
9 June 2023 – The Triffid, Brisbane – words by Kai Giovanni – pictures by Charlyn Cameron
After a decade of breakup ballads, national tours, and rock awards, WAAX have said goodbye.
Their cleverly misdirecting ‘Most Hated Girl’ campaign in 2021 capitalised on frontperson Maz DeVita as the band’s front and centre, paving the way for 2022’s onslaught of singles, music videos, and long-awaited second LP release. Then, Maz shared the same shock the nation felt when WAAX had to cancel their At Least I’m Free tour, and subsequently announce their retirement. Brisbane had to say goodbye to one of its biggest bands.
In true WAAX fashion, however – following a ‘fuck you’ attitude to toxic exes, self-betraying memories, and sad goodbyes – they wouldn’t go quietly.
This is what brings us to last Friday night, the final night of WAAX’s trio of ‘partying gift’ shows at their Meanjin hometown. To my delight, a few of my favourite rising local acts – VERUM (night one & two), Platonic Sex (night three), and The Dandys – opened each night.
Instead of VERUM tearing up the stage with their Violent Soho-meets-Slothrust stylings, Platonic Sexaccepted and aced the task of dazzling The Triffid’s large audience on Friday night. The alternative folk-rock quadrio combine frontperson Bridget Brandolini’s silky vocals with dissonant riffs and charming energy, creating an audience experience which can only ever be summed up with ‘I love Platonic Sex’. Then, The Dandys combined a Full Flower Moon Band-esque stage presence with good-old AUS indie rock, becoming an easy venue-pleaser.
A fitting touch, ‘Live And Let Die’ (Paul McCartney) brought WAAX to the stage – for the final time.



WAAX – The Triffid – photos by Charlyn Cameron
Sporting her antique Wild & Weak corset, ‘Mermaid Beach’s slow build steadily guided Maz from a solemn frontperson singing her last show into Maz DeVita: the explosive, unmatched, and one and only voice of WAAX. Alongside Maz were long-time bandmates Tom Bloomfield and Ewan Birtwell, all playing with the ferocity and emotion of a band performing their last show.
However, treating the night as a final celebration rather than grim goodbye, WAAX shared the stage with many members of the Australian music scene: Of Lion (bass), Fomi (lead/rhythm guitar), Monnie (singing ‘I Am’), and – the most important people to any music scene – a choir of fans.



WAAX – The Triffid – photos by Charlyn Cameron
Throughout their setlist, Maz embodied WAAX’s own fans, screaming out each track as any of us would when alone in our bedrooms and cars. The night’s treasure of call-backs added to this, with WAAX playing long-awaited deep cuts ‘Nothing Is Always’ and ‘You Wouldn’t Believe’. Each scream was done to the same intensity, ferocity, and rawness as back in 2017.
Even more special than this, though, was hearing WAAX’s 2022 tracks finally played in all of their live glory for the first time. ‘Read Receipts’ became a beautiful track which gave attention to the stage’s skilled guitarists, whilst ‘No Doz’ gave Tom his fill of toms and fills for the night. Considering all this though, the most captivating thing was the night’s audience.



WAAX – The Triffid – photos by Charlyn Cameron
I’ve lost track of the amount of times I’ve listened to At Least I’m Free beginning-to-end since its debut. After playing during bus commutes to the city, in the background of long-overdue housecleans, or silent laments on the bed – whether you realise it or not – every listen engrains each word and emotion into your brain. And seeing tracks like ‘Mermaid Beach’ and ‘Beam Me Up’ live tell you two things: one, every word of every song has been burned into you; and two, this is the case for every single person in the room. The entire Triffid sung each song word-for-word – it was amazing.
Sadly though, as we all knew it was coming that night, WAAX had to say goodbye.
Goodbye WAAX.