28 January 2023 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Bec Harbour
After a stand out 2021 version of the same mini festival, Cog’s The Other Festival ran through town earlier this week. Alongside Cog were Brisbane comedy rockers Osaka Punch, and one of my favourite progressive rock acts going right now, The Stranger. Bolstering the line up alongside these bands, were Sydney hardcore act Bare Bones, Gold Coast psychobilly rockers The Wrath, and a host of other local bands, ready to put their stamp on The Tivoli.
In a quick run-down of the day:
Mass Sky Raid were up first. Caught these guys on the opening spot for Voyager last year, and it was fantastic seeing these Gold Coast natives again. Definitely a band if you see on a line up, to go out of your way to see.
Kodiak Empire in all honestly was a rollercoaster of a set. The opening song was strong, before really falling flat until the closing song. I heard rumours about a lead singer change recently, so they might have been trying to find their feet. When they were good, they were great. Hoping it was just nerves or something.
Minds End were a heavier band on the line-up that honestly surprised me, and got me pumped up and wanting to throw hands. Exactly what I love in my metal tunes. This is a band that I’ll need to keep on the radar.
Rhino were a band that initially didn’t capture the crowd, until the lead singer cracked a joke about working at Centrelink, which endeared the singer to the crowd. But from that point onwards, everyone was into it. I was into it from the start, and they were a really fun band.
The Wrath brought a level of theatre to the rock show, with their psychobilly rock and roll that was just pure fun. They’re a name I’d heard a bit about before the day, but had no idea what I was walking into. Awesome, awesome stuff.
Bare Bones were the last band up before the final three acts, and man, these guys RULE. They ooze a vibe of a Every Time I Die & The Bronx crossover. But also feel like they have their own distinct voice. Another band that very quickly I felt like I could throw down to.
The first of what I consider the three main acts of the day, were Brissy Progressive Rock outfit The Stranger. I’ve been on the train of these guys since around 2017. So, seeing their progression to playing a packed-out Tivoli, as a fan, has been amazing to see. Drummer Daniel O’Brien has to be one of my favourite drummers in Australian music right now. They dude just gives 110% of himself every show. As for the show itself, it was a mix of amazing music packed full of jokes, including acknowledgement of “National Internet Privacy Day” with a quick word from NordVPN (my favourite joke all day).
In the last spot before the headliner was probably one of my favourite Brisbane exports ever, Osaka Punch. Out of all the bands of the day, these are the guys I’d recommend the most to check out if you don’t know them. The mantra for this band is “Heavy grooves & smooth pop melodies”, and they’re definitely not wrong. In what I think is one of my favourite sets I’ve seen from these guys, we got some bangers, including ‘How We Operate’, ‘Hall of Shame’, ‘STONK’, and ‘Battleworm’, with the usual outro of ‘Bulls on Parade’. These guys are always fun, and I hope we see their stock increase over the next few years.
Closing the show out for the live, were the legendary rockers, Cog. The set for these guys was only 60 minutes, but I think we got probably the best 60-minute set we could have, considering their discography. Opening on ‘Doors (Now and Then My Life Feels Like It’s Going Nowhere)’, the bar was set very high for an atmospheric night of some of the best modern and progressive rock and roll Australia has to offer. A big highlight of the set was one of my personal favourite Cog hits, ‘Are You Interested?’ The crowd was moving all over the place, singing the highs of the song, and it was just a really great time.
Around the mid-way of the set, Cog pulled out song I didn’t really expect to hear, but was pleasantly surprised to, in ‘Run’. The funky bass line of this track is so infectious, and it’s so hard to not move your body along. Cog closed the show out on fan favourite, ‘Bird of Feather’, and Sharing Space‘s 9-minute closing masterpiece, ‘Problem Reaction Solution’, to rapturous applause, and cheers for more. Hopefully, Cog pull out another one of these in 2023, because this was a fun day.
