Yep, it's that time again. First, the good.
With the exception of Dream On, Dreamer, every band I saw played an excellent set. I'm sure Dream On, Dreamer's fans thought they did an excellent job, but metalcore is not my scene and I despise the stupid straightened-hair-and-fringe look so I suppose I'm a tad biased against them. Saves The Day were pretty shameless in their use of one of the best albums ever (the first 40 minutes of their set was Weezer's Pinkerton in its entirety) to promote their relatively bland emo-pop, but they played it pretty respectfully so they are forgiven. Gojira and Meshuggah were tight and mercilessly heavy, In Flames were a pleasant surprise for a skeptic, Mastodon remain a favourite for anyone who likes their metal to be interesting and Slipknot were at their most camp, over the top best. The act who takes the day was, as they always are, The Dillinger Escape Plan, whose destructive antics were matched only by the incredible tightness with which they played. Most disappointing show goes to headliners System Of a Down, who played a functional but relatively uninteresting set. Great songs, sure, but nothing to write home about.
The inevitable bad.
The Perth organisers of Soundwave 2012 must have been huffing some sort of industrial solvent, because changing the timetable after the program has been printed, then changing it again the evening before is, without a doubt, the most retarded shit any organisers could pull. It was effectively impossible to properly plan your day and led to people missing the first few songs of bands they wanted to see all day. You dropped the ball, you pack of spastics, don't do it again.
Although it was no-one's fault, the heat put something of a damper on proceedings, with my pale companion getting some vicious sunstroke. To be fair, it's partly his own fault for drinking nothing but Coke and Lift all day when water was free, plentiful and better for you, but I'm not a complete arsehole.
Now, the serious part, the ugly.
I understand that working security is a tough gig. I understand the pay isn't great and you have to deal with drunk idiots. I understand you're under some pretty strict instructions to not let anyone get on stage and to eject potential trouble makers. I get it. But seriously, don't be a dick, security guys. If the band says to let a guy come on stage, just let him. Seriously, it's one guy. If a guy is getting rowdy, don't four of you jump on him and start kicking him while he's on the ground. That probably won't calm him down. Quite the opposite, in fact. Security is (to my understanding, at least) about keeping people secure, not giving fans a hard time just for getting excited. Chill the fuck out, guys.
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