Review: The Bronx/H2O/Trash Talk/The Mercy Beat, Step Inn, 25th February 2011

This gig was special for me on so many different levels. To start with, it was a fundraiser for flood relief (the flood which, of course, I was affected by). It was featuring a bunch of huge international punk and hardcore bands, playing a rare enough sideshow to the Soundwave festival the next day. It featured one of of my all time favourite live bands, the Bronx, having them play in a venue three or four times smaller than the last one they played in Brisbane. And because of that, it also let me, as an amateur/crappy photographer, get closer to these bands than I normally would ever be able to.

And I had a bloody kick-ass night.

I was also really pumped for it, as I had stumbled into the Bronx soundchecking earlier in the day. And the sound for such a small PA was amazing.

Terror were originally supposed to play, but their flights made it impossible to get to the venue on time. So they were replaced with local band The Mercy Beat.


I did not know of this band before coming in, but I was mightily impressed. Although they hit the stage early to a still filling band room at the Step Inn, they put on a great set. Full of high energy and plenty of loud guitars, they sounded as if a Nick Oliveri era Queens of the Stone Age wanted to play punk.

Of course, they were no replacement for Terror, but their 30 minute set made a fan out of me and a few of my friends.

But if I thought they were high energy, I have no idea how to explain the next band: thrashers Trash Talk.


The face of the guy on the side of the stage says it all. This band is one of the most high-energy crazy-stage-antics bands I've ever seen, almost on par with Dillinger Escape Plan.

Their short thrash songs were perfect for screaming...

...jumping in the air


and just all sorts of crazy. The lead singer was stage diving into the crowd most of the time, climbing the walls and just having a great time. And surprisingly, the music still sounded damn good, even with all of the insanity.

I wish I knew more of their songs coming into the gig, but regardless, they've got a new fan in me. Even just for their live show. Taking pictures was horrible, with the poor light and the speed these guys moved, but I tried anyway.




Not to mention, it was bloody hot.

I will definitely see these guys again.

H2O were next, with a bit of a change of pace. They play NY style old school straight-edge hardcore punk, and it was their first time playing Australian in over 9 years. In fact, they said it would be their last time playing Australia. So I am glad I got along to this show.

Their set was fringed by punk royalty (at least in regards to the Soundwave tour). Crammed on the stage behind them were Polar Bear Club, Sum 41, New Found Glory and members of pretty much every other punk band on the Soundwave bill. We were even lucky enough to get Chad from NFG come out and play a song on guitar/vocals.

These guys might be old, but they still show the passion for the music they had when they started. They even gave the crowd a serving for being lame and not stage diving or moshing.


But all the way through it, they showed why they are one of the best hardcore bands, putting on a set with almost as much energy as Trash Talk.

There was plenty of crowd sing alongs


And the bass player just loved his punk jumps in front of me.


At some point during the show, Terror's plane must've landed. The singer made it out, in a wind jacket for some strange reason, and sang Guilt By Association for us.


One of the best old-school hardcore bands out there, it'll be sad to never see them come to Australia again.

But the disappointment of H2O finishing was quickly outweighed by the stage going dark, the strobe light going overtime and the sounds of Knifeman coming through the air. Yes, the Bronx were here.


It's no secret that they love Brisbane and they put on a gig that made us love them even more. Despite the technical issues of a guitar amp being replaced over and over again.


They played a stunning set, covering all of their releases. I couldn't think of any song I still wanted to hear when they finished. Here's the set list:


And there's really nothing to say about this gig that I haven't said about the Bronx millions of times before. They were passionate about what they were doing and as such put on a great show. And so humble too, thanking Brisbane over and over again. I really get the feeling that they like it here.

The lead singer, as always, went a bit mental. He spent quite a lot of time riding the crowd while singing, or dancing around in the middle of the mosh. Or just grabbing on to fans.

When the set wrapped up over an hour later, almost at 1 am, everything was a mess. The stage was trashed, the audience was drenched in sweat, there were bodies and broken glasses everywhere and we were all dehydrated. But that's what you get when you close with the great song Kill Your Friends.

It was a great night in such an intimate venue, and I'm sure I won't get to see something of this calibre again. A big thank you to the Step Inn crew, Soundwave touring and all of the bands for putting such a great show together for a great cause. All up they raised over $13000 for the flood relief. Although it's helpful, for people like me, it was just as good seeing such a great show.