Words by Jimmy Glinster
Pix by Sarah Gilpin
I usually start these things off with a story about my adventure to the venue, but this time around it was a bit of a non-event as I did the 1hr drive without a hitch and then pulled up at carpark just around the corner from the venue. That shit never happens on the run-up to Bris-Vegas, but this time it did. So, unfortunately, I’ve got nothing to whinge about … yet.
Hammers open up the night with Deadset to a slowly filling room, which is currently at half capacity. This is the first time that I think I’ve seen Hammers as a five-piece with Dario Lagana now taking on second guitar duties. I thought he may have been on lead duties until Stoney ripped a nice little solo. This is a high energy band, and they don’t disappoint. I reckon the further we get into this set, some of the onstage energy might just transfer to the mosh pit floor.
Ricky T kicks off the band’s second song Guilty Pleasures with a fuzzed-out funky little bass line that the guitars soon join in on. I’ve just realised that Dario’s brother Fabio Lagana is on the kit tonight, which is odd because I swear that I saw Ruckus lurking around earlier. There must be a story to this, so I’ll dig a little deeper and see what I can find. And conveniently, as Fish then tells us, apparently, he just wanted to take a night off to get stoned. Who can blame him, right?
Anyway, the heads are now bopping in the crowd, and the venue is starting to fill. Fish launches into the crowd for Golden Gloves and gets ‘em all to really start moving. The lazy fuckers needed a bit of a shake-up, and they sure got it. As Fish makes his way back onstage for Apeshit, he lets us know they are running out of time, and the band has a quick chat about adjusting the set.
Fabio gets introduced again, and we get told that he learned the set in 2 jams. And then Fish fires Ruckus in front of the whole crowd while he awkwardly stands right in the middle of it. I’m sure that was just a joke, or maybe it wasn’t. Ruckus is apparently too stoned to know anyway, or so Fish tells us.
Their last song Fuck Around and Find Out is an absolute fucking banger and the band hasn’t lost an ounce of energy. The crowd launches into a massive applause at the end of the set, and Hammers graciously bows out.
Heartline starts their set with a full-blown techno intro which could go either way. The way it goes is that it’s not just an intro and what follows is a mix of half-heavy riffs, pop vocals and intertwining techno interludes. This is not my cup of tea, and it reminds me of something I nearly left Good Things because of. I’d try and remember the name of that band, but they really don’t deserve the exposure.
Their next song is the single from their latest EP Pink Lemonade, and the track is also called Pink Lemonade. Thankfully, it has very little of that techno stuff from the first song. If they are lucky, I might even persevere through the rest of their set.
This next one Akimbo is not bad and is a bit of a rocker. There are still short stabs of the techno here and there, but it ain’t as Ministry of Sound as that first one. The riffs get bigger and bigger as the song goes on, which is pleasantly surprising. Delorean is up next, and it’s the heaviest one so far. The random Whammy pedal squeals add some nice flavour to the riffs, and the odd techno bit pokes its head out here and there. There are a few more screams in this one too amongst the big clean melodic choruses.
Luckily for these guys, the set just gets heavier and heavier, so I stick around. I’m not too sure about the fishnet shirt the singer is now wearing, but this ain’t a fashion contest, so I’ll let him have his moment. The riffs are big, and that’s all that really matters.
For now, though, it’s time to shoot off to the merch desk to meet up with the tour manager and jump in on the meet-and-greet action. I’ve met Jahred a couple of times over the years, so I hang back and let the paying punters have their moment. I did get a quick signature on my hat from him though when he came and said hello, thinking I was the shy guy in the corner and having no idea who I was. Probably because I’m just another one of 1000’s of bearded men that he’s met over the years. He did say he recognised me, but I think he was just being nice.
I head back into the hangar as I hear a thumping hip-hop beat pumping through front of house. (hed) P.E. enters stage and Jahred starts playing his melodica over it. Shortly after, the band launches into No Way Out. The crowd starts jumping instantly, and when the chorus hits everyone is yelling along.
Rat Race is up next, and the bass takes centre stage as it rattles our bones. The crowds moving like crazy now and fists are pumping in the air. I almost get knocked over as some punter decides he wants to mosh at the very edge of the pit. Get in the pit, tough guy.
“Let’s play some old shit”, ok Jahred! They jump into Killing Time, and If the crowd keep up this energy, they might just Blackout. The crowd starts a “Hed PE, what” chant and Jahred stops everyone to say “hey, let’s organise this shit, the guys say Hed PE and the ladies say what”. I’m glad we got that sorted out. I’ve got no idea what this next “underground” one is, but everyone else knows the words. Bob Marley’s Stand Up for Your Rights gets tacked on the end of the track.
And this is where the show goes to the shit. Not for everyone else, just for me. Remember old mate slamming into me earlier, well he started again, but this time actually grabbed me to ask what I was doing and why I wasn’t moshing. I told him I was reviewing, and then he went into some rant about me being a critic and a nobody, and how I’m disgusting and embarrassing.
This went on for the next few songs including Raise Your Fists, Bartender, Sophia. Eventually he accused me of stealing his phone because apparently he had embarrassing photos and videos of me that he was going to blast on social media. That’d be great if he could have actually figured out how to use his phone camera. After that he just turned around and walked off. You can’t make this shit up.
Aaaaanywaaaay, now that that’s over and old mates fucked off, I can get back to writing this review. It’s been one hell of show so far, what I’ve been able to catch in between drunken ramblings, and luckily (hed) pe launch into a funked-up version of The Meadow which helps chills me out a little bit. The crowd sings along with every word and hands wave in the air. Jared asks if everyone is having a good night, and he gets a resounding yes response from the crowd.
The boys stop for a shot of Jägermeister for guitarist Nathan Javier’s birthday, and the crowd sings to him obligingly. This is their last Aussie show before they fuck off across the ditch to UnZud, but not before the lads all get fucked up on all of Brisbane’s best drugs … allegedly.
We get promised one last song as the band launches into Renegade. The crowd goes mental once more and as the chorus hits everyone is singing their lungs out. Jahred asks for the pit to open up as the band breaks the song down to nothing more than a light chugging version of the main guitar riff.
Jahred starts the “you push me, so I’ll push you right back” chant, and the band cranks into the main riff again. The pit becomes instant chaos and the band lets it all play out for a few minutes before kicking back into the chorus to chill things back down a little and end the night.
Oh, and (hed) P.E. don’t do encores, so that is actually the end of the night. There was an encore though, and it was me walking back to my car straight past a cop car with old mate locked up in the back of it. Karma’s a bitch, right, and I guess it hit him right back!
Apart from the bullshit, that was a good night! (hed) P.E. is always one hell of a good time!
