Thursday 19 February 2026
Supports: Yellowcard, Kisschasy, Parker
It’s 2026 but the 2000s are calling. Last night, rockers Good Charlotte took over Brisbane Entertainment Centre for their biggest arena production yet.
Local Gold Coast boy Parker was personally selected by Joel and Benji Madden as a last minute addition the triple-threat pop punk show. He provided a warmup set of laidback, beach vibes that would have felt more intimate in a smaller venue.
A band I haven’t seen in an absolute hot minute (but did check out their latest album the other day), was Kisschasy. Playing an incredibly nostalgic set of all the hits, vocalist Darren Cordeaux’s infectious sound took me back to a fresh-faced naive little 18 year old, figuring out life after school for the first time. From revisiting the hits like ‘This Bed’, ‘Face Without A Name’ and my absolute favourite ‘chasy tune (‘The Perfect Way to Meet’), the band performed with the laidback Aussie swagger we fell in love when they first toured with Good Charlotte in 2007.
Darren was quick to remind everyone though that the band are back in full swing in 2026. With latest album, The Terrors of Comfort only being unleashed last week, new cuts ‘Lie to Me’ and ‘Better‘ landed with the kind of urgency that nods to the band’s early 2000s spirit without feeling stuck there. There’s a confidence to them now, tighter and more self assured, like a band that knows exactly who they are.
Then came the inevitable hit ‘Spray On Pants’. This sent the arena straight back to 2007, all hook and heart on sleeve nostalgia, sparking a collective reminder that no matter how much time passes, there’s still a skinny jeans era living in all of us.
Returning to Australia only ten months after their headline tour down under last year, Yellowcard turned up the ‘Lights and Sounds‘ on Brisbane Entertainment Centre with zero restraint. Kicking in with my absolute favourite Yellowcard track of all time, ‘Way Away‘ sent every elder millennial in the room back to their teenage bedrooms, guitars and nostalgia blazing. Newer drop ‘Love Letters Lost‘ added a subtle depth to their signature punchy pop-punk, proving the band can still evolve without losing the energy that made them unforgettable.
As much as we adore 99% of Yellowcard’s setlist, the strongest highlight here had to be the live debut of the band’s latest feat, Better Days. ‘Bedroom Posters‘ showcased their natural flair for infectious chords and melodies and the only thing missing from this performance was a cameo from Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden. We were slightly bummed he didn’t join vocalist Ryan Key on the mic.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Yellowcard show without the iconic 2000s singalong staple, ‘Ocean Avenue‘. The band bowed out their time on stage tonight this unforgettable, timeless dose of pop punk nostalgia, leaving fans completely satisfied and singing along long after the final chord.
When the main act of the night took their position on stage, senses were heightened and emotions were all over the place. For the first time EVER, Good Charlotte appeared on stage without the drop of a black sheet hiding the stage. The boys swung in with ‘The River‘ and ‘Dance Floor Anthem‘ which personally sent me back to a 19 year old me (with way less anxiety). Seeing twins Joel and Benji Madden on an Australian stage for the first time in 8 years was honestly healing.
Things got even punchier when the band threw in a deep cut with ‘The Chronicles of Life and Death‘. What an absolute highlight, witnessing this pop punk throwback being thrown in amongst everything else. There’s something special about hearing a track that shaped a generation of pop punk fans, especially when it’s delivered with the same urgency it carried on record.
Live, the song felt bigger and darker. The opening tension simmered before bursting into that dramatic, almost theatrical chorus, with the crowd shouting every word like it was 2004 all over again. It was a reminder of how well Good Charlotte have always balanced melody with mood. They don’t just write hooks, they build worlds. Gothic, storybook visuals reminiscent of Tim Burton flickered across the backdrop, giving the performance a slightly macabre edge that suited the track perfectly.
Given this was the Motel Du Cap tour, the band’s newest tracks didn’t feel so out of place either. ‘Bodies‘, in all its hook-laden, thumping choruses felt like the grimey dark dancefloor of an underground nightclub. While ‘Mean‘ honestly just tore the roof off the Entertainment Centre. Beginning with Benji’s crisp, deliberate guitar line, each note cutting cleanly through the air and drawing the crowd in closer. There was a slow burn to it, a deliberate build of tension, before the rest of the band crashed in and the whole thing detonated into a wall of smouldering chords.
‘Mean‘ hit harder and sharper, like the kind of punchy, unapologetic pop punk that feels both nostalgic and completely revitalised. It wasn’t just loud for the sake of it. Now that’s the pop punk we’ve been missing in our lives.
I could go on and on. Every chorus felt like muscle memory. Every lyric landed somewhere familiar. It wasn’t just nostalgia, it was a full body flashback.
For me and my youth, Good Charlotte was THAT gateway band. They were the bridge between radio hooks and something a little heavier. They were pop culture and angst and eyeliner and MTV all rolled into one. They made it feel normal to care loudly, to feel deeply, to live a little dramatically.
Whether you came in during ‘Little Things’ or had ‘Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous’ on repeat, their catalogue has soundtracked a lot of formative years for a lot of now very grown up fans. Standing up inside Brisbane Entertainment Centre, watching thousands of us still scream every word back like no time has passed at all, felt like the only proof you really need. Pop punk isn’t a phase. It just grows up with you.
Review by Tamara May
Photos courtesy of Untitled Group/Throughline
