Soundwave Festival - Part Two

Soundwave Part One

All Time Low were up next, a pop-punk four piece from Baltimore. The band ran a little late but had a huge crowd waiting for their arrival to stage. The boys opened with Damned If I Do Ya, the crowd immediately hyped up and enjoying the performance. A large variety of songs were played, songs ranging from tracks off their first ever EP, Put Up or Shut Up, to hits off their most recent release, Don't Panic. All Time Low's set was another energy filled performance, the crowd constantly entertained with fast, catchy songs, singalongs and the bands on stage banter.

(Photo by Adam Elmakias)

Next I headed to one of the main arenas for Blink-182. Even though it was largely advertised that Blink were to be headed to Australia as a full band, plans were changed last minute, drummer Travis Barker, unable to make it. Barker was involved in a plane accident in 2008, in which he was the only survivor. Barker hasn't flown since the accident but was determined to make it for Soundwave, but unfortunately could not defeat his fear. Blink-182 instead played with replacement, Brooks Wackerman.

Blink-182 played on Stage 2, a stage that went through a few complications throughout the day. Soundwave occurred the same time as floods occurred in Queensland and New South Wales, causing problems for the trucks with gear heading to the festival. The timetable at Stage 2 was shuffled around throughout the day, bands running late, and the festival being extended 45 minutes so that Paramore could play after The Offspring.

The arena quickly filled up as other bands' sets finished, the mosh pit and seats pretty much entirely filled as Blink hit the stage after setting up their many lights and screens. The band opened with Feeling This, the crowd immediately going off over the fact that Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge were really playing right in front of them. The band played a large range of songs off all their albums, the crowd noticeably not enjoying the songs off their most recent release, Neighbourhoods, compared to all their hits off their earlier albums such as Enema of the State and Dude Ranch.

(Photo by Sammy Roenfeldt)

Blink-182 were also ones to keep the crowd very entertained with Mark and Tom's banter. The band closed with Dammit merged with Family Reunion, which was definitely a highlight of the set. Literally within seconds of Blink's set finishing, The Offspring hit the stage to keep the timetable running on time, due to shuffling of bands' playing times.

After Blink, I headed to Pierce The Veil at Stage 5. Stage 5 was probably the worst stage out of all the Soundwave stages, as it was inside one of Sydney Showground's pavillions, and was far too small for the crowd watching Pierce The Veil.

Pierce The Veil are a pop-punk band from San Diego, California but are better known for their Mexican background. The band opened their set with "May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight" an intro track on their most recent album, Collide With The Sky, which then merged into follow up track Hell Above. The band played a short set only playing 6 or 7 songs but had one of the most energy filled sets, the mosh pit screaming every lyric and jumping and dancing throughout every song, even though Pierce The Veil were one of the last bands of the day for most.

Overall, Soundwave was quite a successful day apart from the few complications involving timetables on Stage 2 and a flare being lit in the mosh for Bring Me The Horizon, causing minor injuries to 2-3 people. This year's Soundwave was the biggest the festival has ever seen, every city selling out within a few days of sale. Everyone who attended the festival seemed to be more than content with their day, very thankful for organiser, AJ Maddah, for putting on the day.