It’s been a loooong 17 years since Poison The Well have been Down Under. One break-up, worldwide pandemic and new album later, they’re finally here and our hearts and minds are so ready. Our bodies? Well, the jury’s still out on that, but let’s fuck around and find out, as they say.
First up are locals Ends In Tragedy, who have been going from strength to strength since their inception, only a few years back. Bringing a sound bursting with early 2000s metalcore nostalgic influence, youthful vigour and, of course, a buttload of breakdowns, they pack one hell of a punch and set the tone for the rest of the night with confidence and full effect. Great to see such a good turnout and response for the opening band, too. With some great call and response during their closing song, it’s clear they’ve got some fans in the crowd, and no doubt a bunch of new ones by the end of their set. Definitely a band to keep an eye on, big things ahead.
Up next are fellow Melbournians Iron Mind. Along for the whole tour and riding the waves of an especially busy couple of years, these stalwarts of the hardcore waste no time getting down to business.
Vocalist Sam Octigan has a commanding presence, bounding back and forth across the stage and spitting his lyrics with immense intensity. Add in razor sharp guitar riffing, pounding basslines and booming drums and you’ve got one heavy as hell groove machine that whips the crowd into a non-stop frenzy. Lots of mutual love between band and crowd, local hardcore turned up tonight. These guys show us how it’s done. Every. Damn. Time.
Boston’s Haywire come out swinging, singer Austin declaring “this is the Australian anthem,” launching into a cover of The Angels’ Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? As you can imagine, it gets the crowd riled up and fulfilling their duty in yelling out the mandatory “No way! Get Fucked! Fuck Off!”
Having pre-listened to the wrong Haywire, I was expecting a band that sounds like you’re about to die in the moshpit. Instead, what we have is an infectious mashup of oi punk singalongs, bouncy hardcore groove, and bloody good vibes. Perhaps still keep your head on a swivel.
Austin lets us know what they’re about as he announces, “This song’s about smashing Nazis.” Always a very welcome statement. Two-stepping all over the stage, he’s a constant ball of energy, commanding the crowd for maximum output.
Calling out to the drunks and addicts in the room, Austin says to have a drink for him, as he can no longer do so responsibly and is just turning one year sober for the first time in his life. Cheers of support follow, and while he assures he won’t preach, he does say he’s jealous of those who can, acknowledging the difficulty of doing so in our culture, and encourages anyone who feels things are getting out of control and they’re unable to cope and function how they’d like, to reach out for some help. It’s truly heartwarming. Real shit.
We’re also encouraged to take a moment and tell those close to us how much we love and appreciate them. Music in general, especially hardcore, is meant to be all about community and looking after each other, which often gets lost. To be reminded of that, baring one’s soul, being vulnerable, and cutting out the mucho bullshit, this really strikes a nerve and brings the good feels.
Haywire deliver a set full of high energy, great vibes and a massive call for togetherness. It’s just what we needed. “Speed said Sydney have the hardest moshers… Prove them wrong.” We’re left momentarily spent, excited for their return, whenever that may be, and absolutely fired up for the main act to follow.
Poison. The. Well… Let’s effing go!
As the soft, eerie twang of Botchla’s intro creeps in and vocalist Jeffrey Moreira sings “But I adore her…,” the room’s collective spines tingle with anticipation for that 30 second mark, while singing every word from the get go, and then boom! As the band kicks in with full force, the energy is turned up to 11 and the crowd explodes into a sea of flailing limbs. Zombies Are Good For Your Health ups the ante as the chaos continues, before we get our first taste from The Opposite Of December in Slice Paper Wrists.
Promised every track from OOD, staggering the tracks in amongst a mix from their discography brings a nice ebb and flow, plus the good old fashioned element of surprise. Thoroughbreds from Peace In Place, only released back in March, goes off, and it’s great to see their new material get the love it deserves. It’s clear that although this band has been gone for quite a while, they most certainly have not been forgotten.
Jeffrey, fellow long-standing members in lead guitarist Ryan Primack and drummer Chris Hornbrook, plus relatively newer but now well-solidified additions in guitarist Vadim Tavern and bassist Noah Harmon fire on all cylinders and work perfectly in sync.
Jeffrey throws love to the crowd, expressing how awesome it is to be able to play down here, while keeping everyone hyped and continuing to throw in all their energy, as they kick into another OOD banger in 12/23/93.
Pounding double kick drums, thumping basslines, chuggy guitar riffs, twangy solos, and Jeffrey’s patented double-whammy of raspy screams and haunting singing guide us through this journey.
The upbeat punk pace of Letter Thing, off versions, mixes things up nicely, while Artist’s Rendering Of Me has the crowd screaming “I could never swallow your false ideals of a lifeless happy ending!” as loudly as they can. It’s made all the more intense by Jeffery getting up in the crowd’s grills to conduct them the second time around.
It must be challenging for a band with such a strong back catalogue, especially a revered early release with a life of its own, to find that balance between honouring legacy, pleasing fans with classics, and finding room for newer songs and artistic expression. Poison The Well do that with ease, as Wax Mask fits in amongst it and let’s their eerie and atmospheric side shine once again.
Referencing Haywire’s talk of friendship, Jeffrey takes the time to yet again express his gratitude for being able to be here, acknowledging the long time and distance between visits and recording activity, and just how important everyone sharing the stage is to him. These guys made being emotional in heavy music cool and it’s so wonderful and heartwarming to see him take that moment.
As if they needed an ace in their sleeve, with how intense the whole set has been, Jeffrey brings out Austin from Haywire to sing set closer Nerdy with him, challenging the crowd to try to take the mic from him, as they both spend much of the song up on the barrier, as well as Austin crowd surfing his way across the moshpit.
What an absolute corker of a night!
As the house lights come on and they try to expedite our exit from the venue with a country ballad, I hear someone yell out “what the fuck is this hillbilly shit??” I dare say we don’t have to go home, but we can’t stay here.
‘Til next time, y’all!
Huge thanks to the 170 Russell Crew, Iron Mind, Ends in Tragedy, Haywire, Poison The Well and Dallas Does PR for having us!
