Friday 24 April
Supports: Varials (US), Diesect, Zuko
A relentless build from ignition to impact at the Triffid in Fortitude Valley.
The Triffid in Fortitude Valley was already alive before the first note even hit. Fans had lined up for over an hour, eager to get inside, and once the doors opened, that anticipation didn’t fade, it settled into a room that stayed locked in from start to finish. Even with early technical delays pushing the schedule back around fifteen minutes due to sound issues, the crowd didn’t drift. Most held their ground, eyes forward, waiting, and once it kicked off, nobody cared about the delay anymore.
Zuko stepped into a room that already felt like theirs, not to start the night off, but to claim it. Front rows were stacked with fans in merch from the start, and attention was immediate, no fighting to win people over. Within the first few songs, a gap opened in the centre of the floor, almost deliberate, like the crowd knew exactly what was coming. That space didn’t last. Track by track, it collapsed into a growing pit, pulling more bodies in as the energy built.
The turning point hit early, with synchronized full-body headbanging that sparked a loud reaction across the room. By the second song, movement had taken over. Vocalist Jesse’s signature two-step only pushed it further, locking the crowd into controlled chaos. Zuko didn’t ease the night in, they lit it, setting the tone with confidence and a glimpse of something much bigger ahead.
Diesect didn’t replace that energy, they tightened it. The crowd pushed closer to the stage, movement becoming just as unified and deliberate.
Headbanging spread across the room. On stage, the band leaned into chaos without losing control. The bassist in particular drove constant motion, even pushing through a loose cable mid-set without breaking performance, while crew handled it in the background. Moments like that didn’t interrupt anything, they added to it. A quick, self-aware line from the vocalist Damien Bigara, “hopefully I don’t fuck this one up,” cut through before launching into ‘No Home Left To Find‘, a recent release that hit just as hard live and lifted the room again. Diesect didn’t just hold momentum, they pushed it forward.
The shift when Varials hit was instant. No build, just impact. The room didn’t rise, it surged. Crowd surfing exploded into constant motion, bodies moving over the barrier faster than security could reset. With over five guards working the pit, it still wasn’t enough to slow things down. The floor became a single moving mass, multiple pits forming and collapsing into each other, movement everywhere. At one point, one fan crowd surfed more than six times before finally getting pulled up by security.
On stage, the vocalist didn’t ask for control, he took it. Sharp commands, aggressive callouts, and raw presence had the crowd responding immediately, louder and heavier than anything. Lighting hit harder, breakdowns landed deeper, everything felt bigger. This was the moment the night tipped over, when energy turned into chaos.
Spite didn’t try to outdo the chaos, they controlled it. The intensity stayed high, but the movement shifted. Less constant crowd surfing, more jumping, shouting, and waves of headbanging rolling through the room. The pit stayed active, but the energy felt more focused, more deliberate. Loyal fans carried the set, shouting every word back.
The presence was undeniable, dominant without needing to escalate further. Large gestures, commanding vocals, and a tight grip on the room kept everything locked in from start to finish. By the end, the crowd looked spent but far from done, exhausted, hyped, and still pushing. It wasn’t the most chaotic point of the night, but it didn’t need to be. It held everything together.
The crowd never dropped. From the first set to the last, people held their positions, fully engaged the entire time. What started as anticipation turned into movement, then chaos, then something more controlled. Sound stayed strong and clear across the night, with early technical issues quickly forgotten once the music hit. The pit evolved naturally, building, breaking, and reforming as each band pushed it further.
This wasn’t just a lineup, it was a progression. Zuko lit the fire, Diesect built the pressure, Varials detonated it, and Spite controlled the aftermath. A smooth, relentless climb into chaos and back out again, one of those rare nights where every band had a role and delivered it.
Some chaos fades, this one lingers.
Review & Photos by Amy Driscoll
