Turnover must really love Australia.
The American band have made annual trips down under since 2016. Less than eight months after their last visit, they’ve returned again. But this time on their first Australian headline tour.
Anticipation for the band’s first stop at Brisbane’s Woolly Mammoth (5 March) was high. A long queue of keen fans stretched outside the venue, leading to many missing openers Bloom Parade.
After a long wait, I caught the end of their set and was suitably impressed by their mix of emo and shoegaze. I hope to see more soon, if queues allow me.
Energy levels rose for Sunshine Coast band Endless, who played a short, sharp set of brutal hardcore. Their guitars shrieked with feedback and their frontman leered at the crowd as he growled lyrics about subjects like the stolen generation.
I felt the breeze from a strong fan during the break; it turned out we needed it for the heat American hardcore band Turnstile brought. Punters gathered close to the stage, while others stood on seats to get a better view of the melee that ensued.
From the very first, crunching guitar chord, an endless stream of fans invaded the stage, running from one end to leap off the other. While the stage was overrun with racing fans, no one took up as much space as singer Brendan Yates.
When Brendan wasn’t screaming into his mic, he was shoving it into the faces of crowd surfers or hurling it into the mosh; upon leaving, security searched fans for three missing mics, most likely belonging to the band.
As the band’s chaos unfolded, one 'unlucky' roadie attempted to clean the wreckage; fishing for mics from the crowd and repositioning other equipment. Fans matched the escalating energy by attempting even bigger leaps from the stage, with one accidentally kicking bassist Franz Lyons in the face.
However, none could reach the peak of Brendan who finished by throwing down his mic, somersaulting into the crowd, then quickly reappearing to scream one more time.
Turnover’s set of gentle pop was in stark contrast to the chaos wrought. Opening with ‘Super Natural’, bright guitar tones and singer Austin Getz’ s breathy vocals offered nothing for moshpit bruisers to work with.
Instead, the crowd stood in place and sang along to the sunny melody. It was a strange seeing people swaying and singing gently where moments earlier they were engaged in a savage pile-on. The band never rushed, allowing each song the space to grow and take effect.
The slow upstrokes at the beginning of ‘Hello Euphoria’ were greeted with applause, while ‘Dizzy On The Comedown’ shimmered like a mirror ball. The pace picked up slightly on older songs like ‘New Scream’ and ‘Cutting My Fingers Off’.
The quicker beat made fans move slightly more than their slow sways, but not mosh wildly. Instead, fans spent most of Turnover’s set in a state of stillness, entranced by the dreamy pop emitting from the speakers.
The line-up of bands made for strange bedfellows, showcasing very different mood and energy levels. But no matter the pace, they each offered something fans loved.
With the love fans gave Turnover, it won’t be a surprise if the band returns (soon) again.
