Gig Guide: The Triffid & Fortitude Music Hall’s 2023 Metal, Punk & Alternative Blowout

It’s a great time to be a fan of live music in Meanjin/Brisbane – especially with international touring back in full swing, every major venue in the city has a packed slate of concerts for all types of music fans. Nowhere is that truer than at two of the biggest players in Fortitude Valley: The Triffid and The Fortitude Music Hall.

Both cater to unique corners of the live music market – The Triffid is best for mid-sized imports and local heavyweights with ample room for 800 punters, while The Fortitude Music Hall is better suited to those powerhouse shows worth calling in sick for, with a loftier room holding some 3,000 – but the two halls are very similar at their cores: they’re homely, welcoming spaces for lovers of live entertainment, community and human connection, with visually captivating stages and mind-meltingly immersive sound.

It’s no wonder why they’re such unbeatable favourites of the Australian rock, punk and metal scenes.

Between now and the end of the year, there are more than a dozen huge alternative gigs being held between The Triffid and The Fortitude Music Hall. To help plan your end-of-year concert-hopping endeavours, we’ve laid them all out here in this handy little guide, with information on support acts, tickets and new releases – and of course, a sneak peek at the huge names heading Down Under in the early months of 2024.

Read on for the show-by-show breakdown, then head here to see the full slate of upcoming concerts at The Triffid, and here for The Fortitude Music Hall’s calendar.

TEENAGE JOANS

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Thursday November 2.

Who else is playing? Local alt-pop luminary Bella Amor and fellow Adelaide indie-rocker Aleksiah.

What’s the occasion? The trailblazing Kaurna/Adelaide pop-punk duo have just released their stellar debut album, The Rot That Grows Inside My Chest, on the back of massive singles like Superglue, Candy Apple and 5 Things I Can Taste. To support it, they’re touring nationally with their biggest and best live show – an effort they’ve spent much of the past year developing, after a whirlwind year of cutting their teeth on theatre stages across 2022.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

THE SCREAMING JETS

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Friday November 3.

Who else is playing? Newcastle punk outfit Smacked Youth.

What’s the occasion? One of the most iconic bands in Australian rock will return to The Triffid in support of their milestone tenth album, Professional Misconduct. It comes as part of an historic national tour for the longstanding shred-heads, making their first with Seth Fowler onboard as bassist and backing vocalist; he replaces founding member Paul Woseen, who died earlier this year at the age of 56. The Screaming Jets are determined to rock on in Woseen’s honour, eager to deliver some of their fiercest shows to date.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

STEVE VAI

Where’s it happening? The Fortitude Music Hall.

When? Friday November 3.

Who else is playing? We’re not quite sure at the moment, support acts are yet to be announced.

What’s the occasion? The king of experimental rock guitar is heading to The Fortitude Music Hall to perform, among other things, a suite of highlights from his career-defining 2022 album Inviolate. The instrumental effort was a landmark release in Vai’s catalogue, zooming in on the virtuosic ambition that made Vai a household name to begin with. Ahead of the tour, he said in an interview with TheMusic: “I’ve always thought that every city I play in Australia has a real particular character to it – I always remember that.”

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

GLORYHAMMER

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Tuesday November 7.

Who else is playing? Masked pirate metallers Rumahoy and Sydney-based thrash band LïVEWïRE.

What’s the occasion? Armed with a brand new album of lore-enhancing power metal (Return To The Kingdom Of Fife, which arrived back in June of this year as the sequel to their 2013 debut, Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife), the British powerhouse will take to the Triffid stage with a narrative unlike any other. Gloryhammer fuse medieval mythology with high fantasy and sci-fi insanity – all spun through a web of metal sure to get adrenaline surging through your veins.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

ALL TIME LOW

Where’s it happening? The Fortitude Music Hall.

When? Thursday November 9.

Who else is playing? Fellow pop-punk heavyweights Mayday Parade and English singer-songwriter Lauran Hibberd.

What’s the occasion? Touring Down Under for the first time in five years, the pop-punk powerhouse that defined a generation are touring in support of their tenth album, Tell Me I’m Alive. It’ll also mark the first time Australian fans will see All Time Low perform songs from 2020’s Wake Up, Sunshine album. Equally exciting is the return of Mayday Parade, who after touring last year in support of their self-titled album’s 11th anniversary, will now explore every corner of their polychromatic catalogue.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

GRINSPOON

Where’s it happening? The Fortitude Music Hall.

When? Friday November 10.

Who else is playing? Punk-rocking deviants Private Function and Byron Bay’s “seven-piece Broadway rock’n’roll band” Cupid And The Stupids.

What’s the occasion? Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the Lismore legends’ classic third album, New Detention, and to celebrate, they finally answered fans’ desperate cries for a first-time vinyl pressing (with its original cover art to boot). Grinspoon’s current national tour sees them perform all the biggest hits (and some deep cuts) from New Detention, as well as its era-capturing 1999 predecessor, Easy – which also got pressed on wax for the first time earlier this year.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Saturday November 11.

Who else is playing? Supports are yet to be announced – we’re expecting a couple of local, up-and-coming punk and/or hardcore bands.

What’s the occasion? Few punk bands carry the kind of generational weight that Suicidal Tendencies do. The crossover thrash legends are on tour to celebrate 40 years of their eponymous debut album – the 12-track whirlwind that gave us skatepark classic Institutionalized – and surprising absolutely no-one, their intimate Triffid jaunt sold out within a matter of hours.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

LAGERFEST

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Wednesday November 15.

Who’s on the lineup? A suite of underground metal icons including The Halo Effect, Lagerstein, Beyond The Black and Devilskin.

What’s the occasion? Described as “the ultimate fusion of heavy metal and Oktoberfest revelry”, this year’s Lagerfest will sport the Australian debut of The Halo Effect – a head-turning supergroup featuring past members of In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Joining them for the festival’s sixth edition will be its founding fathers in Lagerstein, symphonic metallers Beyond The Black (fittingly making the trek over from Germany) and the Kiwi metal lords in Devilskin.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

THE BRONX

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Saturday November 18

Who else is playing? Melbourne punk-rockers CIVIC and American noise-punk heavyweights ’68.

What’s the occasion? The kings of modern-day hardcore are making the rounds to celebrate two decades of their self-titled debut, which delivered such timeless classics as Heart Attack American, They Will Kill Us All, False Alarm and Notice Of Eviction. Here’s hoping they throw in last year’s fiery standalone single, Blowtorch.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

BEHEMOTH

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Monday November 27.

Who else is playing? Openers haven’t been confirmed just yet, but knowing Destroy All Lines (the show’s promotors), we’ve got our money set on a mid-sized metal (or just as likely, metalcore) band on UNFD or Greyscale.

What’s the occasion? July saw the extreme metal icons tease their return Down Under, and now they’re coming good with a slate of dates supporting their recent twelfth album, Opvs Contra Natvram. Their intimate Triffid gig is one of three sideshows Behemoth will play alongside this year’s Good Things festival, where they’ll share the stage with the likes of Fall Out Boy, Limp Bizkit and DEVO.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

ENTER SHIKARI

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Monday December 4.

Who else is playing? Same deal as above, although we could easily see one of the smaller bands on the Good Things lineup swooping in to join this bill.

What’s the occasion? Another big name on the Good Things 2023 lineup, Enter Shikari will deliver Brisbane fans a headline show the day after the festival. Expect them to bust out a stack of choice cuts from their crash-hot seventh album, A Kiss For The Whole World, which arrived back in April of this year as somewhat of a sequel to 2020’s Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

PVRIS

Where’s it happening? The Triffid.

When? Tuesday December 5.

Who else is playing? Fast-rising Florida pop-punkers Magnolia Park.

What’s the occasion? For their first tour of Australia since 2018, the alt-pop heavyweights are making the most of summer with outdoor sets at this year’s Good Things festival. Their headline show at The Triffid is another one of the sideshows announced earlier in October, and will also serve as a vehicle for Magnolia Park (who are quickly becoming one of the hottest names in the pop-punk scene). As for PVRIS’ own performance, we’re hoping to see the Lynn Gunn-fronted mech play a good chunk of their just-released fourth album, Evergreen.

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

LIMP BIZKIT

Where’s it happening? The Fortitude Music Hall.

When? Wednesday December 6.

Who else is playing? Once again, supports are TBC, but we’d be unsurprised to see another Good Things band join the fray.

What’s the occasion? Limp Bizkit are one of three headliners on the fast-approaching Good Things lineup, but with a catalogue as dense and diverse as theirs, one set certainly isn’t going to cut it. So they’ve announced a few sideshows – including this one at The Fortitude Music Hall – where they’ll have a bit more time to hone in on their explosive sixth album, 2021’s Still Sucks (before they head into the studio to make LP7 next year).

Where can I find tickets? Right here.

AND COMING UP IN 2024…

Candlebox – Wednesday January 10 @ The Triffid.
Obituary – Tuesday January 16 @ The Triffid.
NOFX – Tuesday January 23 @ The Fortitude Music Hall.
Stick To Your Guns – Wednesday January 24 @ The Triffid.
Wednesday 13 – Friday February 2 @ The Triffid.
The Darkness – Wednesday February 7 @ The Fortitude Music Hall.
Russian Circles – Thursday February 8 @ The Triffid.
Northlane – Friday February 9 @ The Fortitude Music Hall.
Katatonia – Sunday February 11 @ The Triffid.
Mudvayne & Coal Chamber – Wednesday February 14 @ The Fortitude Music Hall.
Queens Of The Stone Age – Sunday February 25 @ The Fortitude Music Hall.
Filter – Sunday April 7 @ The Triffid.
Simple Plan – Sunday April 14 @ The Fortitude Music Hall.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – Tuesday April 23 @ The Triffid.
The Skids – Thursday May 2 @ The Triffid.
Wind Rose – Tuesday May 14 @ The Triffid.