TOO MANY GOD DAMN DJ's

So it's been a while since i last posted, but frankly thats because nothing has been happening. Since you can't tell by the title i should tell you, I went to Big Day Out on sunday, i should have posted earlier but ive been damn lazy and to be honest the festival was such a let down i really havent been inspired to write about it. So since it was such a lack lustre festival i may just write something small, having said that my ranting may take up a lot of space so we'll just see how we go.

The Big Day Out this year was held on the Victoria Park foreshore and this was just the first of many problems. The main problem with the location was the lack of room, the problem for the organisers was how easy it was for people to break in. But i digress. The first band i saw was Cavalera Conspiracy and, well, they were awesome. The first thing i did when i got to the (tiny) main stage pit was participate in a wall of death. Now in my experience when you start the day with something so epic its a good day. Max Cavalera commanded the stage, he was loud and aggresive and everything you expect a brazillian metal god to be. I really did enjoy this set, but unfortunately i arrived late and it was all over too soon at which point i found myself asking "what now?".

So i decided to go sit in what little shade i could find and wait for The Living End to start there set. This is when i got the biggest surprise of the day. On a stage near me a band called Mariachi el Bronx started playing on a stage near me. Now i cant say I'd go out and buy there music but to just sit there and listen to they were kinda cool. As the name suggests they're a mariachi version of the band The Bronx. There lyrics seemed simple and quite pop punky but when it was done in this mariachi style it was fun, it was kinda relaxing, it was just good music to chill out to while waiting. I can say i thoroughly enjoyed this band and, franklyl, I'd definately go see them again... But not as The Bronx becuase god damn i hate hardcore.

Like i said i waited patiently to watch The Living End, mainly because there was nothing else to see. It was a good show but, in all honesty, it was the same Living End I've seen before. The set was good with both old and new songs, but at no point did i really get excited to see them.Chris Chenning is a good frontman, with plenty of energy and loads of passion but ultimately the best thing i couls say about watching this set is that Scott Owen has a fucking awesome double bass. If i had to predict though I'd say i probably wouldn't go and see them again they're just starting to bore me.

The Living End

This is where Big Day Out started to get really boring. Once The Living End finished I had five hours to kill before soundgarden played. I roamed to festival grounds looking for a band worth seeing but nearly every band i saw was either a dj or vocalists singing through FUCKING COMPUTERS!!! I'm sorry, but if I go out to see live music I want to see people playing actual instruments, otherwise i dont really see the point in it. It shits me that Big Day Out has decided to commercialise themselves. A festival with a starting line up that included the likes of Nirvana, Henry Rollins and The Violent Femmes. How do they celebrate the 20th anniversary of such a great festival? With music that sounds like a god damn dial up tone! So I decided to find the one place a could sit and just relax for a few hours until something good started. Luckily Motorola had an area with shade and cabana chairs to sit in as long as you listened to there rediculous sales pitch. Unluckily this area had another DJ.

Tony Hawk, juset before he fell again

Chaos Divine

After a few hours I grew weary of the DJ that just couldnt bring himself to play a single song in its entirety so I decided to go and check out a local perth band called Chaos Devine. I was impressed straight away when the front man expressed my exact sentiment "it's nice to see a band actually playing instruments". It was also good to hear a bit more metal. The music was a bit poppy as metal goes but it was good but once again it wasnt memorable all I can say is I'd see them again but I wouldnt go out of my way. So I walked off to see Tony Hawk stack it about five time. Surprisingly this wasnt that fun either so I made my way to the main stage.

I got to the main stage just in time to see kasabian play but thet most interesting thing about them was the braless girl dancing next to me so lets just ignore them. After them were Soundgarden, the band i had been endured 5 hours of terrible DJs and computers for. They were totally worth the wait though, Chris Cornell is great front man and the quality of his voice hasnt decreased at all. Kim Thayil is also an incredible guitarist and some of his solos were just amazing. But the main attraction for me was Ben Sheppard he was just so animated and fun on stage. He ever stopped moving. The cherry on top of all of this was the roadies, one dressed a cow and one dressed as lion, they were awesome. The setlist was fantastic starting with Spoonman and going through all the classics you would expect them to play like Jesus Christ Pose, Outshined, Black Hole Sun and many more. My highlight was Rusty Cage, Chris sang with such passion, the song began to inspire me to fight for what I want again. I think soundgarden is one of the shows I will always remember and I am so glad i got the chance to see these grunge legends.

Soundgarden from a distance

So Cavalera was good and Soundgarden were amazing but all in all BDO 2012 is one of the worst festivals I have ever been to. All it taught me is even at my young age, I just dont understand todays music.

Anyway untill next time, metal on my friends
The Oompa Loompa