Papa Roach – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 18th January @ The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Paul 'Browny' Brown

Papa Roach
The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
January 18th, 2018
Support: Chelsea Rockwells

The last time Papa Roach graced our presence in Brisbane was alongside Godsmack in 2015 for their Soundwave Festival sideshows and only a handful of fans packed into the Tivoli to check them out, this may also factor into why it has taken the band so long to revisit our shores for a headline tour, but seeing almost triple the attendees this time around, they couldn’t have returned at a better time.

Opening the evening was Gold Coast band Chelsea Rockwells who looked and played like a heavier version of Thirsty Merc. Their style of rock, whilst kinda of out of place at a Roach show, managed to get the crowd nice and moist for the headlining act. To their credit, they held their own to an almost already packed venue (literally the fullest I have ever seen the Tivoli for a support act) and even got a group photo at the end much to the approval of the audience.

Following this we had what seemed like one of the longest set changes in history, a huge Crooked Teeth banner/curtain took over the stage much to the approval of awaiting fans before the lights dimmed and the Pharoahe Monch track ‘Simon Says‘ was blasted over the PA revving up the crowd more so than before. An audio track calling for the audience to chant “Fuck Papa Roach” was next which saw the band return to the stage and get straight into the title track fo their latest album ‘Crooked Teeth‘, the band wasted no time in making sure their fans received what they wanted. Next up we had a big sing-a-long for the classic track ‘Getting Away With Murder‘ which resulted in devil horns being thrown in the air and fun times had by all. For a hard rock show, the fans were absolutely doing their best to get into it with the mosh pit swaying from side to side as fans staggered to stay on their feet.

‘Between Angels and Insects‘ and ‘Face Everything And Rise‘ aka ‘F.E.A.R‘ kept the momentum going, but surprisingly for a newer track, ‘Born For Greatness‘ had everyone in the venue bouncing, following the request from frontman Jacoby Shaddix. As guitarist Jerry Horton revealed to us during his podcast co-hosting duties on Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall recently, that one was one of the band’s favourites to play as everyone, including those on stage get right into it. He didn’t lie either. However, expectations and dry eyes were completely blown away when Papa Roach launched into one of their absolute best tracks to date, ‘Scars‘. Not a single person in sight stood still with their mouth closed, everyone was singing along at the top of their lungs to the chorus of:

“I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut, my weakness is, that I care too much. AND OUR SCARS REMIND US, THAT THE PAST IS REAL, I TEAR MY HEART OPEN JUST TO FEEEELLLL”

The band stopped playing at key moments during the song, allowing the audience to take control and sing in unison. It was an event that had to be witnessed and I am stoked I finally got the chance to cross that song off my “Must See Live List”. Following this was ‘Periscope‘ which had one fan in front of us running up to everyone in sight and grabbing them to sing along with before the band jumped into a cover of Blur‘s ‘Song 2‘, resulting in Jacoby jumping off the stage and running up the stairs to join fans on the balcony. Due to no tv screens in the venue showing what he was doing up there, I’m going to assume they all had a tea party while he sang along… yeah, that’ll do. Back down to earth for a killer rendition of ‘Traumatic‘ which started off slow but exploded with an enormous climax guaranteed to make any fan grin with pleasure, but those grins turned to blubbering messes as the band played through ‘Forever‘ which ended with the band playing a bit of Linkin Park‘s ‘In The End‘ as a tribute to the late and great Chester Bennington. After Jacoby stated we still miss the man and legend, the audience without hesitation jumped straight into a “Chester, Chester, Chester” chant to honour our fallen musical icon. ‘American Dreams‘ brought the tempo and mood back up with bodies flying over the rails as the moshpit exceeded their limits and eagerness to get rowdy, but it was the final track ‘Help‘ which had everyone singing along again in unison and looking out for each other.

The band exited the stage only to return a few short moments for a four song encore consisting of ‘None of the Above‘ and ‘Dead Cell‘ followed instantly by the absolute fan favourite ‘Last Resort‘ where everyone put in all the energy they had left to move around. Not a single person on the bottom level was standing still with either a headbanging movement or at least, minimal jumping motion to round up the night of rock… but it wasn’t over yet, ‘…To Be Loved‘ came roaring into our lives with plenty of “woah-ohhs” filling up the Tivoli as the band played their hearts out one last time. Upon completion, the band joined each other front and centre for a final send off amidst a roaring crowd.

Tonight Papa Roach delivered an exceptional rock show full of nostalgia, sing-a-longs and enough heaviness the keep fans at bay until their next visit down under. Let’s hope it’s not as long next time around.

Review by Browny @brownypaul

Revisit Jerry Horton on Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall here
Also, check out our review of Crooked Teeth here

Photo Gallery courtesy of Gethin Hill (Gethin Hill Photography)
Please credit Wall of Sound and Gethin Hill if you repost.

Chelsea Rockwells