Kublai Khan TX – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 31st August @ The Tivoli, Bris QLD

Kublai Khan TX
The Tivoli, Meanjin/Brisbane QLD
August 31st, 2024
Support: Terror, Guilt Trip, Splinter

Hotter than Texas in July, heavy hardcore wrecking-crew Kublai Khan TX have seen their stock rise exponentially over the last few years. Their beatdown-loving style has especially been a hit with fans in Australia, with the sold-out 11-date tour marking the sixth time they’ve visited our shores – and first time headlining. With the legends Terror in tow, and up-and-comers Guilt Trip and Splinter joining them, WoS were fortunate to squeeze into Brisbane’s sold-out Tivoli to witness the second-last date of this massively successful hardcore spectacle.

Thanks to the seemingly entire population of South East Queensland in the city due to Riverfire and a major NRL local derby, WoS – and a huge amount of other punters – are delayed getting into the venue. Fortunately, despite the monster line that wraps around the streets outside that causes many to miss the start of their short set, Newcastle bruisers Splinter kick the night off correctly and deliver a perfect tone-setting performance. With violent vocals, nasty guitar tone, and plenty of mosh-friendly sections, hate-filled cuts like ‘One Last Darkest Day’ highlight one of this nation’s most promising heavy acts; shame more folks weren’t able to witness them.

As if their walk-out music of Oasis ‘Morning Glory’ wasn’t a dead giveaway, Guilt Trip are one of Manchester’s – and the UK’s – hottest tipped hardcore exports. Melding crossover thrash and 90s metal into the sound, there is a definite lift in energy, with the first crowd surfers and circle pits of the night kicking off almost immediately. With an ample amount of harmonic-based riffs and dive-bombing solos, the more ‘metal’ aspects in tunes like ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ expertly meld with the Brit’s pure-hardcore passion. Closing their set with a truncated cover of Machine Head’s ‘Davidian’ following ‘Thin Ice’, judging by the reaction in the Tivoli, Guilt Trip’s first visit to Australia will certainly not be their last.

A bonafide institution of the hardcore and punk music scene, Terror’s reputation genuinely precedes them. Led by the iconic Scott Vogel, the Los Angeles act has spent the last two decades touring their asses off and virtually influencing every hardcore band in their wake. Far from strangers to Australia, tonight’s main support slot may only afford them half an hour of our time, but the Brisbane hardcore scene is treated to something of a ‘greatest hits’ set, with lots of old-school cuts from One With The Underdogs, as well as a couple of choice numbers from 2022’s Pain into Power.

Though he voices his displeasure of having to deal with a barrier between the stage, Vogel effortlessly slips into the role of master of ceremonies; exuding positive energy, keeping an eye on fans and security alike, and, of course, encouraging maximum movement from the attendees. Needless to say, it doesn’t take much for the pit to explode, with the constant wave of crowd surfers only pausing during the floor-opening beatdowns on songs like ‘Boundless Contempt’. The anthem-like ‘Keepers of the Faith’ is the only way to close a Terror show, and while their die-hard fans would no doubt wish for a headliner, the five-piece have massively thrown down the gauntlet for Kublai Khan TX with a performance that lives up to their legendary status.

As the sold-out Tivoli heaves with bodies – and the aircon struggles thanks to it also being an abnormally hot final day of Winter – anticipation is at a fever pitch for this evening’s main event, Kublai Khan TX. Taking to the stage a few minutes earlier than advertised, a mad rush ensues to get into the pit as the band erupts into ‘Theory of Mind’ before moving quickly into fellow single ‘Supreme Ruler’. With the crowd matching Matt Honeycutt lyric-for-lyric, it’s easy to forget their new album Exhibition of Prowess hasn’t even dropped yet, with the venue’s enthusiasm not lost on the frontman – “you know how to make a motherfucker feel good!” He bellows out early in their set.

Much like Terror’s Scott Vogel, Honeycutt is very much the focal point on stage; while he does admittedly speak a large chunk of the vocal lines – or misses them all together – his main job is more so commanding the masses. And boy do they listen; from room-filling circle pits (never an easy thing to achieve at a hardcore show) and a wall of death during ‘Loyal to None’, to some seriously violent pits (WoS witnesses one punter dragged off the dance floor clean knocked-out), the full house never dips or slows. The aforementioned Terror vocalist comes out for this excellent guest spot in ‘Swan Song’, while the oldest KKtx tune of the night – 2008’s ‘Eyes Up’ – segues nicely into mosh-flattening ‘Dynasty’. With the jackhammering ‘Antpile’ the penultimate tune of the evening, The Tivoli roars with approval as Honeycutt announces the world premiere of its aptly titled sequel ‘Antpile 2’. Making good on their promise to unleash the track if the upgraded venue sold out, the short new Kublai Khan TX jam features even more squealing guitar parts than the original – touring guitarist Nick Adams puts his pinch harmonic technique into overtime – and floor-hammering chugs.

As Seal’s ‘Kiss From A Rose’ plays out the sweaty mass of punters into the heaving Fortitude Valley, tonight – and the whole tour – has been a major success for Kublai Khan TX, Terror, and the hardcore scene in Australia. While 45 minutes may seem short for a headliner; music this violent and – honestly – monolithic, is best served in smaller batches – and judging by the bedlam we just witnessed, Kublai Khan TX knows how to keep the energy levels peaking.

With a fresh LP coming out in less than a month and no apparent change in style, it’s hard to know where the ceiling is for Kublai Khan TX. This reviewer can’t help but shake the feeling that we may have witnessed the Texans at their absolute peak – but who knows what’s next for the group. All we know for certain is that the diverse, fired-up, sold-out crowd in the Tivoli ate up every last morsel from the stage tonight.

Review by Andrew Kapper

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

Guilt Trip

[gallery type="square" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-1.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-3.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-4.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-5.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-6.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-8.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-12.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-15.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GUILT-TRIP-16.jpg|"]

‍Terror[gallery type="square" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-1.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-3.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-5.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-7.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-8.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-9.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-10.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-11.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-12.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-16.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-17.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TERROR-18.jpg|"]

‍Kublai Khan TX

‍[gallery type="square" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-9.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-11.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-12.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-14.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-18.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-21.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-24.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-25.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-28.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-31.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-1.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KUBLAI-KHAN-3.jpg|"]