25 March 2023 – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane – words by Kai Giovanni – pictures by Bec Harbour
Proving that, sometimes, old stuff is better than new stuff, Regurgitator – celebrated Unit‘s 25th anniversary in style last Saturday.
Now, if you’re like me and have lived for less time than this album has existed in the world, I’ll summarise its stamp on the Australian music scene with one word: instrumental. After breaking into scene with two EPs and a debut album’s worth of punk (ish) tracks to put them on the map, Quan Yeomans and Ben Ely wanted to use this band’s new reach to access corners of Australian music which hadn’t yet been touched in the mainstream.
One temporary recording warehouse, a few drum machines and instrument emulators, and 13 tracks later, the neo-punk alt-rock-electronica hallmark that is Unit was born. I don’t have to tell you how the divisive, genre-bending album was received – it’s 12 nominations and 5 award wins all speak for themselves.
Which is what brings us to last Saturday. With a line-up consisting of local legends like Screamfeeder, The Stress Of Leisure, Butterfingers, Custard, and a rare performance by the Models, it was a dream come true for Brisbane musos of old. And for newer, younger entrants to scene, the day was a dive into the rich history of the Brisbane Music Scene.
With no performance overlap between acts across Eatons Hill Hotel’s two stages, the pressure was surely stacked on for acts to keep the attention of multiple crowds’ worth of music aficionados, enthusiasts, and lovers. But, whether it was the surreal experience of being amongst so many Brisbane legends, the day’s 3000 enthusiastic fans, or the nostalgic memories of their first Unit listens all flooding back, every band brought nothing but their absolute A-game.
Platonic Sex, Mitch, Please, Cable Ties and Glitoris were the quickest to amass crowds, with their respectively dazzling voices, unique rock blends, and unmatched performative tightness making them impossible to ignore for most audience members. It’s no lie that the age demographic for the day was a tad higher than these bands’ typical target audiences, but it seems even they decided to bring their A-games, in the form of dance shoes and youthful enthusiasm.
Butterfingers, Resin Dogs, and DZ Deathrays undoubtedly were the biggest crowd-movers of the day. Whether it was hip hop, funk, or hardcore punk, our crowd knew the words to these guys’ songs and made it their missions to make that clear. And our acts didn’t shy away from bringing a few modern twists to their sets either: recently working with the rising rapper on his latest EP, Butterfingers brought out East Coast Alien for some red hot bars, and DZ Deathrays nailed down on their incoming ‘metal’ direction with Violent Soho bassist Luke Henery making his debut as the band’s much-awaited fourth member.
But every band made sure to make it clear why we were all here and who we were so eagerly anticipating to take the main stage – and Regurgitator, on all fronts, delivered.
Consistent with the album’s release tour and 20th anniversary tour, Quan, Ben, and Pete’s entrance saw them once again donning their iconic silver spandex, with touring touring keytarist Shane Rudken even making a bunny-suited return.
With the peak of my Regurgitator fandom only seeing me able to watch through performance archives, Band in a Bubble episodes, and Dylan Lewis interviews, I quickly realised I only ever had a taste of the uncontainable charisma and mesmerizing energy which Regurgitator brough to that night’s performance – they were incredible, as their reputation precedes. Whether their set saw Quan spitting ‘I Will Lick Your Arsehole’ bars into a mic centre-stage, Shane loveably playing ‘Just Another Beautiful Story’ woodwind parts into his keytar, or Ben screaming tracks off Tu-Plang, the audience never shied away from singing along to the most bombastic or heavy-hitting tracks off Regurgitator’s vast discography.
Our four on-stage members treated the night’s crowd like old friends they’d not seen for a long time, and our audience responded just the same – everyone missed each other. Quan and Ben wore the most infectious smiles throughout the night’s entire set, which could also be found across any face you saw. I left that night, a Regurgitator fan.
Now, with a tour version of this show to kick off across Australia in May, and a new record in the works, I feel what every audience and band member seemed to feel night – indescribable excitement, about one of the best bands Brisbane has put out.
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