No Sleep Til @ Jondalup Arena,Perth (12/12/10)

Wed 15th Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Sunday saw the inaugural No Sleep Til festival hit Perth, for its first stop on Australian soil. Featuring genre-defining legends such as Megadeth and NOFX, as well as the hottest bands in today’s heavy alternative music scene with the likes of Parkway Drive and August Burns Red. It is no secret that this festival is aimed at providing a little un-friendly competition to the now well-established and ever expanding Soundwave Festival.

Due to the direct comparisons with the much larger festival, there was undoubtedly a large amount of pressure on No Sleep to stack up, and in order to do so three boxes really needed to be ticked; a killer line-up, a great atmosphere and effective organisation of event management. While the first two boxes receive two massive ticks, the time table for the day left a lot to be desired, especially as Perth had less bands on the bill than other states (with the Descendants, A Day to Remember and Atreyu not making the trip to Perth).

The staggering of the stages saw many of the band’s sets cut into each other as well as leaving gaps in which no band was playing on either stage. The major downfall of the timetable was the fact that it was impossible to catch both Megadeth and Parkway Drive, two of the most popular heavy bands on the bill. As one less than stoked patron pointed out upon reading the timetable “I paid to see both these bands, not choose which band not to see”. While the time management side of things needs to be looked at for future tours the, organisers have to be commended for the ease of access patrons had to food, first aid and alcohol for those over 18, that left Soundwave for dead.

It was clear that the afternoon was going to be blistering hot, the results of which would be witnessed only hours later with thousands of sunburnt individuals heading home. After a massive 12 months seeing a European tour and a national tour supporting Alexisonfire, Perth’s own Break Even were the first to hit the outdoor Black Stage. Front man Mark Bawden whipped the formidable early bird crowd into a frenzy and instigated the first circle pit of No Sleep Til Perth. Tracks October 27th and The Truth received huge applause with both band and crowd working up a sweat.

Meanwhile indoors at the Green Stage, Melbourne outfit Confession led by the iconic Michael Crafter played a short but extremely tight set, comprised of songs from their critically acclaimed 2009 album Cancer to a packed out room. Whilst those inside escaped the blistering sun they were struck by what felt like 120% humidity. Confession persevered through the sticky conditions with set closer That’s Not the Goose sending the predominantly under age crowd at the front into one huge circle pit, whilst those in the over 18’s section nodded in approval whilst sipping their drinks.

After a talk up from Crafter, Sydney’s Heroes for Hire hit the indoor stage but in comparison to Confession, they played to an almost empty room. As a Pop Punk act it would always going to be difficult for them to fit in with the rest of the line-up comprised mostly of alternative bands; the fact that the boys had just arrived after a 22 hour flight from San Francisco did not aid their cause. The band admitted that they had not rehearsed properly for the set and it showed. The vocals rarely hit the right notes, and sounded strained throughout. To their credit, they tried hard to get the crowd involved with the upbeat The Boys You Love to Hate, but unlike the song title no one seemed to really love anything about this set, with the crowd not even being enthusiastic enough to hate the band.

The room quickly filled in anticipation for American band We Came As Romans on their first trip to Perth. The group’s two vocalists got the crowd geared up with some chants, before the rest of the band hit the stage. Instrumentally, the band put on a flawless display switching seamlessly from melodic to heavy, with bonus points for the synchronised boy band stage moves. However clean vocalist Kyle Pavone’s voice had many punters unfamiliar with the band questioning whether he was attempting to imitate Geoff Rickly from Thursday or could he simply not sing live? As the set continued it became more apparent that the latter was the case with many of the clean vocal parts falling flatter than a tire on a nail. The passionate fans in front of the stage didn’t seem to care though, crowd surfing and providing sing alongs that put smiles on all of the band members’ faces.

At this point, there was a gap in which there were no bands playing, leaving those over age to consume more alcohol whilst those under age were left to twiddle their thumbs. Up next was everyone’s favourite all-star cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes who took to the stage as the afternoon sun hit its peak. The veterans jokingly stated that they were the biggest band on the bill, and supported this claim in their snazzy Hawaiian shirts and white pants. Bassist Fat Mike (of NOFX) and vocalist Spike Slawson casually poked fun at each other throughout the set. Highlights included their punk versions of Over the Rainbow and Country Road taking punters back to yesteryear. The surprise of the set was the Ukulele cover of Xanadu, which saw even the most pierced and tattooed individuals singing along. This was the perfect set to get the good time vibes going for the three punk bands there were to follow.

Returning to the stage after some time off Australia’s veterans Frenzal Rhomb were up next. Dreadlocked vocalist Jason Whalley led the band on a set packed to the brim with nostalgia. Even after almost two decades of making music these guys still know how to put on a show. Hits Never Had So Much Fun and Russell Crowe’s Band lifted spirits that had been beginning to decline with the excesses of beer and sun. The band joked about their lack of new material and debuted a new song, which seemed more to be a piss-take of the metal-core music occurring on the other stage than a genuine attempt of musical creativity. Set closer Punch in the Face saw dozens of crowd surfers make their way to the front of the stage to welcome back Frenzal to Perth.

As the sun began to set Massachusetts Celtic punks Drop Kick Murphys hit the stage led by the charismatic Al Barr the band tore into fan favourites Warriors Code and Bastards on Parade. Almost as entertaining as the band itself was seeing almost every individual in the licensed area attempting his or her best Irish jig during the entire duration of the set.

After a short change over, Fat Mike and his NOFX band mates took the stage. Although now in their forties, their maturity and sense of humour is still cemented at high school level, which is possibly their secret to maintaining the appeal to a much younger audience. While they didn’t play the tightest set, everyone knows you don’t go to see NOFX for their musical prowess, something the band itself has constantly made fun of with two live albums titled I Heard They Suck Live and They Actually Got Worse! Fat Mike joked that they were in fact more talented than Megadeth, before getting the crowd moving with tracks such as Murder the Government and the extremely catchy Bob. Set highlight had to be Fuck the Kids, which saw a stage crasher dance around the band before being escorted off by security. For the last two decades these guys have continued to play the same sloppy punk rock and it is still an entertaining spectacle.

This was the point in the evening where the staggered timetable revealed its major flaw for those wanting to see both Megadeth and Parkway Drive. As it turned out however, the timetable was effective in almost completely separating the ages, with all those under the age of 18 packing into the Green Stage room to watch Parkway Drive, whilst the majority of those born before 1990 stood in buzzing anticipation of Megadeth. The outdoor stage was quickly transformed into the album cover from Megadeth’s thrash masterpiece Rust in Peace, which the band played in its entirety.

As the stage lights darkened the same intro tape used during the original Rust in Peace tour began to play with the eerie voice stating “anyone caught outside their housing sectors after 7pm will be shot” with a bang this was followed by Dave Mustaine with his long orange hair in all its glory hitting the stage as the band ripped into Holy Wars…The Punishment Due to rapturous applause. Mustaine and the band’s latest axe-man the extremely talented Chris Broderick traded off guitar solos perfectly leaving the entire crowd in awe. During second track Hangar 18 Mustaine shot a number of angry looks towards to sound tech, and clearly wasn’t happy with something, however from the front of the stage the band sounded near perfect.

Mustaine then led the band into Take No Prisoners, which is truly the best way to sum up the night’s performance, every song was played at a blistering pace in order to fit the entire album and their biggest hits into the short one-hour set. Dawn Patrol saw the appearance of Megadeth mascot Vic Rattlehead complete with skull and chains taunt the crowd before the return of the band kicking into title track Rust in Peace Polaris. After the completion of the album Mustaine broke away from his usual scripted fan interaction to show signs of genuine thanks and was almost sounding apologetic for mistakes not even the most die-hard ‘Deth fan could hear, a major sentiment for a man with a reputation as being the only redhead more bitter than Pauline Hanson.

As a show of thanks the band played Head Crusher from 2009’s Endgame followed by the monster hit Symphony of Destruction. This was founding Bbssist Dave Ellefson first time playing in Perth with Megadeth since rejoining the band last year, with bass drum thumping Ellefson began the bass riff to the metal anthem Peace Sells, which received the biggest sing along of the day. The set was closed with a reprise of the second half of Holy Wars…The Punishment Due. After 25 years Mustaine and his latest incarnation of Megadeth proved to the fans that they not only have what it takes to keep going but they are still at the top of their game. Looking around at the conclusion of Megadeth’s epic set there were many faces that looked worse for wear, as the thousands of under 18 punters began to flow out of the Rec center it seemed apparent that No Sleep Til has the potential to became a yearly institution.