Pictures by: Sarah Gilpin
This is exciting for me as Ronnie Radke is easily one of the most hated men in the metal community and I knew this tour was going to be so over opinionated and huge. This is not the case for me, I think he is great. Actually… I fucking love him. People are so afraid to speak their minds these days and could learn a thing or two from this guy.
First indication of a huge show was that his tour has near on completely sold out and second being the show is at Brisbane Entertainment Centre and upon arrival there is a sea of eager fans waiting to get in the doors.
Once I got to my seat it was time for the first band of the night, Hollywood Undead from LA. Full disclosure, I have never gotten ‘into’ these guys. Of course, I went in with an open mind and wanted to soak in all they had to offer.
Initial reaction was that they had huge on-stage energy, and it was pretty packed out for the first band of the night, there must be some mega fans in the building. Look, there’s a lot going on. Five guys on stage running around like hype men. I’m pretty sure someone forgot to turn the main lights off for 1/2 of the first song too, it was a weird atmosphere.
At one point there was a fella wearing a crown and playing a tambourine? Dylan Alvarez was giving me major Thirsty Merc vibes. We had a Sweet Caroline acoustic moment towards the end of the set? Like I said, there was a lot going on.
I couldn’t go without mentioning little Hunter that was pulled up on stage and couldn’t hear a word they were saying because he has big earmuffs on. (Props to parents though, I wish I had Loop ear plugs earlier in life).
‘How old are you?’
‘Good, you?’
This went on for a while… but the kiddo was having the time of his life onstage in front of this massive crowd and will surely be something he will never forget. This is what music is all about. Memories.
Their performance was absolutely enticing for the crowd, and they got everyone worked up and ready for night. I can appreciate them; it just wasn’t my cuppa tea.
After a quick break, we were summoned back to watch Black Veil Brides. This one I was excited about. My partner and I often rock out to these guys at home and how could you not with a voice like that! The crowd is fucking keen too. There was a lady in front of me whose soul immediately left her body when she heard Andy Biersack singing, in a state of complete awe. I love seeing people’s raw emotions to music, it makes my world go around.
I’m going to start referring to Andy as ‘Andy and it goes like this‘, the man likes an old school intro’ for each their songs. Which to be fair is greatly appreciated as a journalist.
Black Veil Bride’s sound was huge, and they are all seasoned pro’s. It was actually nice to have that level of volume for support acts from the get-go. I remember these guys from my high school days, and they are a far cry from big hair and painted faces. We now have this matured version of the band and it’s pretty cool to see them evolve over the years.
They played Bleeders for us, a newer song from their repertoire. Everything is perfectly executed and on point. The crowd was super happy and singing along, there was no shortage of fans.
In The End was the last song played for us and it’s a big one. It’s one of those songs you want to scream along at the top of your lungs to. They aren’t strangers to writing some amazing songs and this is no exception.
Black Veil Brides didn’t have any gimmicks or bells and whistles. They came out and played real music and didn’t fuck around. I appreciated that. It was a completely different vibe from Hollywood Undead and a perfect middle band before what was to come next…
In between sets, we got the ‘See, metalheads aren’t scary song’. This time it was Mr. Brightside and everyone was joining into the sing-a-long with their phone’ light’s’s lit up. Of course, to balance the night out, the next song played straight after was Slipknot’s Duality. We must not show our softer side for too long, the general public will smell weakness.
Right on time we hear AC/DC’s Highway To Hell ring out through the centre and a fan cam’ is displayed on the back screen of Ronnie and the band causing chaos back stage.
It’s showtime baby!
Staying true to the tour, the first song was Prequel followed by Zombified. The tone was very quickly set. Tonight Falling In Reverse had full intentions on setting us ablaze and blowing the fucking roof off. We were living in a pyromaniac’s heaven!
Ronnie is a force to be reckoned with. He carries major feral toddler energy and is so highly entertaining. You can see the cogs in his brain ticking over with every word the crowd screamed at him… ‘How can I fuck these guys up?’.
At one stage someone lugged at filthy goth boot on stage. Ronnie’s retort?
‘I’m not drinking out of this. I don’t give a fuck about your culture. We have a 16-year-old girl with a size 14 shoe. I get it. You grow bigger down here. I don’t do what you say, FUCK YOU. This is not how it works’.
Put it this way, by the end of the show I copped a substantial amount of Radke’s abuse and was 100% initiated into his cult.
We got a throwback with The Drug In Me Is You after Ronnie questioned if people in the crowd have actually been following Falling In Reverse for that long. I guess the crowd proved him wrong with how loudly it was sung back to him!
Ronnie gave us some love stating:
‘We need more speakers. Look at shit. What the fuck, you sold this shit out. You’re giving me something special right now. I can feel it, this is sick! LET’S GO’
For Just Like You, he did his fan cam’ shot on the back screen and did lots of crowd shots while singing directly down the camera barrel. I’ve seen him do this in his other concerts, and it’s quite fun and entertaining.
After this, the band disappeared out the back and out came this guy walking around the crowd. Pretty much being a village idiot to keep us entertained while they set up phase two of the show. I mean, it worked.
Before we knew it Radke and Tyler Burgess appeared in the middle of the crowd and broke into NO FEAR. The crowd interaction was well received and everyone was losing their fucking minds over being within arm’s reach of them. It was a really awesome move and felt intense as they made their way back to the front of the stage.
I need to give a huge shout-out to Tyler Burgess, who’s back up vocals and bass playing is ON POINT. This guy is in a league of his own and is so well-placed in this band as Ronnie’s right-hand man. From where I was sitting I couldn’t actually see him from behind the speakers, but I could certainly hear him!
After getting back on-stage Ronnie says ‘This is most American shit you’ll see an emo’ band do, there’s no turning back when this goes on’ – pointing to his Stetson cowboy hat. We all knew what time it was… All My Life. This song is the first ‘country’ song that I’ll fuck with.
Was it glorious? Yes. Did I ever think I would be jamming out to a country song? No.
Popular Monster was next off the rank, and it absolutely SLAPPED. I could feel myself getting more and more excited as each song played. About as excited as this dude dressed in a banana suit moshing was. I didn’t want it to end.
Radke then went on to express his gratitude for his loyal fans and for everyone showing up in a huge way to his shows.
‘You guys know what I’m talking about. You see all the bullshit online but to be standing here with you is incredible. It’s generational, you guys are all here together. Look around you, it’s your Sister, Father, hell even Grandads are here. That’s what music is all about’.
It was a beautiful moment shared with us. Myself and Browny from Wall of Sound gave each other solitude knuckles in appreciation of the true words spoken. This IS what music is about. Connecting people and creating memories that won’t be forgotten.
Up next – in my opinion – one of the biggest songs dropped in 2024… Ronald. That song goes HARD. Even without Tech N9ne or Alex Terrible doing their parts, it was huge, and I was so happy to see this performed live in front of me.
I knew this was second to the last song and I took the opportunity to beat the thousands of other people out of that parking lot.
Ronnie obliviously took notice of everyone leaving and I could hear one last spray on way out…
‘Yeah you all want to beat the traffic. Bye c#nts, buy some merch’ on the way out’
I deserved that.
This was such an entertaining show, and I’m so grateful I was lucky enough to go along to watch. Core memories made for the thousands of people who showed up and a huge moment for all the bands on the bill, but mostly for Falling In Reverse who have worked their assess off to get where they are today and deserve every ounce of success they have, and more.
When they come back, because they will, get yourself to their show. This is a concert you don’t want to miss out on.
