Live Review: Luca Brasi w/ Moose Blood @ The Zoo

It was a scorcher of a winter’s night as we ascended up The Zoo’s intimidating staircase to catch Tassie legends Luca Brasi play to a sold-out Brisbane crowd. An Access-All-Areas pass was a lovely way to begin the night (cheers boys!), as we felt like royalty heading backstage, however hindsight has made us realise we probably looked more like Wayne and Garth from Wayne’s World heading backstage like utter fanboys.

Apart from feeling slightly out of place standing next to the bands and crew, our embarrassment would not deter us from losing our sh*t side stage. Much hyped surrounded Moose Blood following their spot on the now irrelevant Soundwave lineup. Once they hit the stage though it was easy to understand why the hype surrounding their Australian visit was so massive. Their mix of soft-punk, melodically charged songs went down a treat with the packed room, with the audience singing every word back to a very stoked Eddy Brewerton.

“Moose Blood delivered a set that was upbeat, loud, sweaty, and more than lived up to the standards fans had set for them.”

Jamming their way through old tracks like Gum, Swim Down, and I Hope You’re Miserable, the crowd were weak at the knees as the soothing vocals of Brewerton entranced the entire venue. While new album ‘Blush’ has only been out a matter of weeks, it’s big single Honey went down a treat with the energetic audience. For a band with much to prove in regards to their pre-show hype, Moose Blood delivered a set that was upbeat, loud, sweaty, and more than lived up to the standards fans had set for them.

All thoughts of Moose Blood being the main attraction were quickly relinquished once Luca Brasi ran onstage. Without hesitation, Brasi ripped straight into Say It Back. Almost immediately they were drowned out by the sea of voices standing in front of them. From side stage it was evident just how much the show meant to the band, as they couldn’t hide their happiness as they traded looks at look at each other mid-song.

Following the disturbing incidents of their Sydney show the night before, where drunken men were indecently touching women without consent, frontman Tyler Richardson was very vocal about treating people with respect. In a frustrated yet assertive manner, he yelled “make sure you take care of each other out there. Look after each other and keep your f*cking hands to yourself! Everyone is here to have a good time so let’s keep it that way!”.

“High octane, high energy punk has never looked and sounded so good…”

Much to the roar of the crowd, it was a powerful moment to see a band so passionately defend their fans and lash out at those who seek to take advantage of drunken fans who are there purely for the music and to have a good time. The chorus of Aeroplane was a crowd surfer’s dream while the inclusion of their Like A Version cover of Paul Kelly’s How To Make Gravy translated as well live as it did in the triple j studio.

The Tassie lads rounded out the night with soon-to-be Luca Brasi classics The Cascade Blues and Anything Near Conviction, closing one of their best sets to date in plenty of style and applause. High octane, high energy punk has never looked and sounded so good and we can’t wait for Luca Brasi the ’rounds again on the Violent Soho tour in October.

Read our album review of ‘If This Is All We’re Going To Be’ HERE, our recent interview with Luca Brasi’s frontman Tyler Richardson HERE, and Luca Brasi’s Like A Version HERE