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GRIZZLYSHARK: TOOWOOMBA CONCERT REVIEW

On Saturday 13th of December I stood in line at 7pm outside of Volcanic Brewing in Toowoomba waiting for what was bound to be an absolutely feral last show from Lust & Loathe for the year. In my experience thus far, the energy is always high in Toowoomba and I was not disappointed as it felt like the crowd had something to prove to round out the year's

events. As I wandered towards the back to check out the merch tables I was greeted by the boys of Doombride who mentioned "You probably don't even know who we are," to display the most genuine reaction of flustered appreciation and disbelief I have seen when I responded that I knew exactly who they were actually and they were the main reason I was there, after wanting to see them perform for months with the accidental introduction via Tiktok doom scroll. Sorry everyone else, no shade, I love you all. With a t-shirt and Grizzlyshark beanie and hat now in my possession, I made my way back to the front to wait for local talent Deprived Of to start the night off, where I ran into Liam of Gold Coast/Brisbane band Insect. There is a lot to cover for the night so let's jump into it.


Deprived of kicked off the night and I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed. Deprived of is self proclaimed music for "sad horny people" and they sure fit that description, with a Deftones meets Kisschasy meets metalcore vibe. "BRING IT THE FUCK IN" began the

night, causing the pit to fill quickly. "Open this pit up, I want to see some dancing" before a push pit was created. "This next song is dedicated to someone who tossed up our lives on the stage and in this room. Rest in peace." "Rest in peace" the crowd answered. "This song is called Iris". Starting the song laying on the stage vocalist Tatey kept the energy heavy throughout the track as the crowd swayed to the music before several pairs took to the pit to slow dance, slipping effortlessly into the breakdown while standing in the pit. "Fuck it up!" pulled the energy right back up again, on and off of the stage. "This next song is dedicated to all the pretty boys." Overall, Deprived of gave a tight, energetic and well thought-out performance, starting off the night perfectly. I am eager to see them perform again.


Next up for the night were Doombride. "We've got a couple of songs for ya. Just a couple." "Bring it in". Locking in immediately the band jumped in their opening track "Ambergris", the pit filling again as people ran in from outside to watch the show. "This is our first time in Toowoomba by the way". "This is fucking sick. It was a three and a half hour drive but it was well fucking worth it." One of my absolute favourite things to see is band members jumping into the pit and I was not disappointed as Dane

jumped in to pull the energy closer to the stage, the pit area turning into a feral push pit once more as the music turned heavy. "Hold your nerve" had Dane in the pit again, pushing crowd members to get them into the mood, raising the energy even higher. Another of my favourite things about smaller local shows is watching members from the other bands jump into the pit, celebrating the other bands and taking part in the mayhem, and I wasn't disappointed as several members of Deprived Of took to the pit. "I like the look of this pit, but I think we can do better. Can we get a little more? I think we can get a fucking sick mosh pit going. How is everyone doing tonight? Make sure you are all staying safe, hydrated and we all get home okay." Leading up to this I was witnessing a group of concert go-ers organising a bigger crowd to enter the pit, so I knew Doombride were in for a treat, having experienced Toowoomba crowds many times before. "I just want to say, fuck you anxiety. This is a song about feeling trapped inside of your own skin and I just want to say if you have anxiety and suffer from panic attacks, you aren't alone." Watching as Liam jumped up to the mic from the pit was honestly the cherry on top of Doombride's performance. The crowd ending on a high as Dane started a circle pit while performing before taking back to the stage before rounding out the night with "I May Be Going In Circles, But At Least I Am Going Somewhere."


Next for the night's events and direct support took to the stage in the form of Citadel, who first performed in Toowoomba 11 years previously, reminded by a notification the morning of this show. I was least informed on Citadel's music so I was genuinely excited to find out what I was in for. Beckoning the crowd forward we were introduced with "Hey,

Yo. What's up? We're Citadel. Thanks for hanging out." I was immediately hit with the energy of Spirit Box, pulling the crowd into a circle pit within minutes and dominating the stage. "This is the first time we have been invited out to Toowoomba. We are going to play you a few songs, I hope you like them." After a drink being spilt and then spread all over the concrete pit area, "This is dangerously wet, I know it is our fault but can we get this mopped up maybe. I don't know anything about mops. I don't know, I don't have any power here," with one attendee jumping onto the wet floor and "mopping" the floor with his shirt while performing an angel motion. "I'm so sad for your clothes." Eventually this resulted in a first time appearance of a mosh-while-we-mop situation and the splitting open of someone's head who fell in the damp despite the efforts. "This next song is probably the angriest song I have every written. So this song goes out to anyone who is angry about the state of the world with what they see on Instagram and Tiktok. It is really easy to feel disconnected these days, but you are heard and we love you." Citadel owned the stage from the second they stepped onto it until they relinquished it.


Finally, we were on to the headliner Grizzlyshark, to round out the night and the year. After messing around with Liam and my kiddo while they set up their stage Grizzlyshark hit the ground running "We are Grizzlyshark, let's get it fucking started." And get it started they did, immediately jumping into a high energy performance. Coming off the

back of their most recent releases with "Waiting for Y2K" and "Brand New Tragedy" featuring Jesse of Zuko, I was keen to see how that energy transferred to the stage, and it was an infectiously chaotic and bouncy display of skill and showmanship. "You two, show me what you can do." "We have a slightly longer set for you tonight, at the request of Lust & Loathe themselves.... Anyway, we are going to keep this going, he is going to fuck it up."

"You'd all better be cooking out there" they called in way of introduction to 'Waiting for Y2K', the crowd immediately stepping up the energy to match the band. "We have four more for you. Or we can go home? This is the new one. So if you know it, if ya know it, I don't know it, you don't know it." While I was hoping there would be a sneaky guest appearance of Jesse for my first time of seeing 'Brand New Tragedy,' Lewis more than stepped up to the plate, with the guitarists smashing out their roles as support singers. At this point, while some of the crowd had dropped off slightly, you wouldn't have known with how much energy the crowd were throwing toward the stage. Sometimes there are shows that you wish wouldn't end and I found myself in this zone, having genuinely enjoyed all four set, and the array of music on display. So as Grizzlyshark drew to a close, with the post concert blues hitting early, I left the night with four new bands that were added to my must see again list. Congratulations Lust & Loathe on a successful last show for the year, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2026.



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


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