Regurgitator - 27 August 2015, The Zoo

After a two and a half year hiatus, Regurgitator has returned to the stage bringing their effervescent infectious energy with them. The Brisbane show marked their first stop of the tour, and it was like no time had passed at all!

Opening the night was Mystery School. I don’t really know how to describe what I heard and saw, apart from saying it was a little like a mystery. Brainchild, Jhonny Russell, performed such a mix of styles, flipping from punk like distorted guitar goodness, to electro synth lyrical pop, with a whole bunch of styles thrown together in between. The second half of the set flowed really nicely and cohesively, where the first half was a bit rattled. Had the set been switched around a little the whole act would have made much more sense.

Up next was Godswounds. Their 32-bit hardcore style is not a style I would have ever found myself describing, yet is a perfectly apt description of this band. Think Nintendo cross grunge. They had some rather awesome things going on, and with the addition of the Trumpet melodies on top of gamer synth sound it made for some rather unique music. There was an energy about them that was infectious, and you couldn’t help but get involved in their music making.

It’s hard to believe Regurgitator have been around for over 20 year! When did that happen? Judging by the night’s performance, they haven’t slowed down a bit! Frontmen Quan and Ben spent over an hour bouncing around the stage mixing grunge, rap and pop-punk together in a set that was filled to the brim with their classic hits! They opened the set with “Blood and Spunk”, backing it up with “Track 1”. What is just so special about a Gurge concert, however is their empowering ability to get an entire venue singing along to words “I will lick your arsehole” at the top of their lungs.

The mosh was infectious! Standing in the front third looking back, the jumping continued for the majority of the venue. By the time the band got to “I Wanna Be a Nudist” and “Pop Porn” it left me wondering how many more hits they could throw into the set, then they played “Polyester Girl”. Another thing that continually surprises me about the band is their ability to change up their arrangement to form their heavy live sound. Take “Polyester Girl”, it is so much heavier live then on record, and it was amazing.

They ended the set with some rippers including “Kung Foo Sing” before returning for their encore with “The Drop” and “! (The Song Formally Known As)”. This set was just about everything that I could have wished for in a Gurge concert with not many favourites missing out. If you can manage to get along to the gigs down south, please do. You will not regret it!