The last couple of weeks have been full of solid work, and keeping me quite busy. The WAMis ran in mid/late Feb, and as always the festival was a big love-in for the local scene. The Panics and Karnivool walked away with a few cakes at Awards Night (‘WAMingtons’ are awarded as prizes instead of statuettes or something else similarly predictable), and Birds of Tokyo & Jebediah pulled out punchy sets. The Saturday Spectacular was bigger and better than before, with the venues being slightly less spread out than last year, making moving in between shows much more convenient. The week finished off with the Aussie Rock Celebration Concert, featuring Noiseworks, Rose Tattoo, The Angels and others. I’ve never seen so many police officers in one place.

But the BEST bit about WAMis is that it happens at the same time as PIAF (Perth International Arts Festival), and the magnificent Becks-sponsored venue is shared between the two. Like the Becks Verandah before it, the new Becks Music Box sports the same drool-worthy lighting setup. I get little twitches in January each year, knowing it’s not long til I get to shoot there again. It really is THAT good.

Sugar Army, Becks Music Box

Jebediah, WAMi Awards Night, Becks Music Box

Last weekend the Soundwave festival rolled into town, the last stop on the tour. Unfortunately for the mainly black-clad crowd, it was a 34 degree day, so the first aid staff were kept pretty busy treating people pulled out of the pit with heatstroke. Other than that, it was a pretty enjoyable day. The setup was similar to a Big Day Out, but on a much smaller scale, meaning I didn’t have to spend 15 minutes battling through crowds only to find out I’d missed my 3-song allocation. My personal favourites on the day were Socratic, As Tall As Lions, and Kevin Devine, and I spent as much time as I could soaking up the indie/acoustic vibe of the acts on Stage 3. I didn’t go near the ‘metal’ stage all day except walking past it when I arrived, and again when I left. There was a problem with the reviewer, so I had the double job of photo/review sprung on me halfway through the afternoon. Relatively hard task when you know nothing about any of the bands, but luckily I had knowledgeable friends who helped me out with setlists and handy tidbits of info. I did ALRIGHT in the photo department, I was expecting a little better of myself, but I get a bit stressed out when I know I have to write about a show (miles outta my comfort zone), so I’m putting the lack of super-quality down to that.

Tyson, Scary Kids Scaring Kids

Geoff Rickly, Thursday

Brandon Boyd, Incubus

So coming up on the agenda is Operation Beehive’s CD launch at Amplifier, and also potentially Thirsty Merc, then the week after I’m doing the Gyroscope Secret Show for Myspace, which I’m really rather stoked about, and THEN the Colors’ EP launch. Lots of fun on the horizon.