WAR BEAR: BRISBANE CONCERT REVIEW
- Apr 30
- 18 min read
One of the bonuses of being a part of the Queensland Alternative Music Scene is getting to witness insane line-ups like this one on a regular basis. On April 18th I walked up the towering staircase of Tomcat in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane with a whole show of repeat watches in front of me. Having just watched Riley and Billy perform six days beforehand in their
other band False Front 45 with Deadskin and Virtues (you can read the review here) I was excited to see them in the more aggressive and unforgiving styling of Rimmy Grasa. This one is going to be long, but there was honestly so much happening in each set that it has to be talked about. But I have cut it down as much as I am able.
Unfortunately there were quite a few later arrivals (definitely in the mosher persuasion) so the crowd for Rimmy was smaller that I expected it would be and the band honestly deserves. So as we jump into the review, I do need to put in a disclaimer for a language warning, because Riley's favourite word is definitely the same as mine. "We're fucking Rimmy Grasa from the Sunny Coast. Get this fucking party started cunt" Riley screamed jumping into The Dark."Bring this shit in. move forward. We don't fucking bite. It's Rimmy Grasa cunt, let's see some movement." As we moved into Under The Sun the crowd shuffled their
way forward, swaying and bobbing their heads to the beat. "Fucking move count." "This next one is called Means Nothing. Let's see some movement you stupid fucking cunts." At this point I was giggling to myself because talking to the band off of the stage is entirely different to the demons that take over them while they perform. Yes, you will find them in the pit being a menace, but the interaction is like night and day. "Let's dance cunts. This next one is called closed fucking eyes." While there wasn't a lot of room to move around the band didn't stand still throughout their set, picking their quadrant and making the most of it. As time went on the crowd began to fill in as attendees trickled up the staircase. Watching the high-hat bounce wildly around as
drummer Daniel put in the work had onlookers tipping their heads waiting to see if it was going to fall mid-song. Since I have seen Rimmy a few times in the last twelve months, I have started a game for myself, which is how many times will I see guitarist Tom's face throughout the set, as his long hair hangs over his face with a perfect rendition of Cousin It. This time was six, including one impressive windmill. "It's time for some fucking movement, you stupid fucking cunts. Stand the fuck up. Get on your fucking feet." We had now hit the favourite point of the set for me and that is Snake Demeanour and watching the band turn into feral little gremlin's on the stage and the crowd groove in place. "Give it up for yourself cunts. Give it up to you. Thanks for coming out early eh. We fucking love Brissy. We love doing this shit. This next one is called fucking jodete eh. We are going to go slightly
heavier with this one. So I actually want to see some fucking cunts moving. Let's get this shit going cunt." "Who's excited for War Bear? Is that fucking it? I said who is excited for War Bear? That's more like it cunt. I hear they are shooting a music video tonight. You guys are saving it for them obviously." "We want to apologise for the feedback. It is coming from this guy to the right. Nah it's me" joked Billy. "Ok let's go. Don't fucking let me down cunt." "Brisbane one last time for you stupid cunts. This one is called Think About It. One last fucking chance. Brisbane. Brisbane we fucking love you cunts." As the set came to a close the dominating energy that had permeated the room began to soften, Rimmy Grasa leaving the stage to applause.
Next up for the night was Awake In Time. Watching vocalist Alex jump from photographer to vocalist and back to photographer was honestly impressive. Hitting the stage with the energy of a group of men who don't mess around when it comes to their performances, A.I.T jumped
straight into Life Over Vices. "You. You guys having fun out there? Come on. Come on. Take two steps forward" Alex said gesturing for the ever growing crowd to meet him at the front bench. "Bang your fucking heads." As Alex took to the floor giving the band rest of the band space to spread out. At this point members of Rimmy Grasa and Pyrokinesis jumped into the pit, causing a ruckus and encouraging others to join the fray. "Thank you everyone. Yo let's give it up for Rimmy Grasa for opening us up." "My God do those guys fuck. They are fucking awesome. This one is called Drowning. Let's see a little more movement out there yeah!" Power stances engaged from the guitarist, arms flying from behind the drum kit and leg up on the front divider drew the energy higher, kicking full into gear with a blegh! "Are you guys having fun out there? I can't see you because these lights are fucking blinding me. Put your hands up in the air if you're having fucking fun." "Fuck yeah Brisbane."
"Fucking cheers guys" Alex said holding a beer up to the crowd to shouts of approval. "This song is our latest single that we've dropped. It's not that new now but it's called Solace. " I need to confess, for most of the set I could only see three out of five band members due to speaker and other member placement, however what I could see the Awake In Time crew stepping up to the edge of the stage to connect with the crowd and drumsticks crashing into the cymbals with precision. Around this point in the night the stage room had filled to roughly three-quarters with concert goers banging their heads and swaying to everything offered to them. "Oh my god, it's fucking hot up here. Are you guys as hot out there as I am up here?" "Alex!" "I can't see you." "Alright who wants to hear some new shit? It's heavy." "We've got two new songs for you... Alright, this song is called Truths To Bury." "This shit is heavier than all of our other stuff so let's see some movement yeah!" "You are the first people to ever hear this." "Let's see you fucking guys take it up a notch. Let's fucking get this
going." "Let's see you guys fucking throw down in this part." A push pit opened on command, the crowd smiling on as they watched. "Who's having a good time tonight? Fuck yeah. Thank you for coming out tonight Brisbane. Fuck yeah Thank you for coming out to Tomcat. We love playing here. How good is it that Tomcat is open again! In the spirit of new music, who wants to hear us play another one? Alright, let's do another one." The room stopped as a man from the crowd shouted like a fog horn, causing the band to laugh along with everyone else. Crawling Under Skin had the energy lifting in the room once more with the band throwing down on stage as much as the space would allow. "Thank you guys. We've got one more song left for you and then Pyrokinesis. Who has heard of Pyrokinesis before? A few of you good. If you haven't, you are in for a treat, they are fucking awesome. And we
can't forget the reason we are all here, War Bear. Give it up for War Bear. So later I will be on the camera for War Bear. We will be filming a music video if you didn't know. So make sure you get in front of my camera so we can get you on the video yeah. This is our last song so let's see you go fucking nuts out there. This song is called Lying in Pain." "Make some fucking noise for yourself. Is that it? I said make some fucking noise for yourself. Thankyou. Was that so hard? Thankyou." On the closing note "Thankyou Brisbane. Pyrokinesis next. War Bear after them. Let's get fucked up." Awake In Time's set was finished and they left the stage to a round of applause.
Coming onto the stage as Direct Support for the night we had Pyrokinesis. "All of you mother fuckers up the back. Bring it in. Up the front. Come on. Come on. Keep coming. That's it. A little more." "If you're standing up, two steps in. If you are sitting down, get the fuck up. We're Pyrokinesis from the Gold Coast. If you're not made of glass, get the fuck in here. This song is called Atrophy, let's run it. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce." Immediately vocalist Skylar was standing on the barricade, pushing the stage energy
into the crowd. "Alright split this shit. That way. That way." Following the instruction the moshpit split for the first wall of death for the night. "Not bad. Not bad. Not bad. You guys know how late it is? It's fucking 9:30. Let's turn this shit the fuck up. We're Pyrokinesis from the Gold Coast. As I was saying before, if you're not made of fucking glass, if you are a fucking warrior, or a warrior princess, I need you to get up here with my boy Mophead. This song is called Blackout. It's off our record that dropped a few weeks back. Sing it if you know it. I'm going to need some circle pit action in this one. So get your sporty shoes, lace that shit up. Let's go!"
I need to make a personal request, oh dear reader. I have been trying to bully Pyro into making 'Sporty Shoes' merch, because at all three performances I have seen, this catch phrase has been used and I think it is about time they make it happen. Maybe if enough of us bug them about it, we can bring Sporty Shoes merch into reality.
"Sorry, bro's guitars not working. It is a very important part of that apparatus... Fucking hell. Jesus Christ. This guy has one job. Plug in your guitar and play a riff." "My bad. Let's see some movement." After some technical difficulties, Pyrokinesis was back to it, immediately filling the room with chaos again as a circle pit opened, turning into a push pit. "I need a fucking circle pit. Open this shit up!" Right about now is when Skylar climbed from the stage, to the barricade and onto a ledge next to
the speakers, watching over the crowd like Batman as the pit opened again, before jumping down and hitting the stage again. "Alright. This is looking more like Brisbane at 9:30pm. How the fuck we doing tonight Brissy?" Ruckus cheering answered from the crowd. "I'm having some water, but that is because you guys are going to take the rains on this next song. Can I get that from you Brissy? Can you sing with us tonight?" Screeching responded. "It's very simple. I'm not going to mince words. We're going to get straight into it. So I'm gonna say 'You make me wanna do, do the.'" "Bad, bad thing." "But not like that. Scream it." "BAD, BAD THING. Two bad's and a thing." "Two bad's, one thing. Let's test it." "Bad, Bad thing." "It's two words guys, come on." "Again?" "Yeah I'm not going
to give up on them that easily. You make me wanna do do the. Third time's the charm. You make me wanna do do the." "BAD, BAD THING" the crowd responded. "This one's called Holy Water. If you know it, sing it. If you don't know it, and you've got arms and legs, fucking beat your friend up, or someone." If you haven't seen Pyrokinesis live before, the band has mastered the art of pop-punk style stage banter with the heavier metalcore style music, to the point that the crowd can be push putting one second, laughing the next and two-stepping right after. It is honestly an impressive thing to witness, as it doesn't feel forced or rehearsed, just natural and in the moment. "Okay, split this room right down the middle. That way." From only a six song set, Pryokinesis had the crowd working, matching the bouncy energy from the stage. "Good fucking lungs on you Brissy, that's pretty good. Give
yourselves another hand. We're not going to practice this next one, but the lyric is 'We've come to fall to fall apart'". "Shut the fuck up and play the song." "This one's fast. This one's fucked. We're going to be tired. You better be fucking tired at the end of this one. Let's go! Warriors only." After the two stepping and bouncing madness that was the crowd for Momentum, "Good job boys and girls. You guys know what's up. We don't get to see too much of this on the Gold Coast it's mainly MILF's on the beach andddddd methamphetamine. Do you guys get much of that up here? We, we don't do it. Anyway just want to give a big thanks to the bands from all across this great state of ours that have come tonight. Give it up for the boys who opened up tonight from the Sunny
Coast, Rimmy Grasa. And who can forget our brothers, fronted by the multi-talented Alex, the guys in Awake In Time. And the reason we are all here, our daddies in War Bear." "As everyone said before, it is really fucking hot up here, and I wore a button up shirt like an idiot." "Take your shirt off." members from the crowd shouted. "No. No we've got enough nudity" Skylar said, referring to their shirtless drummer Mason while guitarist Max screamed "Take it off. Take it off. Take it off." "I'm going to get frame mogged by this jacked unit here. Anyway, if you want to see some more nudity Candy Club is next door and I know if you get there before ten you can get a stamp and get in for free to see some titties and stuff. Anyway we have two more songs, I am going to frantically put my lid on my water bottle. But, this next one is off our EP Sulfur if you haven't checked it out and you have liked anything you have heard tonight, listen to that shit. Come and buy a shirt from us. We are just over there in the corner because War Bear
didn't want us next to them. The fucking mugs. But we've got two more left. Let's kick into it. Let's roll." During Hope the band had the crowd kick in with "Spin this fucking room Brisbane." "We've been Pyrokinesis. As I said before, come and have a chat with us. We are actually really nice. Some of us. Have a chat. You don't have to buy a shirt. Support the other bands as well. That's the way bands make money. Black t-shirts. Buy a black t-shirt even if you are a white t-shirt kind of person. Alright, we've got one more song..." "Two more songs" interrupted a crowd member to cheers and subsequent chanting. "How about we play this one..." "Yeah we play this one and see how we go." "We play this one bad and then we can get drunk." "If we play really shit then we can drink beers." "Okay, okay. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up. Alright, we've got one more song. It's called Unwritten. If you know it please sing it me. If you don't know it, run around in a circle real fast." At this point the stage and crowd with crazy, both sections of the
room, giving their all for the last time. The members of Rimmy Grasa jumping in and out of the pit, causing mayhem and leading the shenanigans throughout most of the set. "This is your last chance Brissy." "Thank you so much Brissy. Stick around for War Bear." On that note the Pyrokinesis performance finished with a "Fuck Yeah!" and applause from the crowd.
Vocalist Ravi said after the fact "something about last night felt different had more words but they sucked and weren’t enough thank you for everything", and he was right. There was something different about it.
Like the coming together of a collective with a common goal and breathing as one, as part of and for the community. There is something about Ravi and War Bear that seems to pull the best of the community to them, drawing in the musicians and heavy music fans who want to improve the scene and willingly call out the people who are infecting it, like wearing a shirt that says 'dead paedophiles don't re-offend' onto the stage. Throughout the night there were interactions which while on the surface may have seemed small, like Riley coming over to talk to me and thanking me for coming to his second show in a week; Daniel introducing himself in person and stating "I forgot your fucking sticker" after he had previously commented on an Instagram post of my laptop that it "needed a Rimmy sticker"; Me asking Alex if I could steal his set list after the set while we were chatting before he went on stage for him to say "Oh fuck, we probably need that hey" before running away laughing to find it at the merch table. Skylar slapping my hand away to hug me instead when I went to introduce myself in person after getting in trouble for not doing it the previous show; and finally Pete going out of his way to bring me several SlugFest 25 posters that I had asked for and he refused to let me pay for. All of this combined are moments that add up to a larger picture of where the scene is heading and I am so here for it. If you are caught in the web of this band, you are unlikely to see yourself in a position where you feel unwelcome if your heart is in the right place and you have good motives behind you. The hype around War Bear sits on the same shelf as Zukø and We The Hollow for me, where it is almost cult like with the level of devotion the fans have for the bands, but unlike a typical cult, the bands themselves throw that respect and appreciation right back into the fans.
Now we have come to the point in the night that had drawn everyone to Tomcat in the first place. If you haven't seen War Bear perform before, One, honestly what are you doing with your adult money? And Two, I promise you aren't prepared for the environment that you are going to enter. War Bear hit the ground running, "This song is called Slug God." With immediate windmills, head banging, two stepping, push pit and power stances from the band this was sure to be an interaction for the
ages. "Wake up. Let me fucking hear you. Open. Open. Open. Bang your fucking head. On my count. You ready? Three. Two. One. Go!" Ravi said stepping up on the barricade to get into the front row's face. "This song is called Don't Be Afraid.... Spin this room. Go. Go. Go." Half of the room disappeared into the pit, including members from all previous bands. The energy in the room hit 1000 from the first note of War Bear's set and it didn't lower until the band left the stage. At the infamous moment that Ravi entered the pit, I had a trail of fingertips across my head by way of greeting as he passed to walk to the back of the room, dragging in people as he went. "I don't know what the next song is, but it's gunna be cool" he commented from the back of the room. "It's Captain's log." "...I love you. Oh, she said get down" Ravi
continued as he made his way on top of the bar and did in fact not get down until he decided to make his way back to the stage where the band had been playing their hearts out. "Come on guys. All the way in." "Who here has seen us before? Let us hear your fucking voices." The crowd erupted. "Either there is some fucking loud people, or we have played some shows. Alright guys. I want to see you take three steps forward. Yeah you in the back. All the way in. All the way in. This song goes out to my Dad. It's called Rectum. I don't wanna see anyone moshing. I at least need to see you bang your head. Or at least respect women." I thought the room was feral before, but at this point I needed to move to the corner of the barricade as the pit went ballistic in a hectic push pit that found the camera crew
being knocked around. "I love you Ravi" a member of the crowd screamed as the song came to an end. "This song goes out to our broken leg. It's called Soy Boy Beta Cuck. Let's spin this fucking room. Spin. Spin. SPIN. Keep it fucking going." This was potentially one of the most chaotic circle pits I have seen, with people sliding over the floor, members missing the edge of the pit and running right through the crowd and a general air of mayhem that was unmatched. "You mother fuckers are psychos." "This song's for all of you." DON'T LOOK AT ME had Ravi in the photo pit area passing the mic to the front row. "Fuck yeah War Bear." "Dude. I'm so fucking tired." "I'm really tired, but I don't feel that bad. Sorry Bro." "Alright Tomcat it has been about eighteen months at fucking least since we've been in this
room and we are so grateful to be back. Give it up for the Tomcat staff and management for bringing this fucking venue back. I understand it has been a long fucking road for you guys. Thank you so much for sticking with it. Fuck tobacconists... And Fuck my Dad. Fuck him real hard, he likes it." "This is a new song and we wanted to film it in here, with you... Alright who's got a drink in their hand. Fuck these lights I can't see anything. Go to the bar and support this bar and get a drink. But, if we say Buffalo" (guitarist Brendan chugged his drink) "That better not be water. If we say Buffalo in your right hand, that's this one, OR this one for you guys facing this way. If we say Buffalo then you have to finish your drink. What's the fucking word?" "Buffalo" shouted the crowd. "I'm giving you to the count
of three and then you are going to scream Buffalo as loud as you can. It goes out to drinking. It goes back to repressed memories. It goes back to looking like a sexy farmer in a field. This song is called Buffalo, let's have some fun. Think sexy thoughts." I will leave this section of the show a mystery for the boys and the video reveal/song drop. "Alright mother fuckers, two steps forward. Bring it in. Bring it in. I want to see some fucking community. You guys at the back, come on." "We've got one official song left for you guys. If you guys do good, we will play one, maybe two more songs. But what I need you to do is fill this fucking room. Come on in. Come on in. All the way in. So we have a very fucking old song that we wrote a long time ago before Brendan was
nearly forty (he nods, breathing heavily). But I need you to sing it with me because otherwise I am going to fuck it up. Because I fuck it up so regularly and it is only three fucking words. So if you haven't seen us before we are all going to sing together. I know it is fucking weird as shit right now. I know fuel prices are reaming me with no fucking lube and I have a beige camry hybrid. I can't imagine what it is doing to you people with real cars. So fuck the government. Fuck the weird shit. Fuck all of it. We are here together and we are here to have a good time. So on the count of three I am going to have you sing three fucking words with me. And those words are We're still here. Ready! One, Two, Three. WE'RE STILL HERE." The crowd matched the energy and volume, screaming back to the stage. "WE'RE STILL HERE. WE'RE STILL
HERE. There you go, it's just three words. I reckon Trump could remember that shit and that cunt is fucked. And he has a small penis. But it's bigger than mine. I've got one of those innies. It's eleven inches on the inside. This song is for fucking all of you. Thank you so fucking much... We are so little without you guys. But you guys are still here." If you have been to a War Bear show before you will know what a special experience this part of the show is, the entire crowd comes together, throwing their full energy towards the band, moving as one and chanting together. We're still here becomes another crowd walk moment for the show and this time as the crowd chants for the band. Ravi jumped onto one of the archways benches, holding the mic out to the
crowd. "You guys want two more? You want sixty-seven more, because I don't have that. I can't do sixty-nine, I'm too small" (Crowd erupts in laughter). "We're filming a special song tonight, but I feel like you guys are too sober. Show of hands, who's sober? You guys are weird. You're at a bar. We're going to play Buffalo again and this time I'm not going to fuck it up. Watch me fuck it up." "I'm so sweaty. Do you have one more in you Moon boot? Are we going to do one more big cahoona? Do you guys want one more, or do you want us to fuck off?" "ONE MORE. ONE MORE. ONE MORE." "Strip club. Strip club. Strip Club." Around this point War Bear was bullied into not only performing another heavy song, but also into two further encores in the form of Hatchimachi and Offsider under the stipulation that hat wearers go "sidies." "You guys want one more or are you done? Done? Good? You want one more? (Cheers erupt.) "This is our last song and then we're fucking out of here... This is from
our new EP that will be out later this year." Finding the rhythm the crowd head banged, two-stepped and push-pit for their last moments with the band, one man getting onto the shoulders of another in the middle of the pit. I cannot stress enough how much a War Bear show is designed for the fan interaction, proven time and time again as they throw their all into it, both in and off of it. "Alright. We're done. That's it. All we've learnt is I can't sing for shit... Thank you so fucking much."
All War Bear photos by Darkside Fairy
You can read more on War Bear in our 15 Queensland bands you need to be listening to here.
More on Pyrokinesis can be found at our review of blackout here, holy water here, Twisted Lullaby concert review here and in Behind The Mic: Volume I here.
You can find Awake In Time in Behind The Lens as we go through a deep dive of Alex's photographer career here.
You can read more on Rimmy Grasa in our 15 Queensland bands you need to be listening to here.
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