Bring Me The Horizon

Brisbane Entertainment Centre, QLD

April 10th, 2019

Supports: You Me At Six, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Trophy Eyes

Bring Me The Horizon playing at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre… let that sink in for a second. A band who I have had the pleasure of seeing live three times now, first opening for (and stealing the show from) Bullet For My Valentine back in 2010, then their impressive light show spectacular at Riverstage in 2016 on the back of That’s The Spirit (yes I missed the Sempiternal Tour, what of it) and now, playing to one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen them perform to in QLD and I have to say, it went down just as good as expected, with a couple of minor moments that need to be mentioned. Walking into the show tonight, it was apparent we weren’t at an old school BMTH show with new, younger crowds getting about. Some with parents, some covered in glitter and looking a little lost amongst the crowd, but still keen to get involved as much as they could. Then there were the old school fans, decked out from head to toe in black, with the vintage shirts and spider bite piercings. It really transported me back to those early years of seeing the band getting around at Rosies/Thriller post-gig, only now I’m 31 and not as fun… But enough about me, here’s the opening acts

Trophy Eyes hit the stage shortly after 6:30pm and launched straight into the anthemic ‘You Can Count On Me‘, much to the approval of those who ventured into the venue early enough to catch them. Despite playing for just 30 minutes, the band gave it their all, like it was their headline show and I have to say, the sound at the Entertainment Centre was on point for time first time in what seemed like forever. ‘Lavender Bay‘ and ‘More Like You‘ followed with frontman John Floreani thanking everyone for coming out early and giving a fuck about them, encouraging the crowd to give themselves and the bands a round of applause. The highlight of their set came with ‘Chlorine‘ which resulted in a small, yet fun looking circle pit close to the stage. I wish more people were present for these guys who have never failed to impress me in a live setting. Tonight was no different.

Following this (and a trip to the bar because you couldn’t bring in alcohol to your seats) we got into Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes who played three (or four) new songs from their forthcoming album End of Suffering including ‘Crowbar‘, ‘Anxiety‘ and a previously unheard song with the words ‘Tunnel Vision‘ in the chorus. I’m unsure of the title but it went off. Frank launched himself into the crowd several times, at one point, doing a handstand on the shoulders of those in front of the stage. Before the latest single ‘Anxiety‘ was played, Frank spoke about how everyone needs help and we should all look out for those close to us saying your friends may not need help, just someone to listen to. He then points to one of the members of The Rattlesnakes (his backing band) and says “that guy saved my life”, met by thunderous applause. We all felt something from his energetic and emotionally driven set. Before he called it a night, Frank revealed the band will be back in Australia in December and (in my opinion) I reckon he just outed himself as the first act to play Good Things Festival 2019. Watch this space for confirmation later in the year, but he dedicated his last song to that one person you hate more than any other cunt in the world and kicked got stuck into ‘I Hate You‘. A fitting ending worthy of the amount of applause he received.

You Me At Six‘s set is a blur to me, mainly because of the fact I sat there going “I wonder if Oli will come out for ‘Bite My Tongue‘ considering he’s here” and low and behold, as I was filming the song, guess who fucking walks out, hidden by a black hoodie to sing his part during the song? OLI Fucking SYKES!!! It was glorious and a huge surprise none of us expected to see. Check out our full footage of the song/cameo right here.

Onto the main event and despite sitting in the VIP/Premium Seats, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get into the mosh so after pulling a shifty on the ticket checkers, we made our way to the ground and got setup for what would be one of the most interesting, yet pleasing sets from the band I’ve ever caught. The lights dimmed and we were greeted by bright neon LED lights and with cult-like talking and visuals. The band emerged and wasted no time getting straight into the Grammy Nominated ‘MANTRA‘ and upon seeing this song live, I can now attest to their nomination, it fucking ruled. Last time the guys were in town, Oli Sykes was sick (which later resulted in their tour being postponed until he got better) so his voice was fairly off then, this time around he and backup vocalist/percussionist Jordan Fish certainly made up for the last dilemma with plenty of cleans and screams shared between the two. ‘Avalanche‘ followed and the entire venue sang along, throwing their hands up in the process when the chorus hit, but it was the throwback to ‘House of Wolves‘ that sent tongues wagging and circle pits forming. Oli bluntly addressed the crowd asking for two on either side saying (something along the lines of) “you think we’ve gone soft, I think you’ve gone soft, push it back and start a fucking circle pit” and by god did we all get into it. Bashing into each other as we ran, falling over the helpless victims who took a tumble and getting them back on their feet instantly. The yells continued for ‘Happy Song‘ which kept the upbeat momentum and sing-a-longs going at full pace.

Following this, we got our second taste of the band’s new album amo in a live setting with ‘Mother Tongue‘ pulling back on the heavy, in favour of beautifully melodic singing and upbeat instrumentals. Surprisingly, it was a hit by all accounts with those standing around me watching the band in awe and singing along. This continued into ‘Wonderful Life‘ which had one of the most confusing backdrop visuals I’ve seen. Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth was present (on screen) picking flowers in a meadow, like something out of Peppa Pig, yet the track sounded so much heavier in person than it does on the album. Couldn’t help but have a mosh with the small, circle pit that broke out beside us. The band exited the stage and we were left with a synth backing track and light show until they came back on for what some will say was a huge moment of the night, SANDPIT TURTLE… oops I mean ‘Shadow Moses‘. EVERYONE was singing along, I can’t stress this enough and the guys, still have it. Each and every single member gave their all like it was the first time they were playing the song for fans and we frothed every single second of it. Oli’s screams and growls were in fine form as he changed it up during the song, proving he still has it after all of these years and the vocal issues he’s overcome.

‘Follow You‘ slowed things down and consequently lead into the first weird moment of the night for me, ‘Nihilist Blues‘. Now I’ll admit this, when I first heard this song, I didn’t rate it, but over time, it grew on me and now it’s one of my favs from the new album, but in a live setting, I don’t think the payoff worked. Yes, the visuals were mindblowing (think Tron/3D on the back screen), but the only two members who looked like they were doing anything were Oli and Jordan. The rest of the band just kind of twirled in circles with their guitars while the song was on. Looking around, most of the fans were kinda standing still watching, not really jumping around (unless you were up close), but it just didn’t work as well as I thought it would. Well that’s my opinion anyway. Up next we copped ‘Can You Feel My Heart‘ and ‘Antivist‘ complete with plenty of middle fingers up from people who didn’t give a fuck and a communal screaming of the word “cunt” which really made the song that extra bit special, as it always does. This was followed by the second weird/wtf moment of the night for me, ‘Drown‘ would have to be one of my favourite songs from the band as it helped me during a lot of my own personal struggles and I loved the amount of energy that’s produced when listening to it, however, this time we received a stripped back acoustic version with just guitarist Lee Malia and Oli on stage singing along with the crowd. Others may disagree with me, but I would have loved to have seen this one with the full band ensemble and light show behind it.

The three-song climax of the night was kicked off by ‘Doomed‘, which sounded so big in the Entertainment Centre (the sound didn’t actually suck there for once like it usually does) and ‘Medicine‘ also kept spirits high and fans singing along but the final song of the night was the perfectly orchestrated and sounding ‘Throne‘. What better way to wrap up 90mins of BMTH than with one of the most high impact and energetic tracks from their stellar album That’s The Spirit. We copped confetti cannons, CO 2, an incredible light show and Oli Sykes jumping straight into the crowd for a surf. There was no encore, just the band thanking everyone for coming, the lights coming on and everyone cheerfully leaving with a sense of fulfilment.

All up, it was a great, tight show from the Sheffield lads who have grown so much in their careers. If you want to experience fast-paced and deeply emotive songs, you’re not gonna want to miss this tour, but with everything, there are a few gripes I had about the night. Firstly there was no heavy medley, something a lot of us were eagerly anticipating, even just a small taste of the band’s back catalogue would have been sick too, as the setlist didn’t include anything pre-dating Sempiternal… but, in saying that, they did combine an extensive mix of both harder/rockier songs and melodic tracks for their evergrowing fanbase’s tastes and appreciation. I am yet to see anyone say they didn’t enjoy themselves last night and if they did, they’re probably lying to themselves to be honest…

Setlist

MANTRA

Avalanche

House Of Wolves

Happy Song

Mother Tongue

Wonderful Life

Shadow Moses

Follow You

Nihilist Blues

Can You Feel My Heart

Antivist

Drown (acoustic)

Doomed

Medicine

Throne

Gig Review by Browny @brownypaul

Revisit BMTH drummer Mat Nicholls co-hosting our Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall podcast right here

Photo Gallery by Josh Ludlow. Instagram: @joshludlow_photoboy

Please credit Wall of Sound and Josh Ludlow if you use published photos.

Trophy Eyes

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

You Me At Six

Bring Me The Horizon

Bring Me The Horizon – First Love East Coast Tour 2019

with You Me At Six, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Trophy Eyes

QUDOS BANK ARENA, SYDNEY

FRIDAY APRIL 12

ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE

SATURDAY APRIL 13

Tickets Here

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