Live Review: Full Tilt Festival Brisbane

28 April 2022 | 9:06 am | Jimmy Harden
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We hit Eaton's Hill Hotel for Brisbane's first Full Tilt Festival on 23rd April. 1. It was a TIME AND A HALF and 2. Can't believe we get to do it again in July!

Northlane

Northlane (Amanda Brenchley Photography)

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After multiple scheduling delays, hyped and eager crowds descended on Eaton’s Hill for Full Tilt Festival, despite the weather’s attempts at looking as dark and menacing as some of the punters. The consistent theme for the day, both overheard in the crowd and from the bands onstage, was how surreal it felt to be back, despite everything that’s happened and is still happening. And overall, the day proved to be a reminder of what things were like, and what we’re hoping for them to be into the future. Cross fingers.

Reliqa kicked off proceedings outside with a solid set that the growing crowd thoroughly enjoyed. Interweaving technical mathcore chops with an exceptional vocal performance from Monique Pym, Reliqa are definitely an act to keep a real close eye on, and it will be exciting to see them back in town again for MONOLITH festival in the near future.



Heading to the Ballroom Stage, Stepson’s energy can only be described as frenetic. Flanked by the silent sentinels of their guitarists and effortlessly trading singing and get-up duties, the set flowed so naturally I didn’t realise until later that the vocalist was their new guitarist Nicholas Farr - Brock Conry was out due to back problems. Nonetheless, the boys didn’t let that hold them back, and celebrated drummer Jordan’s birthday with a packed room singing and bouncing along.


With a burst of Shania Twain and an unashamedly Aussie “how the f*ck are ya, Brisbane?”, Luca Brasi launched into a confident and self-assured set of select cuts from their back catalogue, with well-received hits from latest record Everything Is Tenuous and Stay. Think the crowd also enjoyed the reminder of being best known for early 2000’s cricketing legends as well. Cheers lads, much obliged.


After a struggle to make it into the room at all, a capacity crowd met a wall of snarling guitars and blasting drums as Justice For The Damned made their presence felt. Vocalist Bobak Raffiee commanded the stage, one moment thanking the crowd for their ongoing support, the next roaring and demanding a bigger wall of death. Despite a minor technical issue (for the first time in years), no one leaves, and soon the show goes on, just as punishingly beautiful as before.

With the weather now as dodgy as a corner store kebab, the sun briefly graced us with its presence as Triple J darlings Slowly Slowly took to the stage, barely drawing breath as they barrelled through hit after hit from Race Car Blues, with a couple of choice tracks from newer and older releases. Their exuberance and energy were consistent throughout, right down to the crowd sing-along to finish with fan-favourite Jellyfish.

Back inside, Void of Vision are well underway delivering their serious set with serious precision (seriously!). Tracks from their new EP’s went down like a treat; the transition from record to room was excellent. The packed room suited them, with the crowd heaving in time to luscious slabs of guitars backed by pounding drums.


The unmistakeable sound of a good ol’ fashioned air raid siren signalled Thy Art Is Murder have arrived, to a hearty roar of approval from the waiting crowd. CJ McMahon wasted no time whipping the crowd into a frenzy in typical style, while finding time to take a few moments of genuine honesty to convey his appreciation for his recent additional his family, and the guys in Northlane and In Hearts Wake. The size of the wall of death was epic to watch; I admit, I was more than happy to be a spectator, devouring food from the sidelines.


With The Bennies absent, Sydney’s Closure found themselves in a tough position; competing against Thy Art Is Murder for set times and dealing with a set reshuffle that somehow no-one in the crowd was aware of. Nonetheless, they worked the stage and the remaining crowd for all they were worth. More than one patron who stopped by to ask about The Bennies ended up sticking around to watch them; a sure sign their infectious blend of punk rock won over some new fans.


What can you really say about Frenzal Rhomb that hasn’t been said? They were as frantic, irreverent, confident, and self-assured as you would expect for a bunch of old bastards who have been on a stage or public platform as long as they have. Their performance, despite its absolutely insane energy, seemed effortless. They truly entertained, as quick to crack on with a newer song about Mr Potatohead (sorry, the Honourable Member for Dixon, Peter Dutton) as smash out a classic like Never Had So Much Fun.


In stark contrast, Alpha Wolf delivered an intensity of a different variety, living up to their namesake. They held the dubious award of being the only band of the day to have additional police and security monitoring presence, such was the ferocity of the wall-to-wall moshpit and wall of death. Hell, it was a challenge to even make it in the room in the first place; the line stretched midway into the outdoor arena, four people wide. For those able to witness it, the band were on point, with the crowd matching Lochie Keogh’s every word, room wide, and on the final note left them, quite literally, begging for one more song.

In Hearts Wake started with a treat of light and colour, and a Swiss-watch exact performance. Though, I must admit, while the performance itself was well honed, sonically it didn’t quite have the impact of some of the acts preceding them. Nonetheless it didn’t seem to bother the band, with Jake Taylor passing on his impassioned plea to remember that there’s no music without our planet.


After the intensity of the last few acts, Between You And Me were a welcome change of pace. Their polished take on punk rock is reminiscent of the hooks of New Found Glory or The Ataris, with a dash of Mayday Parade’s singalongs thrown in for good measure. They rock hard enough to mosh to but are sweet enough to take home to meet your mum. A solid set and thoroughly enjoyable.

And then, there was Northlane. Marcus Bridge didn’t need to tell us how surreal being back on stage felt or how stoked they all were to be there; it was writ large in their faces for the entire set. OK, I admit I’m assuming Jonathon Deiley was, hidden behind his mask. Kicking off with the absolute banger that is Clockwork to a wall of pyrotechnics, the crowd was treated to a perfect cross-section of tracks from all six records, with a particular standout being the frankly ridiculous guitar tones on Carbonized and Plenty from new record Obsidian. Describing them as huge doesn’t do it justice. Finally, kudos needs to go to Marcus, whose vocal performance and ability to shift from banshee screams to almost crooning is world-class.

And like that, it was over, with cleanup crews wasting no time in descending on what had been a packed open stage just moments before. Good thing there’s only three months until we get to do it all again.