love Without You, which got the crowd going. Other highlights of the set were Broken Heart and they finished with The Future Freaks Me Out.

Alexisonfire came on next and by this time most of the crowd had gathered around the main stages for the evening’s acts. They played a solid set including Accidents, Drunks, Liars, Sinners & Saints and You Burn First. The highlight of the set was when frontman George Pettit walked across the crowd like Jesus on water before returning to the stage to complete the set.

When Incubus came on the sun had all but disappeared and the crowd were treated to a beautiful warm evening. I was a little disappointed with Incubus, there were just a bit boring, although my sentiments didn’t seem to be shared by the rest of the crowd who were getting into it. The highlights were Wish You Were Here and the big sing along to Drive.

Finally it was time for the band that I had waited all day to see, The Offspring. Having seen them numerous times before they released Americana (which was the turning point for me) I knew the chances of me being disappointed was high, but just the thought of them playing tracks from their S/T or Ignition record had my anticipation in overdrive.

As Dexter, Noodles and Greg K entered the stage the crowd went nuts, with little hesitation they went straight into Bad Habit which had the crowd going wild.

Unfortunately as expected the boys did ignore there first 2 albums and played a recent hits set including Have You Ever, Pretty Fly, Americana and Hit That. However my disappointment wasn’t shared by the rest of the crowed who absolutely loved it, I guess I’m just showing my age.

They did however play Come out and Play, All I Want, Gone Away and finished with Self Esteem from Smash and Ixnay which had my inner teenager going nuts.

The Offspring played for just over an hour and showed why they had the headlining slot.

What a great day, my only disappointment was the bands that I missed due to the clash, the unfortunate victims were Shadows Fall, As I lay Dying, Saosin, The Matches and most disappointingly Killswitch Engage (who should have been on the main stage).