'Are You Interested?' Cog's massive Australia tour touches down in Melbourne
- Keely Naylon
- Dec 20, 2025
- 8 min read
A kid, barely 20, in a red Pantera shirt darts through the room, the first band has yet to play but he’s gripping the barricade with two hands, shaking out his full mullet. Two friends appeared beside him, drinks in hand, and passed him a golden, frothing beer. The lights sink, two men walk onstage, and Melbourne’s 15th Birthday Bird’s Robe celebration gig begins.
It’s a Friday night and The Sea Shall Not Have Them warms Max Watts' scattered 6:30pm crowd perfectly, providing an eerie, atmospheric energy in the room. The two-piece Queensland band brings a dramatic, jamming, purely instrumental sound that tells a story. Beginning sad and melancholy, before building to a dramatic climax, with moments that feel as though you’re staring down the gaping maw of a sand-worm with a roaring backing-track and the moaning guitar tone of Curt Emerton.
Drummer Mat Wilton provides a dramatic flourish as he masterfully slams down against the drum skins, his rhythms fueling the rising tension. Finally, they bring the half hour set to a close on a lighter, sweeter note, with playful guitar and brighter tones, as though watching the sun break through a storm. The Sea Shall Not Have Them was a perfect introduction to the evening, a dramatic, cinematic, wash of sound.
Sydney-based mostly jam band SEIMS follows with a quick, screamed introduction, ‘We’re SEIMS!’ Bassist Simeon Bartholomew brought an exuberant energy, bouncing around the stage, switching between bass, piano, and occasional singing. His interactions with the crowd were frequent and playful. SEIMS provided a similar atmospheric scene setting however, where The Sea Shall Not Have Them felt dramatic, and serious, SEIMS felt upbeat and energetic. Some moments reminiscent of video game soundtracks, particularly bringing to mind Catherine (2011), frantic, fast-paced, and characterful with a guitar tone that felt refreshingly 2000s.
Between sets the crowd continued to pack in, a group of men in band-shirts discussed a new construction site, several father-son duos dotted the crowd, clutching identical beers, a fresh wave of young men swarmed red Pantera shirt, clapping shoulders, shaking hands, beaming with fresh beers. ‘You made it!’ A photographer ran up to the barrier, waving at the guitarist of Mushroom Giant as they set-up the stage, who greeted the man back gleefully.
Mushroom Giant are homegrown, from Melbourne, and deliver a heavy metal rock sound. So far, Birds Robe have served three very different bands, connected by their heavy sound and jam-band-style. It’s what they’re known for, supporting alternative, interesting musicians in Australia, and around the world. Mushroom Giant, a five-piece band with more instruments than musicians, masterfully perform tracks that sound similar to rock greats such as Tool and Black Sabbath, heavy, loud, and classic. Mushroom Giant sounds like a battle field, a gun-fight, a final mission the hero has been building towards for decades.
22 years on and Mushroom Giant are still providing fresh tracks. “Fuck you if you prefer our old stuff!” Bassist Craig Fryers shouted, teasing, as they performed a newer sound, sludgier, post-hardcore, and delicious. Although, by this point in the evening, after three instrumental bands in a row, there was a craving for tracks with vocals.
Upstairs, the balcony was filling up, a row of punters sat up against the balcony, peering down at the stage drinks stacking up in front of them before the bartenders appeared again, swiping empty pints and schooners. A taller bar benchtop behind was an excellent perch to rest your feet after over two hours of music, with over two hours to go.
Downstairs the crowd flowed in faster, the chatter loud, with COG shirts now outnumbering those of Tool, Suicidal Tendencies, Pantera and Bikini Kill put together. Eager and waiting for the second to last band of the night, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.
Trail of Dead, an American alternative-rock band, who previously have said they will no longer tour, graced the Melbourne stage with a dramatic flare. The lights cut, the opening music thundered with heavy drum-beats as rising excitement and cheers skittered about the crowd. The anticipation is high. Simeon Bartholomew, bassist of SIEMS, had said earlier of Trail of Dead, “You’re in for a treat.” Already, it felt like we were being treated by the simple act of them being here at all.
A band known for their high-energy shows each member was constantly moving, the drummer Ben Redman twisted tightly, playing close to their chest, as though wound up ready to explode with noise and power. Vocalist and guitarist Conrad Keely held the audience in the palm of his hand, engaging easily, his punk-like vocals clear, honest, and powerful. Jason Reece’s vocal moments held a different, yet necessary colour, rough and raw, that matched the brusque energy of the tracks.
It was a busy stage, guitars constantly moving around, being brought on and off stage, with Reece swapping with Redman occasionally, each providing an entirely different energy on their fresh instruments. Redman brought a laid-back energy to the guitar where Reece maintained a steadfast solidity on the drums. Yet each change was clean, their performance and ability to change so quickly undeniable evidence of how tight they are as a band.
Keely also proves his familiarity with Melbourne audiences, wrapping up the set by mentioning and encouraging the traditional Cherry Bar afterparty. Where, if you’re lucky, you could find anyone from local bands to international acts drinking until the sun rises once more, particularly at its previous location on ACDC Lane.
Immediately following their set, the room began to buzz with chatter, excitement, and anticipation. It was time. The COG shirts were innumerable, the line for the bar becoming long, anxiety-ridden, as the time ticked down. ‘There’s a huge line at the urinals.’ Someone mentioned in passing. ‘None at the women’s!’ Another voice replied.
The lights sunk low, a green light hit the disco ball, shooting light green reflections across people’s faces, the walls, the ceiling, the stage. A cheer rose throughout the crowd as the sci-fi buzzing, clinking and clanking opening of ‘The Doors (Now and Then My Life Feels Like It’s Going Nowhere)’ began. The crowd's roars were big and bellowing, not unlike that of a crowd at an AFL game.
‘This is going to be fucking sick!’ A punter behind us crowed, before screaming along with the crowd, as the lights rose, and COG took to the stage.
Growling, heavy bass guitar from Luke Gower intertwined with the chunky, gritty, guitar tone of Flynn Gower, creating a tense, writhing, and all-consuming sound. Max Watts felt full to the brim with great, searing guitar and a pacey, energetic rumbling bass, in addition to the masterful and complex full-kit sounds of Lucius Borich on drums. It’s a testament to the trio that their sound filled the room to every corner, rattling every chest, and pumping every heart.
Flynn Gower’s vocals were sweet, melodically gruff, husky and heartfelt. COG is a band with a clear love of performing, of music, and sharing their gift with their fans. Their fans were overjoyed to take every musical offering.
“Somehow, we’re still here. Somehow, we’re still alive.” Flynn Gower says following the opening tracks to raucous cheers and applause of the sold out show crowd.
COG are unafraid of the political, their tracks make that clear, and Flynn Gower doesn’t shy away from addressing the very same issues in front of an audience. He speaks to the importance of pushing back against power, of ‘anarchy’, yet also insists on togetherness, of rejecting divisiveness.
No one in that room knew the devastating attack that would occur, only two-days later, on Bondi Beach and how important a message of rejecting attempts to divide the community would be. It’s a message we need to hear now more than ever. A message to embrace each other, to share empathy, love, and life. A message spread across the evening, shared before tracks like ‘Are You Interested?’ as well as later in the evening before ‘Drawn Together’.
“We’re going to take you all back to the ‘just visiting’ period.” Flynn Gower announced, to a delighted audience, screaming their approval, before beginning to play ‘Paris, Texas’. A grimey, sludgey, ominous and intense track, that sets the audience swaying, many eyes closed, hands raised. The track felt thick, smokey, and almost sultry, like flirting with death. The performance brought back memories of watching Jane’s Addiction, slow, heavy, and sexy.
Luke Gower delivered a truly furious and energetic performance all night, dripping in sweat, jerking around the stage in an almost animalistic fashion, impassioned and gritting his teeth. It’s an infectious energy, finally sending the crowd into a mosh towards the end of ‘Silence is Violence’, as the sound melds together cacophonous, ferocious, and crashing. Lucius Borich’s drums are technical and captivating, quickly shifting from blurry rapid-fire hits to a slower, grooving, grinding jam without flinching.
COG had saved their crowd-pleasers for last, though each track appeared to please many in the crowd regardless, playing back to back hits particularly from their 2005 album, ‘New Normal’. Although, unlike many 90s bands, fans were still just as eager for their newly released track, ‘Walk The Line’. A song that fits perfectly amongst their discography, as evidenced by the crowd reaction, still eager, still singing, still dancing.
In the crowd everyone was melded together, the barely 20 kid in the red Pantera shirt, the tradies with mismatched band-shirts, a man with no shirt at all who might’ve been the guy behind us, sons with their fathers watching from the sidelines, colliding with each other, grinning, spilling drinks, tripping, and pulling each other up again.
Before their final song of the night, Flynn Gower introduces one of his daughters, currently studying in Melbourne, who hands him the last guitar of the night and gives him a hug.
“She was three when we wrote this.” Flynn Gower mentions. It must be an odd feeling, as the musician's daughter, looking out to a crowd and knowing the song was written about being separated from you, many years before you could even comprehend it. And knowing it is now a song that is almost synonymous with COG. A song that brings you on stage, together again, as an adult.
With that, COG broke into their last song, ‘Bird of Feather’, to the collective joy of the crowd. A perfect song to end an electric set, full of emotion, politics, and most importantly community. It’s what makes the Australian music scene's heart beat. It’s what Australians are good at. It’s something we can’t let be torn away from us by fear and hatred and bigotry.
COG delivered it all. Love, anger, hope, anguish, and everything in between. A band that in their years have not lost their edge, their connection, their sound, and their hope.
“Love you Cog!” Someone in the crowd shouted, barely half-way through the show. Flynn Gower grinned, turning to put his guitar down, before returning to the mic.
“Love you too, Melbourne.”
Birds Robes 15th Birthday Show was packed to the brim with talented musicians, a steady build of talent, of sound, a mixture of communities. Opening bands The Sea Shall Not Have Them, SIEMS, and Mushroom Giant laid an excellent sonic base for the powerhouse performance of Trail of Dead, and the astonishing, heart-pumping, and moving performance of Australia’s very own rock band with a heart of gold, COG.
