Sweatfest 08 was a bit of a disaster to be honest, as The Acacia Strain, Suicide Silence and A Day To Remember were no-shows due to flight complications. Apparently the story goes that the Virgin Blue flight that all the bands were on was cancelled when the plane touched another in taxi. I couldn’t find it in any news reports, but I’ve heard this story from a few different people on the night and since.

Kudos must go out to Parkway Drive, who flew all the way from Perth, to Melbourne, and back to Adelaide just to play that night. Their efforts went some way to making up for the disappointment many fans were feeling, although the tiredness was showing, with the band making a few uncharacteristic timing slip ups. Personally, I was so pissed off at missing TAS that I don’t think even their best show ever could have made me forget my sorrows.

Local act Crater Face were on first, and mostly failed to impress me. They were followed by Confession, who put on a pretty tight performance, but whether it was because of my disappointment or otherwise, they just couldn’t seem to make me care. Then there was what seemed an interminable wait before Parkway Drive arrived, weary but undeterred, to play their set. Altogether, not the greatest show I’ve ever seen.

A couple of nights ago saw the Declaration World Tour wind up right here in our fair city. I have to say how much I enjoy watching shows at the Governor Hindmarsh. It’s a great venue and I’m always happy when acts choose it over, say, HQ or Fowlers.

Starting off the night were Melbourne’s In Trenches, who put on a very decent show with an almost Misery Signals-y feel to the songs and good stage presence. I may have to check those guys out in more detail at some point. They were followed soon after by As Blood Runs Black, who, whilst certainly being very technically proficient, played a set that quickly bored me, with songs that seemed to deteriorate into a mess of interminable gallop beats and ho-hum breakdowns.

I had a front-row spot to watch the next act, and the reason for me being at the gig, Between the Buried and Me, and let me tell you, these guys did not disappoint. Their set was absolutely magical from end to end. Astounding musicianship, epic songs, and a fantastic atmosphere left the crowd hungry for more. It seemed to myself and some others that I spoke with that BTBAM drew the biggest crowd of the night, somewhat confirming my thoughts that they should have headlined this gig.

Had they headlined, they most likely would have played all of Colors from start to finish, followed by some older songs, which would have been amazing to see. Time being what it was, the crowd would have to make do with a mix of classic songs from Alaska and Colors (and possibly The Silent Circus? I can’t remember now). The set ended with massive applause from the audience, and me up on the railings, horns raised, with a massive grin on my face. If you didn’t go, here’s a sample of what you missed out on:

“Prequel to the Sequel” off the 2008 DVD “Colors_LIVE“

Rounding off the gig were California’s Bleeding Through, who put on a solid, intense set, but couldn’t really live up to the genius and diversity of BTBAM. To my ears, they are still playing exactly the same music as last time I saw them a few years ago at the Adelaide UniBar.

I managed to have a chat to some of the guys from BTBAM after the gig and they were all amazingly friendly and genuine for people who just reached the end of a tour and were most likely exhausted. I also got a photo with the bass player, which I’ll throw up as soon as I grab it from a friend’s camera.

*UPDATE* Here’s that photo:

Still to come this year we have The Parallels Australian Tour, Soundwave 2009 and The Summer Slaughter Tour. Speaking of Soundwave, the timetable has been released, so check it out if you are going. If you missed out on any of the above, do yourself a favour and get in early this time. You won’t be dissapointed. Unless another plane gets cancelled of course…