Sick of being handed booklets at summer festivals telling you how to behave? EAGLES OF DEATH METAL vocalist JESSE HUGHES provides his own guide for girls, guys, getting down and festivals. TOM HERSEY relays the message.

Australia is currently inundated with music festivals. Over the last few years festivals have sprung up, seemingly out of thin air. When they were once confined loosely to the summer months, festivals are now an all year round thing (because there aren’t enough weekends in summer for all of them).

With the sudden eruption of music festivals catering to diverse musical tastes and different groups of people, there’s been some confusion about appropriate behaviour and festival etiquette. What’s more, what’s considered acceptable at one type of festival may be a major faux pas at another.

If there’s anyone who should know about the subtleties and eccentricities of festivals, it’s Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes. Leading his Eagles Of Death Metal to festivals all over the globe, Hughes has come up with a few insightful rules of thumb for dealing with festivals.

“Boys should remember that girls are cool and that you don’t need to bullshit them, you just need to be straight up. And erections really help when it comes down to getting down. Being able to achieve an erection is a good thing, so don’t get too blasted on coke. Other than that, listen to Eagles Of Death Metal and love your mum and your festival will be a blast.”

Those who have witnessed EoDM on their last two Australian tours will attest to the booty-shakin’, copulation-makin’ power of the set by Jesse and his band of rock & roll luminaries. The good time jangle of their tunes is sure to be a similar hit at Soundwave, because, as Jesse sees it, “It’s hard to say no to the fun show and Eagles Of Death Metal are the fun show, because we like girls. It’s hard to say no to that, it’s like saying no to fairy floss; you’d have to be a pretty big asshole to say no to fairy floss.”

It’s hard to say no to some of this summer’s festivals too. When we chat about festivals, Jesse’s voice becomes laced with a child-like giddiness. Loving the notion behind festivals, Jesse admits to relishing the challenge that comes along with sharing the big outdoor stages. “I love playing festivals man, I love it. It’s the closest thing you can get to a circus atmosphere without bearded ladies and the smell of elephant shit. And it also puts you in front of your peers. It’s the only time you really get to be surrounded by a community of artists when you’re playing shows. So it’s like a challenge, it’s like ‘get up here and rock, dick!’”

Despite all their experience playing festivals on bills like Coachella and Reading, Jesse is still wary of sharing the stage and facing the challenge of one act in particular at Soundwave. Who might that be you ask. Faith No More? Jane’s Addiction? “We’re going up against Anvil, that’s intimidating. Anvil are the only act on the Soundwave festival that scares me. They’ve got that whole underdog thing going. Dude! Metal On Metal baby, it’s a classic.”

EAGLES OF DEATH METAL play Soundwave on Saturday Feb 20 at the RNA Showgrounds alongside Faith No More, Jane’s Addiction, Placebo, Anthrax and a buttload more acts. www.myspace.com/eaglesofdeathmetal / www.soundwavefestival.com

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