ATLAS AND THE ATTIC: BRISBANE CONCERT REVIEW

Sometimes you just need to go to a Punk show on an Easter long weekend for the health of your soul, and that is exactly what I did on April 2nd at TOMCAT in Brisbane. Atlas And The Attic were kind enough to invite us along to celebrate the launch of their EP Polyester City and following the

unfortunate loss of Okay Dane to the current state of the economy, we had the pleasure of watching TakeOver and the first live performance of Keepseeker. I must say in full transparency for honest documentation, the crowd for this show was one of the most "flighty" for want of a better word I have seen. Maybe it was the scent of Easter chocolate in the air or the four-day weekend, but the crowd shifted constantly, patrons moving in and out between the show room and side rooms, watching a handful of songs before moving into the next area and then back again. I am not one to dictate how people act, it was just something interesting that I noticed from the attendees.

TakeOver took to the stage, jumping straight in and they had the crowd swaying. "How's it going TOMCAT? How are you doing tonight?" "Thank you. Thank you. It's good to be back. Alright we are going to do a cover next." "Are we?" Crowd laughs "We're not doing a cover next." TakeOver has an effortless way of interacting with each other that makes it feel like you were part of a conversation amongst friends. I had a great time

watching the musical guitar that was taking place on stage, depending on which song was being played depending on who was playing which guitar. "We practised this yesterday. That's the only information that you need." "Who's here for Atlas and the Attic, man? Yeah, good shit, good shit. New EP. We are trying to do that shit too." "Thank you, we're going to be putting that song out somewhere." "You guys are going to make me cry. I'm just so happy." TakeOver's set flowed between bouncy pop-punk numbers designed to get the crowd moving and ballads that held the onlookers in pregnant pause. "Thank you very much. We've been TakeOver."

Next up, we were in for the first live performance of Keepseeker, and with no music released to date, there was an air of anticipation as no-one but the band knew what we were in for. Stepping on the stage with some

evident nerves, the band persisted through "TOMCAT, what the fuck is up?" "Fuck I'm really cold. Is anyone else really cold in here? Maybe you

should come closer. A little body warmth. Fucking Simon says, take one big step forward. Anyway, we're Keepseeker. This is our first show ever." Jumping into 'Leaves of Autumn' the atmosphere took a sullen turn before flipping into boppier tunes. "Did anyone hear that bridge from Liam in the middle? Jesus fucking Christ. I'm sorry, I said did anyone hear that bridge from Liam? There we go." "This is a cover, it's called sway, so I want to see a little side to side. I will turn this car around and drive us right home. That's the way. Sway mother fucker, sway." Keepseeker have great potential, with an ability to pull the crowd into the performance and hitting those pop-punk good times feelings. "We're going to give it up for Atlas and the Attic. Headline show, like what the fuck. Give it up for them. You guys fucking blow, I said give it up for them. And the crowd goes mild. We are Keepseeker and these are my four

best friends. Three best friends. Apparently you can't like yourself nowadays. Thanks for coming. If you guys weren't here we wouldn't be able to do it, and then where would I get my ego from." Pulling the energy back up in the room we stepped back in time to a cover of the ever important, and constant crowd favourite 'Decode' by Paramore. "Bitch...... We've Keepseeker and you guys have been sick. Thankyou." With that the band stepped off the stage, a successful first performance, and I am curious to see where there pop-punk stylings takes them.

Last but definitely not least, we had reached the point in the night we were there for, Atlas And The Attic. "Alright everyone, how are you going? You hydrated? Long, long weekend. Four day weekend. How freaking cool. Wait a minute. Why is it a long weekend? Who wants some hot cross buns?" At no point in time leading up to this show did I expect there to be a tussle for pastries at this punk show, but I would be lying if I said I

didn't enjoy watching the ruckus display. "If you've been following us for the past six months you will have seen that we had a new EP just come out called Polyester City. If you haven't;t checked it out, please do. If you have sing along. I'll be watching." Starting off their set with title track Polyester City was definitely a way to draw the crowd immediately into the band's energy. The three piece exudes a level of comfort on the stage that you would normally reserve for a large band as they slide from one song into the next; musical styles shifting from melodic to upbeat and back again with vocals hitting rough vocal fry, soft cleans and heavy rock style tonnes. It is evident how much time and practice Atlas And The Attic puts into curating their live sets with harmonies between Sam and Elliot on point and the show feeling like a roller coaster of tempo and emotion. "Here's a song that we kept writing for a really long. It's the outtro for the new EP, it's called Prodigal." "If you've been listening to us for a while you're going to know this one. It's a really old one." "Oh! What's that? Elliot, what's that?" "Oh ho! Double trouble" the band joked with the crowd as they pulled out more

hot cross buns. "If you came here to jump around tonight, this one is for you. It's called The Feudalist." It was at this moment that a moshpit of three people took to the centre of the room, pushing amongst themselves playfully, while the rest of the room banger their heads and shook their bodies to the rhythm. "We're not doing an encore because we simply put everything into our set that we could. But we just want to say thank you for being here. Thank you to TakeOver and Keep seeker, you guys were fantastic. Don't let this be the last time you see us." With a promise of new music later this year, the band finished their set on Father Karras, Sam coming out to stand on the ledge of the stage to pull the crowd in even further, before leaving the stage to cheering and a round of applause. If you like versatile punk music that will have you moving from bouncing around the room, swaying in place and straight to your inner social justice warrior taking centre stage, Atlas And The Attic is a band you need to see live. Throughout the evening there was a competition running for a free t-shirt and a copy of the EP. While I am unsure if the winner ever claimed the prize after a false start of it not being claimed by the original winner, it made for some interesting antics on and off the stage.

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You can find Atlas And The Attic on: Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and X

For Fans Of: Turnstile, The Comfort and Hot Mulligan

All photos by drewdrewphotography