This February, there are two major festivals vying for your dollars, travelling around the whole country. In one corner, Soundwave – bringing pure Rock and Roll to all major cities. In the other – Good Vibrations – the well established institution bringing the dance. Now of course some of you will be tempted to head along to both – but for the rest, which to choose? This handy guide will help you spend that cash wisely!
Part One: The Crowds
“Trendy crowds” are fast becoming the norm at Festivals – much to the detest of many patrons. Groups of people, not so much there for the music, but rather just to “be there”, take up a larger portion of a given festival crowd each and every year. This said, it’s always the newer festivals at which you’ll find the least trendy of the crowds – and so Soundwave Festival is the easy winner here. It helps too, that the line-up is SO massive, that clashes will force true fans of each and every band to be seen at each and every stage. Push to the front to mosh your heart out, or hang back and watch the mayhem. In either case you’ll meet people who love the bands you do. I wouldn’t count on this at Good Vibes, I’m afraid.
Winner: Soundwave
Part Two: The Atmosphere
With the above said, the longer a festival has been around, the better the atmosphere. Indeed you have the “trendy crowds”, but they help make the day into more than JUST a day. It’s kind of like Christmas – sure you don’t NEED a tree, but what would it be without it? Just presents. And without the shiny veneer something is surely lost. Let’s look at the Big Day Out as the ultimate Australian example – no Festival even comes remotely close to matching the atmosphere of this event. It’s a Big Day in every sense of the word – and every single positive and negative aspect help make it this way. With Good Vibes now its 7th year, and showcasing a good mix of dance and hip-hop to keep everyone on their feet – this will be a big day in its own right.
Winner: Good Vibrations
Part Three: The Queues
Each city is of course different, but it’s always a safe bet to go with the long running festival to provide us with the shortest queues. The idea is that they know what they’re doing, and working with a venue they’ve been at for quite some time. But queues are of course inescapable. Or are they?
In all of my experiences at both Good Vibes and Soundwave, there has always been at least one bar, and one section of bathrooms, which have significantly shorter queues than the rest. So don’t feel like you HAVE to stick with a long queue just because it’s sitting in front of you. Have a wander – you might get lucky!
Hmmm. I probably shouldn’t have shared this information.
Winner: Good Vibrations
And Finally: The Line-Ups
Of course this comes down to taste, but there is absolutely no denying who has the more impressive lineup, in sheer numbers, giving you much more “bang for your buck”. Ah yes, this is Soundwave.
While the amazing grab of Faith No More is more than enough to convince most to attend, they back this up with an incredible variety of international artists, collectively representing the last 20+ years of rock and roll for a wide variety of tastes.
Janes Addiction, Placebo, Paramore, AFI, My Chemical Romance, HIM, Eagles of motherfucking Death Metal, ANTHRAX, Motion City Soundtrack, Anvil …. shit, I could go on all day.
But let’s not ignore Good Vibrations here – they have pulled out their most impressive and daring lineup to date, placing Hip Hop fans in particular in awe – Busta Rhymes, Z-TRIP, Kid Cudi, Naughty by Nature, Salt n Pepa, KillaQueenz just to name a few… not to mention the dance grooves of The Gossip, Art vs Science, Basement Jaxx and Friendly Fires. But let’s just ignore the fact The Killers will once again be headlining an Australian festival less than 12 months after their V Festival stint.
Winner: Soundwave
So who’s the overall winner?
Fuck. It’s dead even. This guide wasn’t handy at all, was it?
Ah well, you probably know which festival is for you already anyway.
So we’ll see you there – dancing and/or rock and rolling the day away.
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Find out more about Good Vibrations Festival, as well as Soundwave in our gig guide!
https://www.theaureview.com/guide/festivals
