After a couple of rescheduled dates and other behind the scenes dramas as a direct result of COVID, Australia’s newest music festival, Uncaged, is finally set to touch down in Sydney on April 23 and Brisbane on April 24.
One of the headliners, who also happen to have to travel from overseas (kind of), is New Zealand rock outfit Shihad, with vocalist Jon Toogood doing his best to not get too excited despite the fact the show is now less than 24 hours away.
Toogood joined HEAVY for a chat not long before boarding the plane bound for Uncaged.
"One thing we have learned over the last couple of years is never trust anything is going to happen until you're actually there,” he laughed. “So, I'm tempering my excitedness because it's been a couple of very hard years if you are in a band and moving shows around and postponing and cancelling and rescheduling... it's been a nightmare but hats off to all the support staff and technicians and everybody else. I've not become cynical, but I've definitely learnt to temper my enthusiasm so I don't get heartbroken by it. It's been pretty isolating. I've done a few live streaming things but it's not the same as being in the room. I am really looking forward to Uncaged and I am excited."
In the full interview, Jon talks us through the stop start nature of live shows in the modern age and how Shihad deals with it, what to expect from their live show, the response to last years album Old Gods, who they are most looking forward to playing with at Uncaged and more.