It was a Sunday night and Brisbane's emo kids, both young and old, packed out The Fortitude Music Hall for the final stop of An Emo Extravaganza tour.
It was a five-band, eyeliner-running, voice-losing marathon with a Taking Back Sunday DJ set soundtracking every beer run and bathroom cry break (1 March).
The first band of the night was This Wild Life, featuring Kevin Jordan with lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Anthony Del Grosso on lead guitar and backing vocals, playing 'Clouded' in full.
They stepped onto the stage with nothing but guitars, harmonies, and the weight of a debut album that turned ten years old while we weren't looking. No shortcuts. No medleys. No safe hit singles – only the album's track list.
Kevin took a moment before 'Looking Back' to talk about the struggle with playing an album in full. "So the thing with playing old albums is that inherently within every album, there's what we call deep cuts on albums, okay?
This Wild Life - image © KealiJoan Studios
"And deep cuts are the scariest thing for a band to perform because all we want to do is have sing-alongs with people, right? And so, this album is over ten years old now, and this song was never a music video, never a single.
"We've never played it on tour before; and so, I'm really scared. There's not enough hardcore This Wild Life fans to sing-along with me, but I would be very, very pleasantly surprised if those few guys out there are singing along to this next song."
Turns out, Brisbane knew the words. What could have been a quiet moment became one of collective reassurance and proof that even the 'deep cuts' had found a home here.
Next up, and making their Australian debut, Broadside exploded onto the stage with a mix of gratitude and beautifully chaotic self-awareness, with band members Oliver Baxxter on vocals, Pat Diaz on bass, Domenic Reid on guitar and Tay Ewart on the drums.
Before their track 'Foolish Believer', Oliver joked with the crowd: "This one goes out to anyone stupid enough to follow their dreams, you just might end up in another country with a white microphone talking about your f...ing daddy issues."
There's something uniquely powerful about watching a band play their first show on your soil, that sense of arrival, of proof. Broadside didn't just play, they lunged headfirst into the room, and Brisbane met them in the middle, screaming every insecurity right back at them.
Broadside - image © KealiJoan Studios
Third to grace the stage was Hot Chelle Rae, armed with 'Whatever', the album that once blasted through car stereos and cheap festival speakers in 2011; hearing it front to back was like unlocking a summer you forgot you stored.
The band consisted of multi-talented vocalist Nash Overstreet, alongside drummer Jamie Follesé and guitarist Jimi Greene, but the real drama arrived mid-set with Nash stating: "We just recorded the first album we recorded, since this album we are playing tonight called 'Whatever'. The first album since 2011. We've finished it, it is not out anywhere on Earth, except for these drives right here; and my label just said, don't do it; and we say, f... it."
Then they threw USB drives containing sneak peeks of the unreleased record into the crowd, telling people to share it around. No streaming rollout. No teaser campaign. Just physical proof passed into the crowd like contraband. It felt defiant. Intimate. The kind of move that reminds you that pop rock still has teeth when it wants to.
Hot Chelle Rae - image © KealiJoan Studios
For many in the room, it was their first time seeing Cartel, and the band's first time back in Australia in over a decade. Playing 'Chroma' in full for its 20th anniversary, they delivered shimmering hooks and earnest emotion that still hits two decades on.
On the stage was Will Pugh on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Joseph Pepper on lead guitar and backing vocals, Nic Hudson on guitar and backing vocals, and Kyle Adams on the drums.
"I hope that we can come back to Australia as soon as possible because we really do love it here," Will shared, a sentiment loudly reciprocated by a crowd that had waited years for this moment.
Cartel - image © KealiJoan Studios
Bathed in red lighting, Anberlin closed the night celebrating 20 years of 'Never Take Friendship Personal'. With Memphis May Fire's Matty Mullins stepping in on vocals, the performance felt less like a replacement era and more like a tribute to legacy.
"I'm just an Anberlin fan who came here to keep the legacy moving forward. That's my job, and I get to spend a lot of time with these guys behind the scenes, in buses and aeroplanes and hotels, and it gets me so stoked to report to you that in the last 25 years, you've been supporting some really, really beautiful human beings," Matty said.
"These guys are quickly become my family over the last few years. So thank you, thank you to the Anberlin fans. All the way across the world. This is insane. We're gonna keep this moving. You guys feel all right? We've been celebrating 20 years of 'Never Take Friendship Personal'."
Later, reflecting on the stacked line-up, he added: "It is so crazy to be on a bill with all of these things, it is an honour. On and off the stage, honestly. Cartel was the only show I ever saw at this venue called Showbox at the Market in Seattle, where Chris is from, where I grew up around as well.
Anberlin - image © KealiJoan Studios
"I have a vivid memory of that show, one of the coolest things of all time. Let me just tell you, if I weren't playing this show and I lived in Australia, I would have bought a ticket to see this show."
He was joined by Joseph Milligan on lead guitar, Deon Rexroat on bass, Nathan Young on drums and Christian McAlhaney on rhythm guitar. By the time the final chords rang out, The Fortitude Music Hall was drenched in sweat, in nostalgia, in relief.
The last stop of the tour carried a strange gravity. Every "thank you" sounded heavier. Every chorus lasted a little longer. Nobody wanted to be the first to leave.
An Emo Extravaganza didn't just celebrate anniversaries. It celebrated the endurance of bands, of friendships, of songs that refuse to age even when we do.
