Words by Belinda Quick
Photos by Missy Smiley
“You see Life as a straight line, but for us Life is a circle. After something or someone enters our circle, they travel with us forever influencing us even if they are not physically present. To us there is no such thing as goodbye” – Amanda Skenandore, Between Earth and Sky
There are few bands for whom you can credit a more pivotal role in shaping the modern ‘core scenes than POISON THE WELL. “A band about heavy music, art and poetry” their brilliant mix of brutality, melodic melancholia and opaque lyricism set the stage for so many and their music shaped almost single-handedly my pathway and palette.
Etching an indelible imprint on Big Day Out history, 2004 was epically remembered by those as “old as hell” like myself for the Floridians’ first Australian appearances on inappropriately concreted sidestages. Joining forces with post-hardcore icons THURSDAY for a series of equally legendary sideshows that year, PTW’s secondary headline visit in 2009 was their last before an ‘indefinite hiatus’ followed in 2010.
Blessed by the timelessness of the band’s back catalogue but beleaguered by the notion that they might be relegated to the annals of musical history, the announcement of their official reformation, new record and return to Australia in 2026, elicited roars of excitement heard around the nation. As frontman Jeffrey Moriera puts it, “if we’re gonna do this … we have to do it right, for us and for you” and, on a Tuesday in Adelaide, they did, restoring Peace in Place.
Adelaide’s own STRESSED nonchalantly arrives; bass & guitarist tuning their instruments on stage, a stark contrast to the growing concave of the hometown audience predicates vocalist Nicole Fickling’s arrival. Control to Decay, a wild hardcore pit breaks out, and the “Tuesday mosh goes hard”. Till I Die, the participants flailing Against Apathy chaotically Break dance with limbs flying and two stepping to the rhythm of metronome drumming is a captivating sight.
The fortress of the scene’s synonymous circle swells, as does the stage for Melbourne’s IRON MIND. Searching for More Pain, Stressed’s Fickling joins the wild fray, showing the east coasters How You Get Down in Adelaide, to the delight of frontman, Sam Octigan. As several fit for the Test Assume Final Form, pitcrew of “the legendary” PTW’s former performances await on the sidelines of the mayhem, for when the Nail Becomes the Hammer, for the Calm and the Storm to come.
HAYWIRE’s Austin Sparkman screams with charismatic flair, “Hello, Australia? I didn’t come all this way to play to people in the other fucking room!” Crouching down to capture the attention of the overspill, the Australian debutants launch into The Angels’ classic, Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, issuing the perfunctory call and response. Even in winter, SUMMER NIGHTS “are easy”, livewires throw themselves at the barricade ad nauseum encouraged: “This is a punk rock Boot Party, this ain’t no Iron Mind, you’re not gonna get your head kicked in!”
A band already notorious in the enduring Boston hardcore scene, the rotational touring instrumental lineup leaps emphatically for the eponymous track and synchronises with Sparkman, as he weaves personal stories that “come full circle” with tonight’s performance. “We all start in the same place”, even members of the “Australian hardcore” vanguard, listening to PTW in the Shed for decades now; experience does not overshadow passion, age does not supercede youth, “so turn to the person next to you and give them a hug.” Espousing love’s virtues and, with “only three songs left,” Haywire cements their place, ALWAYS BY MY SIDE.
Straight up a Tear From the Red, Botchla takes hold. A colloquialism coined in the new millennium, MySpace era of PTW’s sophomore era, Moriera prowls with the same imposing nature of yesteryear. The noticeably denser demographic of Zombies in the audience now fully awake to the Thoroughbreds’ pounding hooves, bassist Noah Harmon leaps and cuts through the air to Slice Paper Wrists with precision, 2026 may as easily be 1999. Far from The Opposite of December, the racehorses hitting their stride, there is no iota of resignation to the Wax Mask of remembrance.
“It’s been a fucking long time since we’ve been here!” Moriera emotes before offering his appreciation for all in the crowd who’ve returned to their fold, as fully as those only finding Peace In Place tonight. Attesting to not Letter Thing like time or date dissuade, nor Not Within Arms Length divide, we’re brought close by his embrace. The vocalist reaching into the elated audience’s arms, allowing a select few to scream those poetic lyrics into the mic, it’s clear: we’re all here for, and because of, the Ghostchant, to sing and send a Mid Air Love Message again.
Witnessing the reciprocation of genuine affection, my eyes momentarily close and hand-to-heart, I’m transported to a chapter closed long ago, to when these Artist’s Rendering of Me was defined, and am shown again has no bounds. A time memorialised by suburban Parks and What You Meant to Me that began twenty-some years ago still burns within and lives eternally; like so many on-and-off stage, there was never such a thing as goodbye.
Our Mirror No Longer Reflects the Nerdy teens we once were, perhaps, but, here, Life is not linear; I, rather its an eternal cycle that lingers, as does Poison the Well, leaving a splendid and everlasting stain on our soul.
GALLERY
STRESSED
IRON MIND
HAYWIRE
POISON THE WELL
