Photo’s & Review By: Jason Irvine and Taylor Dylko

A chilly Friday night in Melbourne saw Brisbane’s rocking four-piece Waxflower embark upon the upstairs room of The Gasometer Hotel in Collingwood, for the second of a three-date east coast tour in support of their most-recent EP, The Sound Of What Went Wrong, bringing along The Comfort, Damaged Goods Club, and All Regards as support.

Melbourne’s own All Regards opened the night, and instantly were upbeat and lively, setting the tone early for both their own set, and what was to come throughout the night more wholly. With a mix of heavy and soft moments throughout their set, each offering from the band saw the crowd bopping their heads and tapping their feat along with the music, generating cheers after each song. The band’s interaction with the crowd, and the banter with each other – including a story of drummer Ali O’Sullivan initially having headed to The Workers Club instead of The Gasometer Hotel -remained throughout the entirety of the half-hour set.

All Regards played through a mix of tracks, including their first-ever release, the heartfelt Trainwreck, before descending into chaos with a cover of The All-American Rejects’ Gives You Hell. A yet-to-be-released song Wonder followed, with the guitar from Jeremy Allen and bass from Mark Furrmann working together in harmony, enabling the crowd to get excited at an early taste of the band’s future work. The band finished the set with Where Were You, a song that required audience participation, which the crowd from the front of the stage to the back of the room was more than happy to comply with, singing the chorus with plenty of gusto, sparking an energy that would remain for the rest of the night.

**Damaged Goods Club Photo By Taylor Dylko**

Next up on the bill was another local Melbourne-based outfit, Damaged Goods Club brought a high-octane, pop-rock sound to the lineup, however, the band began slow to begin with Balconies, but, when the song picked up pace, the crowd were even more into it, moving and swaying along with the sound. Vocalist/guitarist Kelsie Rimmer and guitarist Darcy Laffan each played with high energy, moving around the stage at every chance as the punky sound continually captivated the audience.

Worst Of Me, Tired And Stupid, and upcoming single Love You Forever each had its angsty energy, complimented by their softer moments. The next couple of songs were introduced as Rimmer’s determination to make and play “angry girl music” – the band’s own Sick Sad Girl and a cover of Lush’s Take Me Away – made popular by 2003’s Freaky Friday, starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, ending the set with Sticks & Stones, in which the crowd was prompted – and complied – with some participation in helping deliver some ‘da, da, da’s’ at the beginning to lead into the song.

Brisbane-based The Comfort, after having re-emerged after three years away, came up to the stage and immediately jumped into a mix of old and new stuff, with 2016 single Your Heart and a yet-to-be-released track Bloom among the songs being played early on. It was evident from the outset that each member of the four-piece indie-punk outfit were having fun on stage, matching each other’s energies, assisting in creating a memorable show for all in attendance.

The new, unreleased tracks continued to come for the band, leaping into Conformist – a track that’s out officially this Friday – which further showed the capabilities this band can take on, with vocalist Liam Holmes emitting some screams which blew the crowd away. Everstone saw bassist Dominic Harper jump into the crowd at the start of the song, while Holmes had the crowd singing the lyrics back, growls and all.

Lastly, to the final act of the night, on their The Tour Of What Went Wrong headlining show, Waxflower came out and got the crowd into even more of a hyped-up frenzy, as it was evident the alt-rockers had their army of fans in the crowd, interacting with them through each and every song, through cheers, fistpumps, and just generally, rocking out and singing each lyric back to vocalist Tristan Higginson.

Higginson therefore was able to connect with the audience in with such poise and ease, bringing about a genuine perspective of the world throughout each of his heartfelt lyrics, which the crowd latched onto at all times. He was complimented in every instance by strong instrumentals from guitarists Jordan Beard and Nick Hargans, and drummer Daniel Seymour, who combined for piercing solos, hooks, and beats that blended nicely together to create the quintessential Waxflower sound.

Waxflower’s set consisted of a mixture of stripped back tracks and more of the heavier pop-punk-type sound they’re known for, beginning with one of their oldest singles, Back To Back. The band moved through their discography that included songs from their earlier releases, while playing many songs off the latest EP – the reason for the tour - including The Drama Scene, Misaligned Love, Two Thumbs, and Soak. The band concluded the set with Love And Other Drugs to a drawn out applause and appreciation by their Melbourne-based fans, longing for when they’ll return next.

FULL GALLERY

All Regards