Millencolin – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 1st May @ The Tivoli, Brisbane

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Paul 'Browny' Brown

Millencolin
The Tivoli, Brisbane
May 1st, 2016
Supported by Grenadiers & Driven Fear

Where do I begin to explain the intense experience I had last night attending Millencolin‘s Brisbane show of their True Brew Australian Tour? I could probably start with the fact RADelaide heroes Grenadiers were the perfect choice to support these Swedish legends on the tour. The minute they set foot on stage they had the crowd in their hands and to rock, it also helped that the day after the gig was a public holiday so everyone in attendance as you can guess was in fine form. The only complaint I had about their set was that it seemed like it was over too soon, but with the amount of gigs these guys have coming up you’d be stupid to not check them out, they’re certainly a home grown Australian act to watch.

Next onto the main event, as the crowd chanted for Millencolin to come out from the shadows and entertain us I was uncertain how hectic shit was about to get. From the second “Egocentric Man” was played, the mosh front and centre did not stop moving until they were arseholed out of the venue at the end of the night. The energy produced from the audience was well received from the Millencolin lads as they played off it getting better and faster with each track performed.

The next few songs were a blur to me as they seemed to play through without any flaws but as “Sense and Sensibility” began the intensity of the room was lifted and the audience participation screaming the end of the chorus “You’re just a racist clown to me” was a moment that brought everyone together for the sheer love of punk rock. Following on from this the tracks “Happiness 4 Dogs“, “Bullion” and “Man or Mouse” were welcomed with open arms and bellowing singing all around as Millencolin upped the ante jumping around more than ever, but it was the start of “True Brew” that really fired up the Tivoli. Once the opening guitar started there was a surge from all corners of the room to the mosh pit (myself included) and it seems like everyone just lost control of their own bodies. The crowd surfers were doubling in numbers, the circle pit opened up and there were people smashing into each other all in good fun. I can remember one bloke grabbing me and screaming the lyrics “I don’t wanna live my life doing stuff I don’t like to do” quite angrily in my face, spit and all but it didn’t matter as we locked arms around necks, like mates do and sang the song as loud and proud as we could. It didn’t matter the band was performing it for us, we all felt like we had the stage and it was everyone’s chance to sing.

Towards the tail end of the gig following “Dance Craze“, “Olympic” “Bring Me Home” and “Cash or Clash” my memory escapes me as I thought it would be a great idea to join in the ever growing circle pit around me. Unfortunately due to my shoelaces tangling (yeah that’ll do) I fell backwards into the hard, wooden floor beneath me, smacking my head on what felt like a concrete slab. The generously mindful audience was quick to lift me back up but it was only a matter of seconds before I was back down again, copping someone’s foot my chest. It may not have hurt at the time but now I’m 72.5% sure I’m nursing a broken rib. But it didn’t matter because “Autopilot” and “Duck Pond” brought me back to life and got everyone ready to give their all for one last song. Luckily for us that was arguably their best track to date, “No Cigar“.

In a room dominated by blokes around or over the age of 27 up, it was easy to see which members of the crowd were fans of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater back in the day as EVERYONE knew the lyrics meaning it was hard to hear the band at times because the singing was non-stop from start to finish. An epic way to close the set and send us all out into the streets of Brisbane to get up to even more mischief with pleasing smiles on our faces. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say the band could have played for a few more minutes than what they were allowed to, but the fulfilment of catching these guys back in town was more than enough needed for one night of rock.

Melbourne, you’ve got two nights ahead of you to get involved with this tour, don’t fuck it up.