Soundwave 2014 @ RNA Showgrounds, 22.02.2014: Part 2

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Although I wrote a few notes at the time for Part 1, I didn’t write anything down for the rest of day, Relying on my memory a year later is going to make the remainder of these posts fairly brief.

I’m late getting to Stage 6 for Trash Talk and as I turn my attention to the stage, realise that everyone else if focusing on the singer who’s prowling the photo pit with us. I should have taken more time to set myself up and gone and gotten a flash but stupidly just decide to wing it as I’ve already missed a song or two and didn’t want to lose any more shooting time. The three song limit doesn’t seem to apply and everyone stays around long after that point has been and gone. I didn’t really expect to get anything but manage to save a few photos that aren’t too bad, all things considered.

Pulled Apart By Horse are the discovery of the day. There was something Zeppelin-esque about them, with huge guitar riffs and thundering drums. However, editing photos the following day and listening to them on Spotify, they’re just not the same.

I’d never seen GWAR before but know exactly what to expect. Knowing what was coming I made sure I was well prepared with a cheap $5 waterproof jacket (with a $2 poncho for emergency back- up) and my waterproof camera jacket. Despite all this, my main regret afterwards is that I still erred on the side of caution and distance rather than just getting right in there to photograph. My first port of call after shooting them is the bathroom to clean myself up. Whatever they make that fake blood from, it’s a fairly horrible thing, really sticky and hard to remove. The stains on my hat are still there a year and countless washes later. It’s sad to think that only a few weeks after these photos were taken vocalist Oderus Urungus/Dave Brockie died.

I know I saw Panic! At The Disco because I have the photos to prove it but can’t remember anything about the experience.

Filter start late due to technical issues and only manage to fit in four songs before they run out of time. I think the changeover time between acts is only something like 20 minutes which is fairly short given the stage has to be cleared by the previous band before the next band can set up. Do I remember something from AJ saying that he’d get them back again to make up for them only playing such a short set?

I’ve seen Clutch before, when they played the long-forgotten Overcranked back in 2007 or 2008. They’re a lot more enjoyable than I remember and I regret never listening to the promo version of their last album that someone sent me.

Regular readers will know if there’s one thing I hate, it’s musicians (and by that I really mean singers) coming out and performing with a drink in their hand. So Pennywise’s singer annoys me from the very start. I think I might have seen them before, at Reading a long, long time ago. They play that US style of punk that I think I like even less than the UK style of punk.

+++ (Crosses) are next up. A lot of people seem to be really into them (and their album). I enjoy photographing (as always) but it’s fairly pedestrian musically.