ZUKO: TEETH TO THE CURB BRISBANE CONCERT REVIEW

Have you ever seen Mario in a circle pit? Thanks to Zuko I can now say I have. Having watched the band perform three times last year with Alpha Wolf, Stray From The Path and finally at their headlining show in Toowoomba I knew what I was in for coming into this show and the

excitement was at its peak before I even arrived in Brisbane. Having watched the rapid growth of Zuko's fan base over 2025 I was so happy for the band to see most of their shows sell out well before performance day. So on Friday February 27th, I was stood at the corner of the balcony at The Brightside in Brisbane waiting for Inarius, PRAY4ME, Pincer+ and Zuko to take to the stage, the atmosphere in the packed to capacity room electric and palpable with anticipation.

The pit and balcony filled rapidly for the sold out event as opening act Inarius took to the stage with the dominance of a bull in a china shop. To say the crowd had come to "fuck shit up" is probably the understatement

of the century as the collective shouted with the statement "Brightside what the fuck is up?" Blasting through their high energy set they performed their tracks Snake Eyes, Run It Straight, Systemanic and Locust while goading the crowd to push further with pit calls of "Keep fucking moving", "If you know what's good, break this fucking room", "If you guys haven't heard of us before, I'm going to need everyone at the front to take two steps forward, that's all I

need, one after the other, left and right. We've got some fucking bangers

for you tonight and you guys are keen on getting down with me, now is the fucking time" "Fuck it up", "If you haven't moved, now's the time to move"

and "Two-step this shit." Vocalist Jack prowled and stomped across the stage through their set as the string section chugged their way through the performance, interacting and joking amongst themselves as the drums pummelled the crowd to within an inch of their life. I first saw Inarius perform at SlugFest last year in October and they left me wondering how that was

their first live performance, and I am happy to see this wasn't a once off because I was left blown away by how engaging their stage presence is once again. As the band left the stage it was to ruckus applause and shouting from the

crowd.

Next to take the stage was PRAY4ME. Out of the nights occupants, PRAY4ME would probably be the one that I know the least about, but I can tell you I was made an instant fan. "We didn't come here for you to stand

there and stare at me, when this shit kicks in I want this whole room to fucking spin. This is called Marionette." With some of the craziest gutturals and pig squeals on display throughout the night and seeing how effortlessly the techniques were changed while

prowling around the stage you know I was entranced. There was a good amount of crowd interaction between tracks with lines like "Show me something", "Fuck it up", "Let's keep this shit going. This is an old one. This is Delrium", "Time to two-step, two-step", "Thank you so fucking much, let's keep it going", "We have merch up the back, but if you don't like anything we have to offer,

please, please buy something from the other bands. It goes such a long way for us. Now what I'm going to need you to do, is if you have any negative energy let it out, this is KNIFE EATER" and "This is the title track from our last EP, this song is called Made To Bleed. This is a heavy one. No fucking choruses on this one. This is for the boys in the pit

and the girls" being thrown from the stage. I don't know what it is about seeing a guitarist stand on the stage with a stoic expression as they stare out at the crowd and only their hands moving like they are Michael

Meyers, but it is like a beacon for the pit to lose their shit. And lose their shit in a fight pit they did. "Brisbane this is the last breakdown we have tonight. Split it down the middle, side to side. We'll see you at the next one." My final note from PRAY4ME's set, and potentially my favourite part, a spontaneous "pray" pit broke out with several members of the crowd joining a circle, kneeling on the ground and praying to the pit gods as the band watched on with smiles on their faces. If this isn't already, I hope this becomes a trend for PRAY4ME shows.

Next to the stage, was the only out of state band Pincer+, coming all the way from Perth for the three show tour. Starting their set with a section of 'Dream a little dream of me' inducing the crowd to form a slow dance pit before rapidly switching into a regular push pit, the crowd's faces moving to stank faces as the track kicked in. "Brisbane wake the fuck up." You know when a vocalist hits the stage in shorts there are going to be legs flying around and Jaiden did not disappoint. Pincer+ in general didn't have a huge amount of crowd interaction but the band matched the crowds energy, feeding off of each other and making talking overall unnecessary to continue the momentum. "If you know the words

to this, get the fuck up here!" During Vision of Angels pit menace Jack came out to play as he stage dove into the crowd, starting a trend that would continue throughout the rest of the night. "Holy shit! This is my first time in this city and I already fucking love it." "Move to Queensland" the crowd shouted in return. "What are your house prices like?" "So fucked" said the crowd. "We've got a few more, let's keep it moving. I want to see that energy." Throwing

themselves into it one last time the band performed Closer To God and Angeldust to a frenzied crowd. Leaving the stage to tremendous cheers.

Finally we were on to the main course, Zuko. In true Zuko style the show started and ended with crowd interaction. If you have never been to a Zuko show before (which I recommend you do) there are two things you should expect, one, high energy performances with two-stepping and if you are lucky crowd

surfing and barricade action from vocalist Jesse, and two, no holds barred crowd involvement, including stage diving, crowd surfing and a free-for-all on fan inclusive vocals. This performance was definitely on brand, including a stage full of fans, two-stepping in numbers you haven't seen before, circle and push pits with crowd movement from the front of the stage all the way to the bar. One of my favourite things about a Zuko show is even though they are on the stage

performing, the band feels like a part of the crowd, not separate but entirely immersed in the energy, everything moving in cohesion as one. I have been to many shows in my eighteen years of attending live performances, however, Friday night was the first time that when a band said "side-to-fucking-side" I saw a pit open from side-to-side and move collectively as instructed and unleashing absolute mayhem. As a tiny journalist on the balcony I was not envious of the photographers

fighting for their lives in the pit. "Show me what the fuck you got" Jesse screamed pulling out complete madness and riot in the pit, a man standing on the shoulders of others before falling back and getting caught by the crowd. "Everyone's fucking got it. This life means a lot more than you fucking think. This is Callous mother fucker." "Honestly this shit was so powered I forgot the words in the second song. I'm so sorry. This shit is fucking amazing. Let's keep this fucking energy." "This one is Venom. I want to see some fucking bouncing, some head banging." We had at this moment hit the reason we

were all there and the inspiration for the tour. "Ladies. Where you at? This next one goes out to you guys. Hand up if you are a lady and you haven't moshed? Holy fucking shit. You guys are absolutely legends. Well I was going to say, all the ladies get in the pit for this one. Everyone fucking knows that there are creeps out there who want to taking advantage of fucking women. This one is very special. I have fucking seen a lot of shit. Especially when I was on tour

with fucking Alpha Wolf. I saw a fucking lot of shit. So let's just say that this one goes out to all those fucking creeps that try to take advantage of fucking women. This Teeth to the fucking Curb." I had thought that the crowd had become feral before but I was completely wrong as the entire crowd screamed the lyrics, the pit turning into an absolute frenzy of moving bodies and heightened energy, with crowd surfing, chant alongside and push pits taking the room by storm. I

will forever be amazed at how this band brings an entire crowd together, no matter the size. They are the true essence of a band made up of fans. "I need you for this one. Have you fucking got me?" Jesse asked as they jumped into Broken Neck. This was definitely the point that the show turned to the unruly side. "We have two fucking songs left okay. You guys have been killing it. I need that fucking energy for these last ones okay. You got me? Nah. I fucking said, you fucking got me bitch? This one's for

you guys for getting us this far, for keeping this scene real, the real cunts, no fake arse cunts. This is No Place For You. I want to see fucking real. Not a single fucking person sitting on this floor." I am going to get a little sappy for a second, but fuck it, what is this scene about if it isn't expressing who you are in the most honest and true to yourself form. It was right about now that I realised just how beautiful this scene is as I watched the floor not as a whole but in sections, seeing the circle pit area, moving fluid

like water down a drain, picking up the fallen as they continued around their route, the stage side line screaming the lyrics in the microphone held out by Jesse, and the crowd surfer being pulled around by everyone, but with a level of awareness for his safety at the lack of security to pull him over a barricade. In short, the purest parts of the scene on full display from a group of adults who pour their heart out into the music that the bands create. This is exactly what makes a

Zuko performance special, and whether you know their music or not, you will leave the show different. The set came to its conclusion with a performance of an as of yet unreleased track, putting the room into its final frenzy of the evening. My final thoughts from the night, as I walked out into the rain I discussed with my group about how the level of energy was so high from the beginning, never dipping and how it felt like the crowd was trying to prove to each band that they were seen and not a second thought because they weren't headlining. It is pretty rare but as the scene shifts to something that is for the support and betterment of everyone I know it will become more common place.

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Photos of Inarius and PRAY4ME by dan.x.ram

Photos of Zuko by darkside.fairy & mattywarrenphotography

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For Fans Of: Knocked Loose, Varials, Kublai Khan TX and Alpha Wolf