DEADSKIN: BRISBANE CONCERT REVIEW

Never have I seen a show with so much stress about the lineup leading up to it like this one. With an original Headliner of Nicolas Cage Fighter who were forced to withdraw from the Sydney and Brisbane show due to the

birth of a baby Cage Fighter (Congratulations!), followed by the withdrawal of Aotearoa/New Zealand band The Rising Tide, moving the headline spot to Deadskin and adding Virtues, False Front 45 and blkmoth into the fray. The now free event at Black Bear Lodge in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane held a lot of anticipation within the crowd as we stood outside the venue, waiting for the doors to open, our new lineup prepped and ready to go.

First up for the night took form in Sunshine Coast band False Front 45. Having seen members Riley and Billy perform several times with Rimmy Grasa I was interested to see how they performed with a different sound. Hitting the ground running, it was clear that the Sunday evening crowd was not there to mess around, jumping straight into two-stepping and pit

shenanigans. "Fuck yeah, more shit like that. This song's called Despised. If you've heard it, grab the mic, if not, just enjoy it." "I want to see some two-step." While the crowd was only roughly Fifty people, that didn't stop a third of the group forming the pit area with full force and enthusiasm. "Side to fucking side. I want to see some violence." False Front 45 dominated the stage with their heavy presence, producing high kicks, intense head banging and extreme power stances as the set went on. "I just wanted to say thank you for coming out on a Sunday night. It means a lot to us. I know you've got work tomorrow, we don't want to go to work tomorrow either, but thank you for coming." "Ditto. That's exactly what I was going to say, actually.... Our next song is a cover by a band called Locked shut, it's called Toothache. Once again, if you

know the words, grab the mic, don't be scared, snatch it off me. Oh hold on" Vocalist Oscar said as the band rushed to fix a malfunctioning amp. "I didn't train for this, public speaking is the worst part, as a vocalist you have the hardest job out of anyone in the world... You can't understand what I'm saying anyway. I just make noise." "I forgot to do my one job as a vocalist and write a set list. I told you, it is a very tough gig. You have to stay on top of it and I failed." The shift from casual jokers to oppressively heavy hardcore from the band was such an interesting thing to watch, like a switch being turned on and

off on demand. Watching the crowd in the pit matching the feral energy on the stage, filled me with something akin to pride as I watched concert goers two-step, stage dive and fight dance with the intensity of a crowd 1000 strong. Despite the lack of space on the stage with five members, the boys were individually making the most of their performance time. "Now is the time for what this band has been waiting for. This is our favourite song to play. It hasn't been released. (Guitar strums) Oh yeah, we're getting there. It's called Nobody fucks with you and yeah, it's a fun song. We love it." It was at this point that the venue turned into a house party, moshers dancing around to the beat as the band visibly relaxed on the stage. "This song is called victims, I'll say my piece on it. It is disgusting that any time a chick goes

to a festival it is just a fucking guarantee that some creep is going to grope them. It's fucking despicable the fact that it's a shock to you is a good thing. It should be a fucking shock. Yeah, fuck creeps. Call it out. We talk about it so you feel comfortable to talk about it at these shows. FUCK THAT SHIT. Fuck that shit. This is called victims. It is refreshing to hear the amount of bands who are starting to talk about this kind of behaviour and calling out the people performing the actions. With nearly half of the crowd at this performance being women it is nice to know that there is a space that is safe for everyone in attendance. As the performance drew to a close, with moshers literally jumping off of the walls, running from one side of the room to another, as if they were attempting to flip the Black Pearl, False Front 45 left the stage to a round of applause.

Next up for the evening were Virtues. Starting their set with the Spongebob Theme Song before immediately jumping into their set. "Fuck yes Cunt. We are here Brisbane. Let's do this. Fuck I love this city. Hell yeah. Yes, yes, yes. This entire set goes out to the bands on tonight and all of the bullshit that you have to deal with sometimes. Let's give it up for

the bands. Alright Brisbane, let's fucking boogie." "Fuck yes Cunt. We are here Brisbane. Let's do this. Fuck I love this city. Hell yeah. Yes, yes, yes. This entire set goes out to the bands on tonight and all of the bullshit that you have to deal with sometimes. Let's give it up for the bands. Alright Brisbane, let's fucking boogie." The crowd immediately opening the pit and matching the energy of the band as they tore up the stage. "Brisbane are we feeling alright on a Sunday night? I am feeling pretty fucking good mother fucker.... Brisbane, first breakdown of our set. Are you ready? I know you're ready  mother fucker" vocalist Wade said pointing to a spin-kicking member of the crowd. It is hard to express just

how chaotic the pit in the room felt, with hands and legs flying everywhere, two-steps and even a cartwheel in amongst the mix from the 10 or so people opening up the floor area; unrelenting and unforgiving to the people standing around the walls edge. As I watched the power stances of the guitarist, the whipping hands of the drummer and dominating force of the vocalist as a collective, I was struck with a flashback of watching Lamb of God perform from the balcony at Eaton Hill, and the power of the similarity in energy hit me with such force I couldn't unsee the comparison, like I was looking into the future of the band. "Oh Brisbane, Brisbane, Brisbane. You know I love you mother fuckers." While there wasn't a huge amount of crowd interaction during this set, Wade consistently coming to the very edge of

the stage and singing directly at specific crowd members held the energy focused at the stage from those in the crowd behind the hit. "Brisbane. My fucking God. Thank you." Watching the pure joy on the faces of the Virtues members as they performed their unreleased track Dead Point and the reaction from the crowd to it, had me thinking about the healthy outlet that is music for bands and patrons alike. I did appreciate that Wade made a short speech encouraging attendees to buy merch from The Rising Tide online (which you can find here) because they understand the cost of travelling internationally and the disappointment of missing the show must have caused for the band. "Let's see some running, if anyone has that in them." "This is going to be our last tracks. Big love to everyone in the room. We really fucking appreciate it. We appreciate being on. We appreciate being able to perform." As the Virtues set came to its conclusion to ruckus applause the band made way for headliner DEADSKIN.

To add a personal note, I have missed three DEADSKIN performances to date due to one act or another of the universe, this performance was marked to be the fourth as I was originally going to be missing this one; but thanks to the sudden rise in fuel cost I was forced to abandon my adventure to Dubbo to see Whisperhead at WhisperFest IV, leading me to

be in the Black Bear Lodge in the first place. For that reason I was determined to make this show a part of mine and Deathling's history. This situation is only a testament as to how important it is to go to these shows and buy some merch if you are able to keep our live music industry going.

As DEADSKIN took to the stage the energy shifted to one thick with anticipation, vocalist Mitch saying "Yo! Do you know anyone outside of this room, bring them the fuck in. All of you right here, bring it the fuck in" by way of greeting the crowd. "We're DEADSKIN all the way from Melbourne. This is K.M.S. BRING IT IN!" Immediately the pit opened, with bodies stomping, kicking, flinging arms and two-stepping. There is something about seeing all standing members of a band at the edge of the stage, stomping their feet and screaming lyrics into the crowd that just levels up a performance, merging their energy with the crowds. "How are you feeling Brisbane? This one is called In Death." It was at this point that the pit took to a more feral and violent space as a push-pit formed. "As I said before, we are DEADSKIN from Melbourne. I know this was meant to be Nicolas Cage Fighter up here but I am glad you all came. Considering the circumstances we were

put through, please put your hands together for yourself, because this show was only put together on Wednesday or Thursday.... Let's open this shit up." From where I stood in the crowd, it felt as though collectively the patrons had made a decision to give their all to DEADSKIN as a Thank you for persevering throughout the chaos that was the lead up to this show. The atmosphere levelling up again as Seeing Things hit our ears. "Holy shit. For a show that was stressing us out so much all day and for the last three days, this is genuinely my favourite of the three shows. We really appreciate that Brisbane. You guys are moshing

harder than Melbourne. You're moshing harder than Sydney." "It's a Sunday too" shouted a crowd member. "Fucking Oath! It's a Sunday. You cunts have work tomorrow. Doesn't that fuckin' suck. I need every ounce of energy you've got. Fucking bring it. Show me what the fuck Brisbane has to offer. This is Peeling Skin." The pregnant pause of the vocal breakdown saw a momentary breather for the crowd before they were thrown straight into the mosh again, stomping, pushing and putting in anyway they could, with more cartwheeling added to the action. "This next song is a new one. I say this every show, let us

know what your feedback is because this shit is unreleased, so if there is some shit you don't like, let us know. It's quick. It's bouncy. Get off your fucking feet." At this point we were treated to Death of Me, and unreleased or not, the crowd quickly found the rhythm and jumped into the pit. (Prepare yourself for the release because Death of Me is a Certified Banger!) "We've got two songs left. Does anyone know who we are, or is this your first time hearing us? I can't fucking see any of ya. I just see a lot of shadows and shit, it's really hard to see up here. I'm going to assume most of you did alright?" (For the record, 95% of the crowd did.) "This next song is called Neverbloom. You moshers mosh and you people standing around, bob your head. Have some fun. This is the last two songs of this tour that we have left, so we are going to give you everything we have left. I swear to God, we were so tired before we took this stage but seeing you all sticking

around and watching us after so much and we have been through so much for this fucking tour, we are full of fucking energy right now. We are going to deplete ourselves for this shit. You fucking ready." If I thought I had seen hardcore moshing action before I was wrong. The feral meter turned up to 11 as I stepped out of the way from being hit in the face and kicked in the stomach. DEADSKIN were not lying when they said they were going to be bringing more energy, Barra going wild on the drums at the back of the stage and the stage's edge bandits doubling themselves over their

instruments as they played. Watching DEADSKIN grin amongst themselves at the end of the song proving how worth the energy of the crowd truly is to a performing band. Finally we had reached the point that I was personally most excited for, my favourite track Rats in the Walls. The band catching their breath for a second Mitch stepped up to the edge of the stage for the final time. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you so fucking much, we honestly expected none of ya to come and this has blown us away.... Like I said, this is our last song so give us everything you've got. This is your last bit of fun before you go back to work tomorrow. Fucking make the most of it." Taking those words to heart I was simultaneously amused and nervous as I could feel the vibration of the crowd through the wooden floor. "Two-step. Two-step baby." "This is your last fucking chance! Thank you so fucking much Brisbane. We can't wait to come back. Please go and buy merch from these boys. As we said, this show got put on with such short notice, please go help them out. Buy as much as you fucking can." I left Black Bear Lodge adding three bands to my seen live list and my heart hammering from the energy in the room. This show was truly a testament to the willpower of the Australian Alternative Music Scene and it's importance to the people inside of the community. Thank you to everyone involved in making this show happen, your efforts were definitely worth it.

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You can find DEADSKIN on: Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok

For Fans Of: Beartooth, Sworn In, Alpha Wolf and Void Of Vision

All Photos by Pearce Krisanski

You can find more DEADSKIN content in our ArkFést Breakdown here and for some Mitch content, you can read his vocal interview here.

If you missed out on some much needed Nicolas Cage Fighter merch, you can find it for purchase at the link.