RedHook – Gig Review 5th May @ The Brightside, Bris QLD

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Cait Mac

RedHook
The Brightside, Brisbane QLD
May 5, 2023
Support: Bad/Love, Belle Haven and Grenade Jumper

The story of how I came to work for Wall of Sound is that in 2019, I knew I had to do something with my life to help me feel a bit happier. I had the dreams and aspirations many music fans do- I wanted to work in music. That year, I volunteered at BIGSOUND and made a point of seeing as many heavy acts as possible. I knew who Browny was, and I knew I could kinda write, so I cornered him and was like, “Hey, can I write for you?” He may or may not have been pretty drunk, and I thought he would forget, so I wrote him this funny Facebook message that started like I was Troy McLure from the Simpsons. Hilarious! Anyway, the rest is history, and I am now in my fourth year with WoS. I was super damn proud of myself because I, like many people, struggle with ✨ social anxiety ✨, but I got out there, and now look at me!

I tell you this because one of my absolute highlights at that BIGSOUND was Redhook. I had heard ‘Paralysed’ on the radio (I still listened to it back then) and was super keen to catch their set. I bought a shirt and spoke to their incredible vocalist Emmy Mack who was so lovely. Since then, I have tried to see them whenever possible; Friday night was my fourth time!

Kicking off the evening was Grenade Jumper – who mixed their blend of alt-rock and pop punk with indie – so we can’t properly categorise them early on (smart move) with highlights of their set being new single ‘Crazy’ and a pretty damn good cover of No Doubt‘s ‘I’m Just A Girl‘ which frontwoman Bianca Davino delivered an exceptional performance for. I’d love to see some more bad-itude with future shows, but for the first time, I was impressed.

Belle Haven followed and were the tightest I’ve ever seen them play. New singles ‘Grimace’ and ‘I Can’t Find The Words‘ went off without a hitch as frontman David De La Hoz stalked the stage like a lion hunting prey. As his vocals ebb and flowed between melodic cleans and crisp screams, I was mesmerised by the band’s tight-knit playing. ‘Nobody Likes A Hospital‘ went off for the heavier fans in the crowd but the climactic ‘Forget Me’ had everyone who knew the words (Browny included) belting them out at full scream. This band. I swear they get better every time I see them.

Bad/Love was up next, and I didn’t realise I knew two of their songs until they played them, and it was a great set! It started a little shaky because of sound issues, but after the first song or so, the sound came through nicely, and the band hit their stride. I’ll definitely listen to more of their music and get into them a bit more, and I am keen to see them again soon! I love shows like this that bring big crowds and watching the wholesomeness of support acts being super stoked at the crowd enjoying their set.

So Redhook was next, and I don’t want to say too much because a lot of cool stuff happens in their set. The introduction to their set is one of those cool things that happens and sets the scene for the Postcards From A Living Hell vibe. A hint is the television show Lost, with maybe some zombies thrown in. The band then launched into ‘Postcards XO’ and the energy the band and the crowd brought through the entire set was incredibly energetic the whole time.

‘Cure 4 Psycho’ came next, and then the rest of the set was a great mix of older and new songs. There were collabs galore with Emma Beau from The Atomic Beau Project jumping up for ‘Imposter’, Bianca from Grenade Jumper helping out for ‘Soju’ and David from Belle Haven absolutely killing it on the heavy vocals in ‘Kamikaze’.

There was a tender moment when Emmy addressed the crowd before the band played ‘Jabberwocky’. Speaking of the song’s story, she said that when the band played in Bris the last time, she was scared to perform it and tell her story. She said that the crowd had made her feel brave, and the support she had received meant everything. While she should never have had to go through what she did, as none of us who have experienced similar things should have – I know that, for the most part, many people in heavy music are incredible humans. And even though I shed a tear with her and was angry that it had happened, I felt the warm fuzzies knowing that heavy music fans had helped her feel better and braver.

In all the shows I have been to of Redhook‘s, the one thing that stands out is how fun they are. Emmy throws herself all over the stage, and the rest of the band is just as energetic. There was a saxophone circle pit, one of the most wholesome, gentle things I have ever seen, and no one in the crowd stopped jumping and dancing the whole time. If you have never been lucky enough to see a Redhook set, your mission that you should choose to accept is to change that ASAP!

Review by Cait Macca @cait_2tone