I Prevail – Gig Review 28th November @ Eatons Hill Hotel, Bris QLD
I Prevail
Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane QLD
November 28, 2023
Support: The Plot In You
Can you smell that? It’s festival season in Australia and prior to the antics we’ll all get up to at Good Things Festival along the East Coast this weekend, several bands have arrived early to give us a sneak peek and Brisbane scored the ONLY I Prevail sideshow, which was a surprise none of us saw coming, but we Queenslanders lapped it up like a 6-pack of Milton mangoes.
But before getting into last night’s review of their sweaty third headline show in Brisbane, I need to pivot and tell you the story about how I discovered these metalcore gems from Detriot.
My brother Jesse (who I care for/venture to many gigs with) first told me about them on the back of their Taylor Swift cover and Heart vs. Mind EP in 2014 and since then we’ve both been hooked. We made a pact that any time they came to town, we’d be there, cheering them on with a beer in hand, singing/screaming like no one was watching. It’s the one place in the world he loves being immersed in because no one bats an eyelid at him, or treats him any differently because of his disability. As an added bonus, he knows the words to every single song and last year, he got to meet the band while assisting on the set of Wall Of Sound TV – something he’s been an integral part of since its earliest conception.
Unfortunately, upon entry to Eatons Hill Hotel, we were met with his first-ever roadblock since turning 18 (12 years ago) when two security guards, employed by the NSRG Security group accused him of using a fake ID. The ID in question was a government-issued 18+ card he’d received back in 2011 and has been using ever since without issue, including many visits to concerts at Eatons Hill over the years. Despite my efforts to explain the situation to them, they remained adamant with their arrogant and staunch demeanour, talking down at us and not listening to anything I had to say (as Jesse’s primary caregiver). Reluctantly, we were offered to be escorted to the underage mezzanine section to watch the show, but this also meant we weren’t able to access the merch desk, where he was hoping to purchase a tour shirt as he had done each time the band visited Australia.
Sadly, this kind of discrimination happens quite often for people with a disability and usually goes unnoticed or addressed. Wall Of Sound will always use our presence in the scene to call this kind of behaviour out, so everyone can enjoy watching their favourite bands without barriers. Poor form NSRG Security. Both the venue and security have been contacted for comment.
Eatons Hill Hotel venue owner and promoter Destroy All Lines have both since issued personal apologies for the incident, calling out the ‘appalling behaviour’ by security.
Because of this shituation, it sadly put a dampener on the start of the evening and we both missed The Plot In You because we were addressing what had happened. Stand out songs from what we did hear included ‘Face Me‘ with that alluring melodic delivery from frontman Landon Tewers and the sing-along-inducing finale ‘FEEL NOTHING‘. Make sure to get in early at Good Things to catch this powerhouse post-hardcore act dominate.
As the night progressed, so did the number of parents bringing kids along to the show. The section we found ourselves watching had no less than 8 kids jumping around and taking in the sights as I Prevail hit the stage, wasting no time getting heavy with ‘Bow Down‘ and ‘Body Bag‘ delivering the goods. The mosh by this point already looked hotter than hell as punters swayed in the crush, with several bros taking off their shirts while bouncing into each other and taking attention away from the stage with their antics including unnecessary row pits.
As I mentioned earlier, I Prevail infamously broke onto the scene with their Swifty cover, and tonight we were treated to not one, not two, but three different covers throughout the course of the evening. The first being Limp Bizkit‘s ‘Break Stuff‘ which had screamer Eric Vanlerberghe amping up the crowd for this weekend’s festivities (where Limp are also playing) and to segue into their killer track ‘Come and Get It‘ in an absolutely genius move I can’t help but applaud the boys for.
The second cover was System of a Down‘s ‘Chop Suey‘ which kept the crowd moving just shy of the hallway mark and Slayer’s ‘Reign In Blood‘ intro was performed leading into their riff-heavy track ‘Judgement Day‘. I would have killed for a section of ‘Blank Space‘ to be played but since the band retired it from their sets, the heavier tunes were a worthy replacement.
Non-stop hit after hit (predominantly tracks from latest album True Power) including a sea of middle fingers in the air for ‘FWYTYK‘ which served as a personal calming mechanism from the evening’s earlier disruptions, to the phone’s out anthem ‘Deep End‘ resulting in a sea of lights bobbing around during the melancholy section of the night, also including a sombre rendition of ‘Breaking Down‘ where singer Brian Burkheiser shared stories of his recent struggle with imposter syndrome. The crowd gave him a boost of confidence as the band wrapped up the evening with ‘Choke‘ and the song for the OG fans, ‘Scars‘ before returning for one final body mover in the form of ‘Gasoline‘.
I Prevail once again proved why they’re one of the scene’s greatest and have only got better at owning the stage with every visit to Australia. Special shoutout to guitarist Steve Menoian and the awe-inspiring guns show he brought with the bulky arms he’s sporting these days.
After witnessing the lads at Download UK earlier in the year, you’re in for a treat when they take to the stage at Good Things Festival – which will be the band’s last trip down under for a while (as they prepare for new music), so make sure it’s a worthy send off to make them come back quicker!
Gig Review by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
Setlist
Bow Down
Body Bag
Self-Destruction
Bad Things
Break Stuff (Limp Bizkit cover)
Come and Get it
Hurricane
TFILG
Chop Suey (System of a Down cover)
FWYTYK
Breaking Down
Deep End
Judgement Day
Choke
Scars
Encore
Gasoline
