Gig

Alexisonfire – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 17th Feb @ Fortitude Music Hall, Bris QLD

Cait Mac

Feb 20, 2023

7 min read

Alexisonfire
Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane QLD
February 17, 2023
Support: Luca Brasi

Holy shit. I feel like that's almost all I have to say. Friday night was one of the best nights I've experienced and one of the best shows I have witnessed. And that statement may contain the slightest bit of bias because this review is about one of my favourite bands. Still, surely even someone relatively new to The Only Band Ever would have also thought the show was pretty darn good. I understand that I have started backwards here, and I apologise, but that's how my brain is working at the moment. Let's back up a bit – I saw Alexisonfire on Friday night in Brisbane at the first show of their 2023 tour, and it was THE. BEST!

Last Wednesday, I caught City and Colour, supported by Dooms Childen, which I LOVED. In my review, I talked about how when C&C was first a thing, whenever Alexis toured, Dallas would also do shows as City and Colour and how cool it was that this was a circumstance like that. I've loved Alexis since about 2006/07, and seeing C&C and Alexis in the same week like old times made this old gal incredibly happy. Tired and sore, but happy.

Unfortunately, I missed Luca Brasi hit the stage but from all accounts, they managed to loosen the oldies up a bit for the main event. Mitch took some great pics too, so check out the gallery below!

The house lights go down, and the stage lights come on – epic (but humorous) walk-out music starts, and Dallas, Steele, Jordan, George and Wade take to the stage. Then the "All right this is from our hearts" of 'Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints' smashes us all in the face. This is my fifth time seeing this band, and I can't remember them starting with anything else. This song starts my favourite release of Alexis' Crisis – it's the perfect way to start the album and an even better way to start a set. The band is crazy and frantic from these first refrains, and the energy never lets up. .Drunks.... ends, and I hear the first riffs of my absolute favourite Alexis song, 'Boiled Frogs', and shitt. starts. getting. wild! I am fairly close to the front, and there's a lot of pushing as people scramble to be closer to the craziness.

After 'Bolied Frogs', we get the first song from the new album, 'Sweet Dreams of Otherness', which is as sultry and sexy live as it is on the album. Interestingly, the set only has this and 'San Soleil' from Otherness in it. Even more interestingly, none of the pre-Otherness standalone singles 'Season Of the Flood', 'Complicit' and 'Familiar Drugs' are included in the set. Which is honestly a bit of a shame – I would have loved to have seen 'Familiar Drugs' live because Dallas' vocals in that song are incredible!

The set works through a fantastic mix of songs from Crisis, Old Crows/Young Cardinals and Watch Out with 'Pulmonary Archery' from the self-titled and 'Dogs Blood' from the album of the same name. The whole set is incredible from start to end, but some highlights are when it slows down for 'Rough Hands' and into 'San Soleil', which both include fantastic crowd singalongs. 'This Could be Anywhere in the World' is another awesome moment, especially after Dallas wove this into the end of 'Comin' Home' during his C&C set the other night. 'Young Cardinals' finishes the main set before the encore of 'Accidents' and 'Happiness by the Kilowatt'.

I only have a few minor gripes (and they aren't even really gripes, more observations) – but I think this is the first show I've seen where they haven't played '44. Calibre Love Letter', which always goes off live AND once again, NO 'Side Walk When She Walks'!!! I will continue to "complain" about this song's long-standing omission from live shows until they finally play it. When the day comes that I get to interview Dallas and Wade in person, I will firmly suggest they play it.

This show had me caught up in emotions the entire time, witnessing how wild the punters were and how the intensity never stopped from either the crowd or the band. I looked around so many times at the sold-out venue and thought, "This is exactly the huge, dedicated and wild crowd this band deserves." Friday night's show was one of the best I've ever seen of any band. I will never take it for granted that since Alexisonfire's "farewell" tour back in 2013, I've been lucky enough to see them twice more, and they've released an album. This band has meant so much to me for so long, and seeing how relevant and fresh they still are was such a joy.

Review by Cait Macca @cait_2tone

Photo Gallery by Mitch Chamberlain. Insta: @chamberlainmedia
Please credit Wall of Sound and Mitch Chamberlain if you repost.

Luca Brasi

Alexisonfire