Words by: Kyra Jade
Special thank you to Destroy All Lines
These days putting on any show is a risk let alone a tour in another country. Teaming up with two well known bands to ensure success? Genius. The tour announcement for A Day To Remember (USA), Papa Roach (USA) & Landmvrks (France) sent Australia into melt down mode. This combination of bands was guaranteed to draw in all walks of life and this is exactly what happened. Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a beast of a venue to host this event and I was excited to feel the power of a packed out arena all celebrating metalcore, nu-metal, pop-punk – insert extra genres here…
Opening tonight was Landmvrks all the way from France. This marks the third time they have toured Australia announcing fondly that we have ‘always made them feel at home.’ Starting off their set was Creature and there was no mistaking Landmvrks are here to start the party. Sulfur was next as we were demanded to ‘circle pit’ and of course we obliged.
Landmvrks as a band are so fun to watch. From where I was sitting each band member looked like high energy ninjas. Sometimes I feel that the opening act isn’t turned up like the headliner and this was not the case tonight. They were loud, sounded great and were honestly a joy to watch. There were three ‘ego risers’ on stage and it was nice to see no ‘egos’ in sight. Everyone had their moment to shine and embrace the set. Being such a massive stage, I would of loved to have seen the drummer Kévin D’Agostino risen up although he had no issues smashing the fuck out of those drums and driving the beat.
It’s interesting to see the contrast between vocalist Florent ‘Flo’ Salfati’s thick French accent addressing the crowd, to singing in his native language then switching to English flawlessly & you couldn’t detect an accent whatsoever. I need to knuckle down and learn another language because this is badass.
Next up is Papa Roach. I got a lot to say about this performance. Little tricks of the trade, plus 30 years of experience, were in play instantly by startling everyone with a HUGE bang and strobe light capturing the crowd’s attention immediately. This is Papa Roach’s stage now, eyes to the front! Finishing their first song Even If It Kills Me, vocalist Jacoby Shaddix addressed the crowd and I always laugh when American’s mis-pronounce Brisbane as BrisBANE. In saying that Jacoby bypasses this and becomes family instantly by calling us Brissy and sprinkling no shortage of c*#t bombs throughout like someone that has no adult supervision, AKA his wife, & can’t be told off. It was hilarious!
The whole band was so tight, like well oiled machine. Watching Anthony Esperance ‘The Swiss Army Knife’ switch between guitar, keys, percussion and who knows what else was highly entertaining and matched Jacoby’s massive and chaotic energy tenfold. Even with the crowd being packed up the front like sardines, Jacoby took the opportunity to connect with his fans and do a lap around the arena, handing out fist bumps and singalong moments. It’s a nice touch and something that everyone in the crowd will remember fondly for years to come. Speaking volumes about what is important to Jacoby, it left the crowd feeling even more pumped for the night.
The bass entered the room with huge presence signalling the start of Getting Away With Murder. Evidently being a crowd favourite and sparking a huge singalong. I loved looking around the room and seeing old metalheads and new fans locking eyes and singing together. This is what music is all about.
Just before Leave a Light On, Shaddix appeared on the huge screens with a video message about suicide. It was done in a way that completely captured everyone’s attention and slowed the show right down to put a spotlight on this important message. After the heart-breaking news of young Bo Lueders from Harm’s Way leaving earth side only a few weeks ago that rocked our community, it was a timely reminder that life is precious and to CHECK ON YOUR FRIENDS. Mental illness & depression can live inside those who smile and put on a show to those around them, it doesn’t discriminate. Papa Roach have put their money where their mouth is by donating a portion of proceeds from their tour to a local charity. What a powerful and meaningful thing to do, setting an honourable example.
Balling my eyes out to Scars wasn’t on my 2026 bingo list but goddamn hearing that song live buckled me at my knees! Leaving the stage after Born For Greatness, I knew from sneaking a look at the previous shows that this was not the end, and boy I’m glad I was right. There were no complaints from old school fans listening to an extended intro’ before Between Angels and Insects took over our ear holes!
My favourite part of Papa Roach’s show was 100% their Nu-Metal medley featuring Blind by Korn, My Own Summer (Shove It) by Deftones, Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit & Chop Suey by System of A Down. The opening riff and lines of Blind were so powerful they nearly blew every hair off my head. It was so much fun and done so well I could have watched this for hours. In between each song Jacoby shouted out ‘NU-METAL’ and we sadly failed as a crowd to call back on queue. This was done so well and won’t be soon forgotten.
Of course we weren’t jipped on hearing their arguably most noticeable song, Last Resort. Which did exactly what its job was intended and got the crowd whipped into a frenzy. It was a performance that kept on giving and giving. The entertainment level was so high I honestly would be terrified to follow that performance. Bravo and thank you, Papa Roach.
Just before A Day To Remember took centre stage, we watched a line of fans being marched up on stage and I remember thinking to myself ‘Downfall Of Us All doesn’t have that great of a sing-along at the start’. I was wrong, these fans were hand picked to go up behind their drummer Alex Shelnutt and watch from the best spot in the house. A reverse play on Metallica’s Snakepit passes!
Although I can’t claim I’m the world’s most loyal ADTR fan, I have fond memories of running to my local record store to buy all their albums up to & including the collector’s edition of Homesick. The last time I got to watch them play was at Soundwave many, many moons ago and they were still a young band themselves. I was really happy that the first three songs were old bangers! The Downfall of Us All being an obvious yet welcome song to start off the night, everyone in this space knows what to do at the first ‘Da, da, da, da, DA, da!’ I mean if you don’t know, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. Next up was I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of? One of my absolute favourites and so much fun to sing to! 2nd Sucks presented an opportunity for me to feel like a ‘tough gorl’ for a moment.
For me personally it was really hard to stack up to Papa Roach after they left the stage smoking and split at the seams, although ADTR filled the room with a fun energy and captured the attention of the crowd to participate in all the fun on offer. The climax had to be Mr. Highway’s Thinking About the End with the famous ‘disrespect your surroundings’ call out. That one-liner has legs and will be something that will be forever be A Day To Remember in a nutshell. The crowd responded exactly how you wanted them to and chaos ensued. Everyone looked like they were having a ball… and we literally had inflatable basket balls cruising around the arena for Lebron.
What else would you expect other than a Nickelback and confetti moment tied into If It Means a Lot to You? The notorious ‘lover’s song’ got a re-vamp. All Signs Point to Lauderdale was the chosen to tie the whole show together.
BIG ROCK TOUR should have been called the HUGE ROCK TOUR. As far as entertaining shows go, this was a biggie. Given the chance to attend again, I would go over and over.
