I step into The Tivoli, Brisbane, and it's all tinsel, fairy lights, and holiday magic.
This isn't your average gig or my usual festive scene – it's Furnace and the Fundamentals: A Very Furnace Christmas. My first live Furnace experience, and judging by the eager queue outside, I'm in for something special tonight (21 December).Surprises greet me instantly: DJ Grinch is on support, and Santa's here – well, sort of. The Tiv's mini stage is decked out in holiday grandeur: red carpet, nutcracker soldiers, gift props, and St. Nick's oversized throne.
DJ Grinch cranks up the energy, spinning bass-heavy bangers that have Christmas caps and reindeer horns bouncing. His masked charisma and nostalgic tracks have us buzzing. This Grinch isn't stealing Christmas – he's igniting it. By set's end, I'm sold: if DJ Grinch is on a line-up, get there early, grab a bevvie, and prepare to dance like 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' just got banned forever.
Meanwhile, another queue forms – not for drinks but for snaps with Santa. Grown men outnumber the beer crowd, which says everything about tonight's vibe. Santa's lap tally surpasses a hundred by the time he wraps up as the headliners take over.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
Tonight, Furnace (Elliott Crane, lead vocals) is possibly Ebenezer Scrooge, Digby Robinson (guitar, sax) is Santa, Lachlan Nicolson (keys) is an elf, Marcus Anderson (bass) and Tom Mackenzie (guitar) are candy canes, and Mike Solo (drums) is a snowman.
The main stage is a holiday fever dream: a staircase, giant digital backdrop, candy cane centrepiece, nutcracker soldiers, and enough lights to rival an overachieving neighbour's yard.
Digby and the crew kick off with a quirky '70s-style aerobics class getting everyone warmed up and clued in for the night's lyric twists. The whole shebang is ostentatious. The stage comes alive with 'The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year' as we join in the fun and the energy shift in the room is immediate.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
We also get clued up on how the night may unfold and lyric modulations, so we can join in when they hit. It paints a pretty clear picture that we are in for a full-blown Christmas Mardi Gras of sorts.
From there, it's festive chaos: 'What I Like About You' slides into 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree', sparking a giant dance-off. Drinks spill, air keytars emerge, and it's clear this isn't your typical carols by candlelight.
'Let It Snow' segues into a punky 'Blitzkrieg Bop' before a surprising nod to 'Frozen'. It's impossible not to get swept up in the flurry of it. Ha! A Christmas-fied version of 'YMCA': "Get the lights on the tree. Get the music pumpin' and do whatever we feel! Let's have some fun,'cos it's Christmas today!" You're singing it aren't you?
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
This crowd doesn't just sing along – they are shouting it, arms up in the air like they're part of a flash mob. 'YMCA' shook the foundations and has brought down an avalanche of Christmas presents raining from the rafters of the Tiv. People scramble for the inflatables and any hidden treasures like kids under a tree on Christmas morning. It's chaotic. It's ridiculous. It's perfect fun.
Medleys of 'Wake Me Up' and 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' unleash mass karaoke, while a non-metal mosh pit erupts for 'Cotton Eyed Joe'. Disco vibes follow with 'What A Feeling', and Digby channels Irene Cara with wild abandon. Respect. It's loud, unpolished, and utterly joyous.
'Just Can't' and 'The Time Of My Life' comes with much mayhem, before a curve ball from a now darkened stage, I recognise 'Gangsta's Paradise' and fans are rapping while watching Coolio's ghosts onstage. I'm sorry, who gave them the right to be this brilliant? It's a visual treat!
Then in contrast, 'Backstreet's Back' hits, and every millennial is living their best life, screaming lyrics they'd forgotten they knew – I watch along as I don't 'Wanna Be' no millennial! Jokes.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
After another mashup of 'One More Time' and 'Brightside', I see the band doesn't seem to take themselves seriously, but their musicianship is nothing to sneeze at. Effortlessly switching between genres, shredding through everything from cheesy pop to hard rock.
Like now, 'Reindeer' their take on Ginuwine's 'Pony' is ridiculous, yet sultry (never thought I'd use those two words together) and they mash it fabulously with 'Jingle Bells' like turkey and cranberry sauce. As the band rides through the crowd, kids' faces light up, reminding us all of the season's joy.
'All I Want For Christmas Is You' is clearly not banned and is predictably a banger. 'White Christmas' mashes with Fatman Scoop's 'Be Faithful'. How? Why? Who cares! It's incredible.
Next, a medley of 'Oh What A Night', 'C'mon Eileen' and 'Starships' has me cutting loose before sending me bonkers with a medley starting with a favourite 'Hotel California' and 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town'.
A chaotic game of pass-the-parcel adds to the madness. A parcel cracks me in the ear and a nearby punter swoops to grab it before it hits the floor. The man behind me nabbed another flying his way and he got a Furnace and the Fundamentals tea towel. It's chaos, generosity, and insanity wrapped into one.
Following 'Last Christmas', I witness Rage Against the Machine's lyrics "killing in the name of" changed up to "giving in the name of" and melded with 'Jump Around'. Horns are high.
A throwback to a '70s medley is now flooding me with early childhood nostalgia with 'Dancing Queen', 'Why Do Birds' and 'New York' ahead of a snowman drum off with not two but three snowmen under spotlights. My imaginary maracas come out to play for 'Love Is In The Air' with a 'Feliz Navidad (chorus reprise)'.
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
After band introductions hammed up to the max, I might add we are treated to a rocking medley of 'Sweet Dreams', '7 Nation Army' and 'We Are The Champions' that is a sheer discombobulating delight, sending the audience into an enchanted trance of song and dance.
Then, after 'Christmas (Love) Is All Around' and 'Shout', the finale 'Sweet Caroline', is reimagined as "It's Christmas Time, ba, ba, ba!" We sway, we shout, we celebrate. The music and visual display and performances have been stunning all night long!
Amazing costumes, inflatable props, avalanches of fake snow, balloons and presents, confetti and CO2 cannons, cold sparks and more Christmas lights than your overachieving neighbour's front yard. Every moment feels like a snapshot of holiday madness, and it's impossible not to get swept up in it.
The theatrics of Santa in a Santa sled giving out presents, to Furnace blasting Grinch and Digby with CO2 hand gun, Grinch and Santa Digby having a brawl – because, of course, Grinch stole the presents!
Image © Clea-marie Thorne
As we raise our hands for the finale pic with the band, I reflect: Christmas can be about family, shopping, or partying, but tonight, it's about unrepentant, ridiculous joy. This Aussie six piece has nailed it – "humanity's most exhilarating dance party" might just become my annual festive kick-off!
More photos from the concert.
