gig review: South Arcade at The Croxton with Terra Rouge.
- ethanjcooke1
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
On a drizzly August evening in Melbourne, South Arcade Kicked off their entirely sold out Australian tour. june and I were given the absolute pleasure of being tasked with shooting and reviewing the night. i love the croxton. it's a great venue that i always look forward to returning to.
South Arcade have been busy, making their third visit to Australia in just over a year. The band’s first trip was in May 2025 supporting Bilmuri, followed by another trip in December for Good Things which included two side shows. Since then, the band have supported 5 Seconds of Summer in Europe, as well as playing a handful of other international festivals. Some bands leave such big gaps between Australian tours, so for South Arcade to come back so soon, and without playing a single headline show in between, is a massive privilege.
The excitement for the band was clear well before doors even opened. Doors did run a bit late on the night, but this just meant that the room was packed out nice and early. Merch was, of course, high on a lot of people’s lists; the queue spanned the whole room and even curled back on itself.
Opening act, Terra Rouge, was a new entity to me. So not sure what to expect, I was surprised by the addition of a pair of dancers on the stage for an opening act. Not something I had seen before, but I’ve got to pay huge respect to it, being the opening act not restricting her theatre of putting on a show.
The stage dress of the band was giving Robert Palmer Addicted to Love music video vibes. The band in their white shirts and black ties. Terra’s 80’s sleaze rock inspired sound worked for this crowd. those who knew Terra prior to tonight were joining in with every word.
The crowd didn’t need too much warming up to be fair, but Terra definitely put on a great show. truly finding her confidence around the halfway point of her set, celebrating her birthday with the crowd and being serenaded herself, before kicking into her cover of The Best of Both Worlds. Closing out her set with her newest single, Ur the Man, the crowd were well and truly warmed up.
Hitting the stage nice and early, South Arcade EXPLODED out of the gates. Opening with viral hit HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER. I was fortunate enough to catch South Arcade when they supported Bilmuri, and honestly, I wasn’t blown away by them, so my expectations weren’t high. I was wrong. South Arcade knows how to put on a show. Fast, loud, and tight as hell. The band’s sound quality is so accurate to what their recorded work sound like. Lead singer, Harmony Cavelle’s vocal ability and usage of autotune as an instrument, somehow, translates really well to the live show. The pop-punk/nu-metal/Y2Kcore sound that the band are pioneering, heavy influences from bands like Limp Bizkit, Avril Lavigne, and No Doubt on full display.
The band played all their heavy hitters, Fear of Heights, Supermodels, and (one of my personal favourites) Bleed Out. They aren't afraid to show what they do on their social media channels and their stage presence truly lived up to it and more. I must say guitarist Harry Winks’ determination to open the pit was admirable. The crowd’s willingness to oblige even more so. During Bleed Out, Harry did get into the pit for the breakdown, and it was a rather impressive. The band also played new, unreleased song F.A.M.O.U.S., as well as older songs, Danger, and Sound of an Empty Room. The crowd loved every second, clearly a room with a significant amount of diehards. However, it is hard to have deep cuts with no full-length album releases. most fans have clearly listened to every single.
With it being the first night of tour, the band would’ve been forgiven for showing signs of jet lag and tiredness, however, not once did the band’s energy level drop. They did get peer pressured into doing a shoey by the crowd, and instead of electing just one member, all four of them succumbed to drink beer from their shoe. The band closed out the main set with stone cold summer. which did live up to the hype, even with the crowd participation.
I have had encores ruined for me. Some of my favourite bands have likened encores to adult peekaboo, and now I can’t unsee that comparison. We all know the band are going to re-emerge to play their biggest song, so why waste time and pretend, when instead they could easily squeeze in another song. However, the band did reemerge to play their biggest song 2005 to close out the night.
South Arcade leaving behind northern hemisphere summertime to come to Australia in the middle of winter shows how much respect they have for their Australian fanbase. Hopefully the band come back again soon, Harmony did mention how the band wish to play Good Things festival again, so maybe they’ll be back in 2027.
These four kids from Oxford, England, know how to make some fucking noise. They are so much better than when i saw them back in 2025, the growth is admirable . if you're holding off from getting into South Arcade because of their social media presence, I can only implore to try and see them live. It’ll completely change your mind on the band. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for when South Arcade next visit these shores, and I’ll be first on the pre-sale list. I can't wait to see how far the band will have grown by then and if they'll have an album out.
June Shared more shots from the night on her instagram. go check her post out as well. Huge thanks to Destroy all lines for having us.
