STRAY FROM THE PATH BRISBANE FINAL CONCERT REVIEW
- Kirsty Shepherd
- Aug 23
- 9 min read
there are some moments in music history that cannot be missed and this tour is one of them for me. I had originally sat at my laptop watching the clock waiting for it to tick over to when tickets were on sale and within ten
minutes I was set to go and knew at that point I would be counting down the days. then by something I can
only see as a miracle I was offered a media pass to this event, making every part of this event even more special to me. having genuinely listened to
this band every single
morning with my ten year old for months while we made breakfast and school lunches it was a mind blowing opportunity in my eyes. So I found myself in the VIP line outside of the Tivoli on
Friday August 15th at 6.30pm. energies ran high with excited anticipation as the concert goers
waited for their opportunity to step inside.
Immediately upon entering the building I was met by zukø vocalist Jesse at the merch table. Though
seeming slightly nervous pre-show that did not translate onto the stage at all as I watched from my post on the balcony, and the band hit
the ground running with the lyrics of "yo! this is zukø mother f**ker" as theyjumped straight into "hatred". While the crowd was somewhat smaller than their performance deserved that didn't stop them as they
utilised the stage, hyped the crowd and put them to work. "This is the biggest stage we have played in Brisbane by far" Jesse declared, watched on proudly from side stage by south-east Queensland local and alpha wolf drummer, Mitch Fogarty, and several members of
diamond construct throughout their set. During the high energy set, there were two moments that truly stood out; I will get to the other in a second but it was a sentence that was spoken BETWEEN songs and hit so hard, as I know it will for
most alternative music listeners, "Because this life is beautiful and it is worth staying here."
s**CIDE AWARENESS IS SO necessary AND MENTAL HEALTH IS SUCH A LARGE PART OF THE ALTERNATIVE MUSIC SCENE THAT IT HIT RIGHT TO THE HEART, COMING FROM SOMEONE SO YOUNG. iT WAS POLARISED with "this song goes out to someone very special to me, my Dad. Because f**k that c**t." The second stand out moment was during zukø's final song where Jesse stepped off of the stage and up to
the barricade, passing the microphone throughout the crowd. The microphone detached from the cord and the crowd finished the song by chanting the lyrics back to the band. don't worry dear readers, the microphone was returned before the next set. when zukø was announced as the opening support act for the night I had thought "this
could not be a more perfect choice if they tried" and I was completely right in thinking that.
the crowd quickly emptied to the bar before filing back in for diamond construct. having seen diamond construct perform with babymetal in march, it was amazing to see that when the question was asked "who has seen diamond construct before?" it had gone from a 90% no to a 70% yes from one show to the next. diamond hit the stage with a heavy opening, riling up the crowd immediately. "if you
came here to have a good time, show me" they declared while playing hit after hit, including "remember", " hit it back", "death party" and "psychosis." while there were a few comments that made it evident the band were hoping for more interaction from the crowd, when the call was put out "what time is it?" there were members of the crowd who immediately replied "to hit it back", without hesitation before the band threw themselves into the song. their set was watched for the most part side stage by guitarists of Orthodox and from the balcony,
local Queensland band pyrokenesis. The band took a second to breath and to mention "we have been listening to them (SFTP) since we were kids so this is crazy." From my safe place on the balcony I could feel the banging of hands and feet through the rail, while watching the two-step and push pit "circle pit... run... run... run" inciting a circle pit that covered half of the floor area. diamond construct finished their set to ruckus applause and winning over several people that I had attended with within the seven song set.
once again the pit emptied to the bar before coming in for Orthodox. it was interesting to watch members of different bands interacting with concert go-ers, taking photos and chatting. I was met by Harley of total BuzzKill and zukø bassist Ben matthews at my perch as Orthodox made their way to the stage for their first ever performance in Australia. after the soft country music start, the band whip-lashed into the most feral energy of the night; the crowd
jumping, circle piting, crowd surfing and two stepping being abundant throughout the eight song set. The crowd made it clear from the beginning (having a line for their merch nearly out of the door) that they were here to show Orthodox what Brisbane could do and they did not disappoint, the band clearly feeding off of the energy and throwing themselves around their space like men possessed. from the start of their set I could see drew (hood up,
giant smile on his face) and Anthony watching from side stage, joined shortly after by Tom and Craig, remaining in various combinations throughout the show. Orthodox were actually the only band that I didn't have any experience with coming into this show, except listening to a few songs here and there on the days leading up to the show, and I have to admit, that their stage presence and live performance had me instantly won over and I have listened to them
every day since. Their ability to crowd command was top tier with statements like "for this song I want you to go over whatever is in front of you", "circle pit and don't stop moving" and "this goes out to a band of wankers". Orthodox left the stage to rousing applause and high energy stomping from the balcony. for the final time the pit shuffled, this time most patrons staying on the floor,
pushing their way closer to the barricade.
stray from the path began with the band members on stage, sirens BLARING, blue lighting TWIRLING AROUND THE STAGE AND CROWD LIKE SEARCH LIGHTS and an exchange of a drill sergent and a corporal. "let me see your war face. so you've got a war face" "aaahhh"..... "let me see your real war face."
"what the f**k is up brisbane? we are STRAY FROM the path from new york mother f**kers. Let's go" drew shouted skipping around
THE stage before immediately jumping into "Kubrick stare"
INCITING crowd surfing and half the pit jumping. without time to pause stray plunged straight into "needful things" with the crowd screaming back "are you in OR IN the way." the crowd above and below giving all their energy to the stage, jumping in time to the music and smashing their hands and feet on the railing. "hands in the air" had us swinging into "may you live forever", the band never faltering with the high energy performance."I want to see it right in the middle. spin this shit, Aussie style. circle pit mother fuckers. circle pit mother fuckers"
dREW COMMANDED,
CREATING A RAPIDLY SPINNING CIRCLE PIT FILLING A THIRD OF THE PIT FLOOR, BEFORE JUMPING IN TO "CHEST CANDY", JUMPING ACROSS THE
STAGE, AIR PUNCHING AND LEANING AS CLOSE INTO THE PIT AS
POSSIBLE without falling from the stage.
"(the police are people who) kill" drew screamed, throwing us into "iii". the boys danced around the stage showing their frustration at the American police departments. "and if you fly that blue flag" drew chanted, with the crowd crying out in return "then f**k you too".
next up was one that I was personally most excited to see, in the form of "goodnight alt-right". the anti-racism punk-rock anthem was introduced with a declaration "every single one of you will always be welcome in this community, in this concert and always at a stray from the path show. one thing that we
will not f**king tolerate is some n*azi scum punk a**e mother f**ker. fists in the f**king air brisbane" to ruckus cheers. the crowd bounced as one, raising the energy to level 1000, throwing their fists in the air before collectively chanting "what makes you think that this is okay? what makes you think you're the superior race? what makes you think that this is alright? goodnight alt-right, if you preach hate, then expect hate, if you preach hate, then expect hate, n*zi punks f**k off." it made me happy to see from my spot upon high that the security guards at the barrier were bobbing their heads in solidarity.
next up, giving the band and crowd a quick breather, an audio played about health
insurance c.e.o's before jumping straight into "shot caller". the lyrics being heavier than anything in this song creating an atmosphere which had most concert-goers banging their heads and just feeling the music.
"here's what I need you to do. I need you to bring that sh*t in. huddled up like a f**king army. huddled up like a f**king community. let's go. let's go. everybody's in. everybody's in. everybody's in. now I want you to take all that pain, all that stress, all that anxiety that you might have right here and I want you to apply all that f**king energy right f**king now. we are one f**king army. we are on the f**king battle ground and this is the anthem to the rest of your winter or summer whatever the f**k it is here. Brisbane are you f**king with me?... it is very simple. when this s**t kicks in, front to back, up the top, I don't give a f**k on your f**king feet. this song is called fortune teller." and we were off
with the paradiddle king himself pulling focus. "so you walk with me" and "we don't answer to anyone" becoming the chant from the crowd between furious jumping and push-pitting.
"I flew 30 hours to be here. I said is it cool if we play a new song for you?" drew asked, before thanking the security staff for doing an incredible job. "Brisbane, you are the first show of this tour, so you set the tonne. do you think you can get 25 crowd surfers for this song?"DREW ASKED "Yes!" the crowd cheered. "bro! Have some self respect for where you come from. I want to see 50 crowd surfers come over this barricade in this song." at this point it was hard to not feel bad for the four security guards who were trying to catch 3 or 4 people at a time from that point on as the energy hit the roof for a second time. I could not help but laugh as one surfer was thrown on top of another and they rode in tandem on top of the
crowd. in the four minute interaction, 43 crowd surfers and 1 stage diver crossed the barricade, many of which could be seen screaming the lyrics of "clockwork" in the bands direction.
"free Palestine" Tom called to the crowd to encouraging cheers, before the crowd went wild as "guillotine" started. Tom and Anthony feeding into the now chaotic crowd energy. "you stupid f**k" and "off with their f**king head" filled the room as the pit became one moving entity and the balcony chanted the words back to the stage; Tom making throat slicing movements to the crowd, fully stepping into the role.
"now, we're going to play one more song. we're not walking off and coming back on. we've got one more song for you tonight, let's have some fucking fun with it."
"Every rich white kid's got something to say" drew began "shut the f**k up" the crowd answered as we were for a final time thrown into the chaos, this time of "first world problem child". the crowd seemed to have a point to prove, giving everything they had to the band. as a small person the pit in the last three songs made me genuinely glad I had chosen to sit atop the crowd, because I definitely would not have come out of that in one piece. however, it was exactly the reception I was hoping Brisbane would give the band for
their send off. as the song came to a close the cheers and applause filled the room, the band clapped the crowd, before passing out drumsticks and set lists and leaving the stage. this show has now genuinely become the bar that must be passed to be considered the best show I have seen. the energy all four bands put in and in turn the crowd was honestly impressive. I am now days past this performance and I can still feel the post-concert blues in full swing. this was a once in a life time opportunity that I am so grateful I was able to witness.
You can find STRAY from the path on: spotify, apple music, facebook, instagram, youtube, x and tiktok
Drummer Craig Reynolds runs a podcast called the down beat that you can find on spotify and YouTube, where he talks to musicians about music and general life.
did you see stray from the path in their final Australian tour?
to read a quick breakdown of stray's final album "clockworked" follow the link.
