Compared to
last year, I was so happy when I didn’t have to wait hours in line
to get in. 

Making my way
through the crowd to stage 3, I was eager to see Sydney pop punk band
Heroes for Hire perform on a festival circuit. Through their years
of honest hard work and touring these boys deserve every bit of success
they receive, and today they proved why. Front man Brad Smith has for a unique persona, wearing his favourite Taylor
Swift t-shirt he knew exactly how to get the audience warmed up. Their
set included the popular Save Me and You Can’t Spell Stud
without STD. The highlight of the set was their rendition of
Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus; with Duane Hazell singing in a high
pitched voice ‘I’ve got two tickets to New Found Glory, baby’
attracting the most cheers from the crowd.  

I manoeuvred
around the crowd to stage 6 where UK mathcore band Rolo Tomassi
were just setting up. By now the sun was at full force, scorching down
upon my sensitive skin. Either not many people knew about Rolo Tomassi
or many were still stuck in traffic, whatever the reason; you were a
fool to miss them. Singer Eva Spence has the best of both worlds; she
has the ability to sound like a guttural demon (almost making me want
to sacrifice a ram) as well as an angel, all seemingly effortlessly. Guitarist Joe
Nicholson’s guitar shredding skills were just phenomenal, having similar
characteristics to the The Fall of Troy’s
(who played at Soundwave 08) guitarist Thomas Erak. Their set was tight,
fast and technical. With the alternating vocals of Eva and Keyboardist James
Spence, they smashed through their set with Abraxas
to I Love Turbulance as well as a few new songs from their upcoming
album Cosmology due out later this year.  

Straight after
on stage 5, English hardcore punk band Gallows
wasted no time, with vocalist Frank Carter stage-diving right into the
crowd. They started their set with Leeches and continued with
London Is The Reason, and changing "London" to "Sydney" for crowd sing-alongs.
As Frank stood up on the crowd, some punter tried to pull his pants down
to which he said “Oi don’t pull my pants down ya cunt”, which made
me lose my proverbial shit. Their ability to convey the rawness and passion from
CD into their live performance was truly outstanding, with Abandon
Ship and In The Belly of a Shark being the highlights.  

To me, the best thing
about summer is the first sip of a nice cold beer, best friends and
listening to pop-punk, and that’s the exact situation I had going on for
during American six-piece pop-punk band Set Your Goals. Their
set was fun and full of energy, with vocalist Mat Wilson encouraging
the crowd to start circle pits for every song. Playing tracks off their
latest album This Will Be The Death of Us,
with Look Closer and my personal favourite Summer Jam (which really got the crowd moving), as well as an old song, Goonies Never
Say Die!. Vocalists Mat Wilson and Jordan Brown dominated the stage
with dual vocals for Echoes, and a huge dust storm formed from the circle pit. They ended
their set with Muntiny! which for me was the highlight of the set with
fast paced riffs, heavy bass lines and catchy drumming; they had the
entire crowd singing along with them word for word.
However I was severely disappointed (as I’m sure many others were) that
they did not play The Few That Remain (Ft. Hayley Williams of Paramore
who is also part of the SW tour)
as I was eagerly awaiting a rap attack from Hayley Williams. 

I only managed
to catch the last half of Emarosa’s set, and was impressed
by their live performance. Vocalist Jonny Craig is without a doubt one
of the most talented vocalists on this tour. His ability to change vocal
range from his high, shrilling screams to soft, calming singing in
The Past Should Stay Dead sends shivers down my spine. For the record;
Dance Gavin Dance made a huge mistake when they kicked out Jonny.  

With the day
getting hotter, I decided to grab some refreshments and something to
eat. Waiting in line near stage 3, I got to watch Motion City Soundtrack
who are no strangers to our shores. They treated fans to songs off their
new record My Dinosaur Life, from Disappear to the melodic
Her Words Destroyed My Planet and ended their set with Everything
is Alright.
 

After sculling
a bottle of water and destroying a hotdog, I made my way to the main
stage where I sat down to watch Alexisonfire. It’s always a
treat to watch these Canadian post hardcore masters play, and this time was no different as their set
was as enthralling and enjoyable as always. Vocalist George Pettit showed off his
colours, wearing boxers with the Canadian maple leaf. With their new
album Old Crows/Young Cardinals
and George changing his vocal style, their set became more diverse allowing
them to utilise triple vocals creating a mind-blowing set from Hey,
It’s Your Funeral Mama to Boiled Frogs.  

You’re a
liar if you say you don’t have a crush on Paramore’s lead
singer Hayley Williams. A filthy, filthy liar. Their Australian tour
has been long overdue and they opened their set with Ignorance
getting the crowd chanting “Ignorance is your new best friend”.
Hayley radiates energy and has a smile that makes men weak
at the knees and women question their sexuality. They charged through
their set with That’s What You Get, Careful and Looking Up,
as well as an old song Pressure.
They concluded their set with Bring By Boring Brick, 
a fast paced yet melodic song.  

I decided to
sit down and enjoy Placebo at bar 6, finding a nice comfy spot; I was ready to worship Brian Molko. Opening the set with For What
It’s Worth and continuing with Every Me and Every You, it
seemed like their set had ended before it even began, maybe it was the
heat? Either way, I passed out for a bit but before I knew it they were playing their
last song, Taste In Men.

By now I was
beginning to get pissed off about the weather and how there wasn’t adequate shade for people. I put my anger aside and tried to
enjoy the next band. As AFI walked onto stage the crowd went
mental. Davey Havok sported a gold jacket, which was incredibly sexy,  and opened with Medicate off their new album Crash Love.
However it was their old songs from Girl’s Not Grey, Silver and
Cold and Miss Murder that got the most reception. I was disappointed
that they didn’t play Veronica Sawyer Smokes, 
as i’m a Winona Ryder fan and obviously because it’s a badass song. 

Pop punk heroes
All Time Low return to Australia for their second Soundwave Festival.
Running from stage 1 to stage 4, I arrived just in time.
They were last here in 2009 for the Take Action tour and only played
songs off So Wrong, It’s Right,
so I was finally keen to hear their new album Nothing Personal
played live. They opened with Weightless
and got the entire crowd singing along “Maybe It’s not my weekend,
but it’s gonna be my ear”. Throughout the set, singer Alex Gaskarth
and guitarist Jack Barakat continued making vulgar dick and titty jokes, which the crowd absolutely loved; I must admit, I did too. Pop punk
is making a comeback and its bands like All Time Low that are leading
the revolution. They blasted through their set with Lost In Stereo
and the most infectious song Stella, which I couldn’t help but sing along to.  

Journeying
back to stage 2, it’s impossible to describe in words just how excited
I was for Jimmy Eat World. However, Janes Addiction
was still playing, and Jesus Christ; I have never ever wanted to kill
myself so badly. Their set was boring, dull and monotonous, there was
just one thought on my mind; suicide. Also Dave Navarro, put on a fucking
shirt, no one cares about your tattoos and take that cigarette out of
your mouth when you’re playing you cocky bastard.  

Finally, the
band I’ve been waiting to see all day; JIMMY EAT FUCKING WORLD
entered the stage. Do you remember when you first started listening
to music and you loved the way it made you feel, an almost euphoric
sensation? Back when you were innocent and only cared about the music
before fashion came into play and then it became about who had the newest
band shirt or whose musical taste was better? Listening to Jimmy Eat World, those feelings of innocence and joy flowed through my body once again. They started
off the set with Sweetness with Jim Adkin’s vocals sounding
just as beautiful as ever. They apologised for not coming earlier to
tour Chase This Light; and continued to play a few songs from
said album from Let it Happen
to Always Be. From the first guitar riff of 23 I got goosebumps
and cold chills down my back. No other set has engaged me so much in
my entire life and while I write this I feel overwhelmed as I’m seeing
them again tonight. It was the most perfect setlist with Bleed American,
Pain and the final song The Middle
that got the entire racecourse moving. Fuck, it was awesome.  

What better
way to finish they day than with US pop punk giants A Day To Remember.
The infamous “da da da de da da da da da da de da da da” started
the set on The Downfall of us All
getting the crowd chanting along; it was the most impressive scene I
have witnessed. Their set was loud, heavy and raw as fuck. Playing songs
off their newest album Homesick
the crowd couldn’t have been happier. They continued with a cover
Over My Head (The Fray) and Mr. Highway's Thinking About The
End; this song has the most brutal breakdown in existence. Ending
the night with The Plot To Blow The Panhandle; the crowd walked
away looking fulfilled.  

Overall it
was a fantastic day, and kudos to the Soundwave team for putting on such
a great festival.