If you recently had your heart broken by the love of your life or have found yourself surrounded by toxic people, then Max Watt's was the place to be on Sunday night (22 June) with Sydney band Yours Truly headlining the Melbourne venue.
Joining the alternative group all the way from Los Angeles was senses and fellow Sydney rockers BESTIES. A night full of unity, with songs fans could heavily connect to, the Toxic Australian tour was one to not miss.A band not to be mistaken for Nirvana, comedic emo group BESTIES is led by frontman Max Pasalic, who knows how to keep a performance entertaining. From songs about weed to awaiting heartbreak, BESTIES bring a nostalgic, old-school, pop-punk show vibe to their performance.
They really make you think back to the days where high school bands had big dreams of making it big as they played in their mum's basement. If you were unfamiliar with the 2022 formed group, you needn't worry as an array of covers were filtered throughout their set list.
Opening the night with Limp Bizkit's 'Rollin'', and even giving some love to pop-rock queen P!NK with their own rendition of 'Who Knew', Pasalic and crew kept the vibes high with the whole room singing along.
BESTIES - image © Maxine Thomas
Melbourne fans were also lucky enough to get a sneak peek of two yet-to-be-released songs, 'Funeral' and 'F... This, F... You'. Of course, it wouldn't be right to not play their hit song 'Love Bombs' featuring Yours Truly's very own Mikaila Delgado (who unfortunately did not make an appearance onstage, wanting to keep anticipation for the night's later performance) on the Toxic tour.
Joining the Sydney locals on drums – giving Brenton Rakebrandt a chance to shine as the band's bassist – was Days Like These very own Noah Murphy. Murphy mentioned how it was an honour to be able to step in for Rakebrandt for this tour. A fantastic opener to start the evening, BESTIES are bound to go far.
Flying in all the way from Los Angeles to perform to Australian audiences for the first time was emo-friendly and punk-curious senses. This trio was most definitely a crowd favourite of the evening.
Having met on Craigslist back in 2017 and taking a shot in the dark and creating a band together, you can truly see onstage just how beautiful the relationship is between main members Madison Taylor and Nick Sampson, as well as their guitarist Jordan Keigher.
senses - image © Maxine Thomas
Giving off a Taylor Acorn vibe with not only her vocals, but overall energy and style too, Madison brought to the show powerful and angelic vocals. Taylor's raw and real energy when performing is truly an experience within itself, giving 110 per cent the entire performance.
From getting down with Keigher and bouncing side to side in sync, to spinning in circles onstage and encouraging crowd involvement, Madison Taylor is truly a heartbreak-core queen.
Sampson also had the chance to show off his drumming skills with a climatic finale of 'Playing Dead', after also bringing immense energy and pride to his performance. This powerful rock duo is not one to mess with and are bound to take Australia, and the world, by storm.
By covering Chappell Roan's 'Good Luck, Babe!' and premiering their upcoming release 'Obsessed' (due 27 June), senses brought a summer party vibe to the evening. Hopefully in the near future we can see a return of this amazing duo to our Australian waters with their own headline tour or maybe feature at Good Things Festival.
Celebrating the successful release of their latest album 'Toxic' last year, alt-rockers Yours Truly were in town to perform not just songs from the LP, but their own classic hits just for those 'day one' fans.
Yours Truly - image © Maxine Thomas
Mikaila Delgado kept audiences entranced with her performance in the way she moved onstage in her alluring way. Targeting topics of past malignant relationships and taking your power back, the 'Toxic' album gives listeners songs to resonate with and provides a way of expression when they can't find their own words.
Delgado showcases just how important this album is to the Sydney-based trio with her moving vocals. Reaching into past experiences, she is able to bring that extra emotional connection to her performance.
A special mention goes out to guitarist Teddie Winder-Haron; compared to their last Australian tour back in 2022, Winder-Haron has stepped out of his shell vocally, taking on a more talkative role in the band, encouraging circle pits to 'Walk Over My Grave', and boasting his hidden singing talent, especially in 'Hallucinate'.
Bloom's lead singer Jono Hawkey took to the stage for 'Sinking', exciting fans to see the duet performed live. Hawkey always brings an extra spark of energy to his performance, even when it's just for a brief moment.
Newest Yours Truly member Henry Beard radiated excitement from behind the drum kit. Having joined Yours Truly for a few tours now, it's amazing to see him finally included as one of the official members and he fits right in. Not holding back from the minute he stepped onstage, he hyped fans up getting them to clap along to the beat.
Yours Truly - image © Maxine Thomas
From playing their triple j Like A Version 'Von Dutch' Charli xcx cover to songs they haven't played in years ('Together'), Yours Truly put on a successful Sunday night show to close out the weekend.
From band inside jokes with BESTIES, to senses travelling across the world to Australia for the first time, Yours Truly brought together an array of emo, punk-rock talent under one roof.
Hopefully in the near future we can see new music from the Sydney alternative group, but for now, fans get to enjoy the still ever so popular and successful album 'Toxic'.
More photos from the concert.
