Were you there? Find yourself in Mojojay’s Gallery

One reviewer’s scope is nowhere near enough to convey the incredible magnitude and depth of Soundwave 2009. 6 stages over 11 hours, occupied by the absolute cream of the world’s punk and metal sect (and whatever sub genre of the two you might like to invent), it pummeled the rest of the summer’s nation wide festivals in just about everyway a rival festival can be pummeled. As far as Perth was concerned, Steel Blue Oval once again proved itself (yes the oval has been personified) as the most spectator friendly venue choice in Perth. The embanked surroundings provided optimum vantage points for each of the 6 stages and with the main stages also set in front of the ground’s grandstand, there was the luxury of an elevated view, allowing a complete comprehension of band and crowd. No sound quality was lost up there either and with the glorious decision of the organisers to make it a part of the licensed area, it provided a refuge and a startling view of the show for liquored up eyes throughout the day.

The punters were in good spirits, even over on stage 4 where it wasn’t uncommon to see Max Cavalera inspired dreadlocks windmilling in tandem with tattooed arms and closed fists. Closed fists which caught a jaw or five every now and then, but if you’re not willing to take a good spirited fist to the jaw, the whole essence of the festival is wasted on you… well maybe just the essence of stage 4. In contrast to the unrefined black shirted, pierced and inked atmosphere of this hairy male dominated corner of the show, bands were consistently commenting on how stunning Perth girls are and the ladies were definitely out in force in their finest shade of fake tan. There was no hint of Summadayze or Good Vibes pretension in their gait either so from a thousand or so ogling lads, a big thank you needs to go out to the girls for their fun loving punk and metal leaning attitude!

Was not much time for perverted distractions though as the conveniently ordered timetable meant that there was a band that needed to be seen within minutes after the last one had finished. When a roster has internationally famed acts like Less Than Jake and New Found Glory playing at 12:30, this signals an immense day of stage hopping ahead. Less Than Jake songs were always going to be memorable festival hymns and their track selection got the day’s first beads of sweat flowing freely at Stage 2. They have toured here every year for the past 5 years or so, but this was the first chance Perth has had to see them during festival season so they left the self indulgence of new tracks to their own tour and played a 35 minute set in the crowd’s best interests. Look What Happened (The Last Time), Gainseville Rock City, The Ghosts of Me and You and All My Best Friends Are Metalheads were chanted through the wire of the licensed area fence and trampled in the mosh. The band’s trademark crude humour was in fine form with Roger proclaiming that Vinnie just recently had penis reduction surgery and with Chris getting the crowd to chant “I want to fuck a wallaby”. No doubt that one went out to the RSPCA.

For those who didn’t want to see a crowd member eat a twinkie out of Darren from Goldfinger’s arse, things were tantalisingly intimate over at stage 3 for Saves The Day. Chris Conley’s surprisingly majestic live high range was the perfect soundtrack for 1:20 in the arvo, allowing a relaxed transition into the festival mindset. With a voice like that there really is no other place for you in the world except playing in a band with songs that are destined to feature on every potential girl friend’s mix tape. This may sound awful to some but Saves The Day manipulate the melodic alternative pop sound better than most which is why they have survived out of the hundreds of bands like them who gained popularity in the boom years from 2003-2005. Live in Perth, they attracted a diverse crowd of seemingly loyal followers and longtime fans, plenty of couples doing the standing spoon thing as is to be expected and it was a collected and sincere atmosphere formed by easy listening American alt-pop.

The sound, the performers and the crowd all got a little older following Saves The Day as 90s punk vets Face To Face hit the stage with an energy that defied their 30+ years. Such an awesome and neccessary inclusion on the bill, they delivered the only no frills, anthemic punk rock set of the day and the modestly sized crowd who witnessed it loved every second. With Less Than Jake’s Roger filling in on bass, the 3 piece looked to be having the time of their lives during their last Soundwave show and upon breaking into surf town party track Disconnected, crowd and band erupted into an extra gear of bedlam.

It was bedlam all day at Stage 4, an Unearth circle pit around the sound tent early in the piece setting the standard for the rest of the day’s efforts. Poison The Well seemed to almost be a breather for the metal nuts by mid afternoon, with most people just happy to stand and watch and maybe spontaneously thrash their head around. The set perhaps peaked with Botchla , the warped swirling chords of the tracks breakdown putting the crowd into a state of metalcore induced hypnosis. Meanwhile, Anberlin had drawn a mammoth crowd for their set on stage 1 and with a soaring version of Paperthin Hymn the majority of the festival’s attention was theirs for the next 40 minutes.

By the time Minus The Bear hit the tucked away stage 6 most had already seen $130 worth of bands and the show was only in its infancy. Their disjointed At The Drive In guitar precision provided an intricate alternative to the more accessible time signatures of the previous acts. Wickedly titled Absinthe Party At The Fly Honey Warehouse was an ambient revelation, the opening lyrics of the track couldn’t be better suited for a Perth audience: Hey lets cross the sea and get some culture.

Leaving Minus The Bear seemed like a loss but it was a necessary sacrifice as Dillinger Escape Plan are a live band that are an absolute feast for the eyes and ears. Scars of who? was the general feeling around Stage 1 as their replacements slaughtered through their incomprehensibly precise brand of chaos. Yes there were some ill fated and generally shit attempts at slam dancing from the spectators: the human body is just not meant to move in a way that would put it in syncronisation with Dillinger’s musings. The launching of water bottles was a much more appropriate way to participate in the show, the frequent mess of projectiles in mid flight added all the more pandemonium and disarray to the atmosphere. When he wasn’t swinging from the stage rig, intimidating front man Greg Puciato often sent the plastic bombs back into the crowd at about twice the pace they came in. Black Bubblegum and Milk Lizard were the most well received tracks as a result of their high rotation on Triple J and Panasonic Youth was a blitzing arrangement of panic on stage lead by guitarist Ben Weinman who bullseyed his fretboard whilst pirouetting off the head of his amp. The set concluded with a guest appearance from Underoath’s Spencer Chamberlain, his shrieks adding a certain fuel to Puciato’s fire and also had Weinman tackling a stage crasher to the ground all while performing an array of calculated hammer ons. This was the start of what was to be an incredible transition into the night hours.

Were you there? Find yourself in Mojojay’s Gallery