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After a mess of cancellations and venue changes, Soundwave finally returned with the Counter Revolution Festival on Friday at Melbourne’s Festival Hall. Whilst this poor venue choice really brought the festival down, a day of great performances from old favourites and new talent made for a pretty damn awesome day of music.
Whilst Festival Hall can be a great venue, it really wasn’t right for a day-long festival experience. The venue’s rules meant no one was allowed to bring in water or food, and it took a good half an hour to line up at the one food vendor outside. This essentially meant having to miss an entire band’s set just to eat, as food wasn’t allowed inside the venue. The venue’s bar was downstairs and almost completely blocked the sound from the stage, so festival-goers weren’t able to drink and watch the bands. On the positive side, the one-stage setup meant no clashes, giving everyone a chance to check out a few talented bands that may otherwise have slipped by unnoticed.
I arrived just in time to catch
Next up were We Are The In Crowd, a female-fronted, pop-punk band similar to the likes of Paramore. Whilst I wasn’t familiar with this band, I was impressed with their set, and they seemed to have a really dedicated following in the crowd.
Counter Revolution seemed to attract a much younger crowd than the usual Soundwave festival, and even by the early hours of the day the stage was surrounded by energetic and heavily-eyeliner'd teenagers.
A band I was really keen to see were indie synth-pop band Hellogoodbye, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. They played a really fun, intimate set, and fan favourite "Here In Your Arms" set the crowd ablaze with excitement. After this, I checked out The Damned Things, a band I cannot believe I was yet to hear. With Joe and Andy of Fall Out Boy, Scott and Rob from Anthrax, and Keith and Josh of Every Time I Die, The Damned Things are a fucking incredible rock supergroup with a great sound. I found myself wishing for a much longer set.
Funeral For a Friend and Story of the Year never disappoint, and at Counter Revolution it was no exception. Both play really solid live sets, and never fail to please old fans and new ones alike. It’s with bands like this that the Soundwave Festivals really earn the ticket price - bringing bands to Australia that so many of us love and so rarely get the opportunity to see.
As much as I hate to admit it, pop rockers and fangirl favourites All Time Low really did play a great set, and were quite impressive live. Through hits like "Weightless" and "Coffee Shop Soundtrack", front man Alex Gaskarth had the room alive with screaming teenage girls, and the atmosphere in the mosh was great. The real excitement, though, came when pop-punk heroes Yellowcard hit the stage. The atmosphere by now was incredible, and it was refreshing to be amongst a largely younger crowd; one who don’t attend festivals just for drinking, and with whom you can really sense their passion for the bands. The mosh for Yellowcard was passionate and fun, and by the time they played the first chords of "Ocean Avenue" the room was theirs.
By the time headliners Panic! At The Disco entered the stage at 9:30, the crowd was full of excitement. Now, while this band aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s hard to deny they put on an amazing show. Frontman Brendon Urie spent the majority of the set with his shirt off, pleasing many an adolescent girl in the audience. Playing through plenty of old hits ("I Write Sins Not Tragedies", "Nine in the Afternoon", "...But It’s Better If You Do") in their typical extravagant, flamboyant fashion, this often-hated band were still incredible crowd-pleasers and wonderful entertainers.
If not for the terribly inconvenient venue, Melbourne’s Counter Revolution would have been my pick for one of the year’s best gigs, and with better organisation next year, the festival could become something incredible. A day full of talented bands and a passionate, easygoing crowd made for a great indoor festival experience.
