Last Saturday, Brisbane's The Triffid hosted a full-blown Aussie line-up headlined by RedHook.
The Sydney rockers were playing the final show (14 September) of their national Breaking Up With tour and Patient Sixty-Seven, Eat Your Heart Out and The Beautiful Monument were their supports. FOUR bands. You, ripper!Many other punters are also here to support the early acts. This makes me happy and my ears are filled with their chatter as they meet and greet mates and strike up a convo with soon-to-be mates; I say the latter as there is a super friendly vibe in the air.
I join the herd to catch the first act, Patient Sixty-Seven (P67). Jeez! Even with guitarist Rory Venville unable to attend due to personal matters, P67 have got heads banging from their first song.
Tom Kiely (vocals), Declan Le Tessier (guitar) and Richard Alexander (drums) don't miss a trick playing as a trio as they dish up 'Lake Valley' and 'Hibbertia' with an energy that has got punters in the mood and the head-banging turned mosh.
Patient Sixty-Seven - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Punters get into 'Antisocial' while 'No Place' gets a guest appearance from Aaron Gillespie (Underoath) bringing gutsy gutturals to the vocal duet. Kiely tells us how the next song, 'Colours', is a very special song to him, as we are asked to raise our arms and wave them in an arc side-to side. I believe we've become part of a two-piece organic metronome – punters are the moving parts to the band's beat. It's a wholesome scene.
However, that doesn't mean P67 is not heavy at the core – they are indeed metalcore! 'Nothing Inspires Forgiveness Quite Like Revenge' sees mobile phone lights become stars forming a mini constellation within The Triffid's hangar.
Ending with a belter, 'Scattered' is a song we're told was written from a dark place and self-anger. Despite the weight of the lyrics, it's a banger to lose it to. The room features rocking bodies and heads to this one, which concludes with the band calling for a crowd pic – another for the digital memory book.
Set changeover is short and quick. In no time, punters are scurrying back with drinks to witness Caitlin Henry (vocals), Tim Driver (guitar), Will Moore (guitar), Isaac Moses-Considine (bass), and Jake Cronin (drums). This quintet from south of the border (Newcastle) are Eat Your Heart Out (EYHO).
Eat Your Heart Out - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Right from the get-go EYHO prove that perseverance and dedication can get you off the 'Carousel' of self-doubt and on the road to clear your 'Conscience', freeing you to move toward your dreams.
Another guest appearance to mix it up Amy McIntosh from The Beautiful Monument comes onstage to sing up a storm with Henry. They seamlessly blend aggression and melody, and the energy is immense bubbling over into the crowd.
'Twenty Something' kicks! The musicians are keeping it tight as. 'Blood' is followed by 'Scissors In My Skin'; then Henry calls for our assistance to sing-along to 'Down'. Surely, we can handle a single word repetition? Henry still asks us if we are confident, so we reassure her singing: "Down! Down! Down! Down!" very loudly.
This is my first live experience of EYHO and they're rocking it, no doubt on track to bloody big things – because imho they should be up there now! They leave us with yet another fan favourite from their 2019 album 'Florescence', 'Closer To The Sun'. With a cracker of a chorus coming in strong, the fan choir go hard for this one.
The Beautiful Monument (TBM) make their way to the stage to big cheers from the crowd. I have seen them a few times and dig their live performances. I think the last time I caught them was their set supporting Evanescence and they went over a treat with the crowd – they were brilliant.
Lizi Blanco (vocals), Amy McIntosh (bass/ vocals) – both are also from Vilify – with Alex Manhire (guitar) and Adam Pinzone (drums) launch into 'Invisible' and 'Hellbound'. Then this lucky chic gets two out of three of her favourite TBM songs, 'Deceiver' and 'Stay'.
The Beautiful Monument - image © Clea-marie Thorne
TBM is on fire; polished edginess and pumping hard. McIntosh doesn't stay still – EVER! I am dizzy watching her spin and Blanco stalks the stage with her mic with nearly as much energy. Talented Manhire has the energy too, but mostly shines for us through her precision guitar chops.
Blanco asks who in the room has ever heard of them before – it's a mixed bag but a bag that now has more fans. Hearing their latest offering 'Duerme' in all its raw and vulnerable lyricism, played live is an absolute delight. While the song title might mean sleep this kicks serious butt and has heads bobbing and hair thrashing all over the place. It gives a little smidge of a Prodigy vibe in the intro, before careening far from that.
TBM are a dish best served live. While the new single is a banger, we were not quite ready to take a break before hearing more from TBM. Yass! I get my third favourite 'Manifestation' followed by more recent track 'Misery'. With three powerhouse supports, I should be wrecked but the excitement of the headliners coming on next is keeping me pumped.
A steel bar stool sits centre stage near a set list, while a laptop has been placed open on top of it. Over the speakers the laptop introduces itself as the mighty RedHook laptop and tells us this is its show! It then seems to have a meltdown, but no!
Has it been ceased, taken over? It's hard to decipher, but whatever is now speaking, is telling us where will be taken to reach our full head-banging potential and to "get ready to lose your sh.t, make lots of noise and respect each other! Now brace yourselves for the best night of your f...ing life!"
RedHook - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The laptop glows orange and so do some of the stage lights as musicians Craig Wilkinson (guitar), Alex Powys (drums) and Ned Jankovic (bass) enter the stage to loud roars, cheers, and whistles. Cranking it straight up with 'Pyromaniac' (from their album 'Mutation', due to be released in November) Emmy Mack (vocals) in a baggy orange jumpsuit joins them onstage.
Mack has a mic in one hand and the other behind her back. As the chorus kicks in, so do short bursts of cold sparks at the front of the stage. Fans give squeals of delight and laugh as we now see the hand puppet on Mack's hand and she brings it out to sing to us.
Taking us into the night with 'Scream 2' and 'Off With Your Head', it's evident Mack has dialled up the charisma and trebled her ability to exploit the adoration of her fans since returning from recent UK and European tours.
RedHook - image © Clea-marie Thorne
She is a bundle of flame-coloured energy all over the stage, throwing herself on her knees and darting around like. . . well, a blue-arsed fly, as we say Down Under. In fact, frenetic energy abounds from all of the band members and it is feeding their fans.
Lizi Blanco returns to the stage for 'Imposter'. Their vocal interplay is enhancing the song as well as invoking intense emotion in the room adding another dimension to the experience tonight.
We get a Tate McCrae cover, 'Greedy' – the horn section had to be via RedHook laptop, which was misbehaving again! Not to mention that a 'slutty pumpkin' (inflatable costume) that Mack clearly is not expecting, bounds on to the stage. This is hilarious. I mean have you ever seen a pumpkin try to sexy dance? There is no sexy, just a stack of giggles.
RedHook - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Mack couldn't convince Powys to give us a drum solo while the laptop had a few lines of cocaine to get its ram going again. He got a few boos including from me for not playing one for us. Wilkinson sneaks in a couple of bars on sax making the shortest medley ever – my ears picked out 'Careless Whisper', 'Lily Was Here' and 'The Time Is Now'.
Mack calls for our trust. She's asking us to give her a "wall of hugs". Yes. That is an anti-wall of death, encouraging the crowd to run towards each other and embrace when Wilkinson gives his saxophone solo. Mack warns that any inappropriate punters will have her to deal with.
Well, I love me some funky tones and 'Breaking With' has got it. While there are some premature hugging happening, Mack calls for the divide signalling the time for the wall of hugs is now and it does with an explosion of confetti to celebrate! Happy, happy, boppy feels are everywhere. Even the confetti is merrily floating to the ground.
'Tourist' comes before the trilogy of 'Low Budget Horror', 'Dead Walk' and 'Jabberwocky', which all kept the moshpit swirling, feet tapping and heads banging. Heck we even learn the RedHook laptop is not a laptop after all, but a Cu_tputer! That's harsh, Mack! LOL!
Fancy asking fans if we want another heavy one. Of course we do and cheer up a storm for 'Kamikaze'. Wilkinson uses this song to stretch his legs up near his ears some more while playing his axe. Flexible he is!
Henry joins Mack onstage for 'Soju' and it's another powerful collaboration. However, it is not the last duet, as McIntosh gets back up for a song about blowjobs apparently. It is 'Cannibal' and may I say McIntosh delivers a vicious scream, almost ferocious – look out Lochie Keogh.
RedHook and Amy McIntosh - image © Clea-marie Thorne
But wait! There's more! No. Not a set of steak knives. Mack is inviting all support acts to jump onstage to deliver the final banger of the night and this tour, 'Bad Decisions'. It's a snug fit up there, but the randy pumpkin has room to wiggle its butt and run amok. Tying a bow on the set are more cold sparks and confetti.
RedHook's last show of their Breaking Up With tour, and their biggest in Brisbane yet, oozed with the strength of homegrown talent. Aside from P67, it was a femme fatale frontwoman foray from some of the fiercest frontwomen vocalists Australia has to offer with special notation to their female band members.
RedHook have grown but not lost an ounce of the weirdness and fun that we love, giving us many playful moments during the show. There's so much love floating around the room for RedHook and friends, I feel a little giddy.
RedHook - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Fans got gifted a brilliant mix of the old and new bangers with all the intensity of a first show on the tour – and this was the last! To be honest, we got scorcher sets forged by four fiery bands tonight. We have feasted on the excellence of the musicians and gorged ourselves on the killer vocals that elevated the impact and complexity of the music from their band members.
The Brisbane leg of the Breaking Up With tour has been a totally indulgent experience proving to be a more than satisfying sonic and visual banquet. If this show was on the menu at a local venue every week, I'd have a permanent reservation.
More photos from the concert.
