23 January 2024 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – words by Cody-James Henderson – pictures by Bec Harbour
“The first time that I saw NOFX, they were the fastest band I’d ever seen”.
Punk Rock is something that turned my life upside down when I was 15. It was The Ramones, Black Flag, Descendents, The Damned, Local Resident Failure (Newcastle Represent) and NOFX. From day 1, it was always them. Being 16 years old and going to a Punk Rock show was a foreign concept to me. But NOFX was coming to town with Frenzal Rhomb, I couldn’t miss it.
It was the first and only time my mum had to wait with me and pick me up as it was an 18+ venue. I paced the lounge room waiting to go, to be with ‘my people’. It’s a little embarrassing looking back at it.
I was let loose into a room of punks. The PA that I found myself situated in was so busted and loud that I couldn’t hear out of my left ear for days. I couldn’t make out a single song Frenzal Rhomb was playing, and I was the only person cheering for the newer NOFX songs. It was the best.
Fast forward 9 years and 2 more NOFX shows later, almost the same show I saw as a 16 year old was coming to Brisbane, but this time it was going to be a bit more emotional. NOFX have decided to call it a day; but not without one final visit to the nice Australians. I’m now 26 and can do this on my own. Hopefully without crying but even now I can’t make any promises. For the 4th and possibly final time, I was ready for NOFX, Frenzal Rhomb and Flangipanis.
Flangipanis: Brandishing a sincere “G’day C*nts” and an acknowledgement of country leading up to the ever divisive January 26th (the land we stand on is stolen land. There is no pride in genocide), the local punk scene is well represented by Flangipanis.
Flangipanis – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
The strongest weapon of peace is your voice. And Flangipanis shoot that weapon with an aim so direct that even if you avoid getting hit, you can feel it. Even when singing a song that vocalist Jodie Lawler is telling you a song is about “anal sex” or telling incels to “stop killing women” it’s like a metaphoric dagger to the heart. Exactly how punk rock should be.
Ever heard a song go from hardcore punk, into a metalcore-esque breakdown, back into hardcore, then into ska punk before returning to hardcore once again? All in the space of 2 and a half minutes? Flangipanis wrote it. And the crowd f*cking loved it. When bands like NOFX and Frenzal Rhomb are in town, it’s no secret that the Brisbane punk contingency will be there. A nearly packed out room for the local support on a Tuesday night is incredible.
Their ability to combine the party punk sounds that Australia is renowned for whilst hitting all the hard topics like having a sh*t haircut, Flangipanis were loud, proud and fun. It really doesn’t get any better for a show opener.
Frenzal Rhomb: if you’re an Australian punk and you’ve never seen Frenzal Rhomb before… where the hell have you been? The iconic 4 piece have been doing this for over 3 decades and only appear to be aging like a fine box of goon.
Frenzal Rhomb – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
The ever loved impromptu introductory jam of ‘When Will I be Loved’ by ‘The Everly Brothers’ would crash straight into ‘Where Drug Dealers take their Kids’ from the bands latest album ‘The Cup of Pestilence’.
Frenzal have become a regular staple when NOFX come to town, having done so since the mid 90s. Hand in hand like cigarettes and cheap wine, you can’t have one without the other.
Busting out the timeless hits, songs like ‘Mr Charisma’ ‘Bucket Bong’ and ‘Russell Crowe’s band’ would send the crowd into a frenzy (pun intended? You be the judge) The band balances the hits without leaving an album behind, a perfect opportunity to introduce you to the chaos that is Frenzals discography. But seriously, if you don’t know who Frenzal are by now, what are you doing?
“We are f*cking ancient” says guitarist Lindsay McDougall. But you wouldn’t believe it by watching them. Guitar tricks, running back and forth, jumping off any elevated or flat surface they could possibly find, there was no part of the stage left untouched. Meanwhile instead of jumping around I’m sitting here with a pain in my neck. Count your blessings dammit.
There seems to be no slowing down for Frenzal Rhomb. However it seems they’re going to have to find another band to link up with if this is truly NOFX’ farewell. We’ll have to just wait and see.
Also fun fact; Frenzal Rhomb bassist ‘Dal’ was bassist/vocalist of aforementioned Newcastle punk band ‘Local Resident Failure’ who actually opened for NOFX/Frenzal Rhomb the first time I saw them. This was such a full circle moment for me.
NOFX: So is this really it? 40 years summarised into 2 nights with 40 songs a night? If it really is then it doesn’t get much better than this. Tonight, we celebrate the albums ‘The War on Errorism’ ‘Wolves in Wolves Clothing’ & the iconic ‘Punk in Drublic’.
NOFX – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
Generations have gathered here tonight. It feels like the most casual funeral you’ve ever been to. Everyone is dressed in black and pissed out of their brains to numb the pain of leaving that is about to occur. Or to at least to compensate the price of entry.
The sounds of Reggae soon turn into the ‘Time Warp’ as Fat Mike gallivants and dances his way across the stage. With their signature banter (thankfully leaving the very awkward Trans joke out this time) referring to Brisbane as the Armpit of Australia, the 1st of 2 farewell shows has begun.
“Personally I think Wolves is our best album” says Fat Mike after blitzing through ‘60%’ & ‘Seeing Double at Triple Rock’ before Hefe jumps in to say “if you shook my hand today, you have my Covid” It’s hard to tell if he’s joking, but if not I hope you didn’t have plans to see night 2.
NOFX – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
“I don’t know if you can tell but we actually practiced” before struggling to put together the introduction to ‘Franco Unamerican’ is absolutely ironic. But in true NOFX fashion they powered through it and just hoped it would all work out. The crowd didn’t care, it was time to go ballistic. If Mike wasn’t singing, the crowd was there to cover it.
The notorious “they suck live” comment has become a fixture in NOFX history; (and I’ve seen my fair share of slightly awful NOFX performances) but it seems the band wants these final shows to be a little more put together.
If you’re expecting to hear only the 3 advertised albums per night, well guess again my friends. Tapping into some tunes from ‘Coaster’ & ‘First Ditch Effort’ the band sprinkled a little bit of variety through the set. These 40 song sets don’t write themselves you know. And even if they did, the band wasn’t following them. Don’t bother looking up the set in advance, just enjoy this moment whilst it’s here.
“What would Blink do?” Says Fat Mike, before announcing it was time to play some harder songs. Would I classify ‘She’s Nubs’ as a hard song? Maybe tempo wise. But who cares? She’s nubs. But it couldn’t be NOFX all the time, as the band busts out a cover of ‘Radio’ by Rancid as Hefe takes over vocals duties. A fun little addition to an already stacked night. But when that turned into the power chords of ‘Linoleum’ the sound was deafening. Not a single beat was missed, nor a lyric missed. If there was one song they were going to absolutely nail, I’m glad it was this one.
The band would take a small intermission of as they called it “we have prostates and need a piss break” before getting right back into their “18 song encore”. There is nothing wrong with taking an encore, let’s be real. It’s a chance to breathe and piss, maybe it would be more widely accepted if it was just called a piss break?
NOFX – FMH – photos by Bec Harbour
When did punk rock become so safe? Well that depends on who you ask. The crowd made the use of the wide open dance floor to the fullest degree. Bodies were flying over the barricade or into each other. The lucky ones were continually coming out to the bar drenched in sweat and trying to catch their breath. But the most important thing? They were smiling. In such a sad moment for punk rock not just in Australia but world wide, the joy couldn’t be contained. And if that isn’t the most beautiful thing about punk, I don’t know what is.
Rounding out with a 2024 adaption of ‘Theme from a NOFX Album’ where the band would in true fashion make themselves the brunt of a joke, the crowd would unite in a moment of solitude. This could be be the very last time for some, it’s important to sink it all in.
I’d be lying if I said my expectations were low before tonight. I wasn’t 100% sure of the NOFX we’d get and just what was going to occur. But what I got was the band that blew this 15 year olds mind the first time I heard them and I am perfectly okay with being wrong. It was a culmination of 40 years broken down into the first 2 hours of a 4 hour farewell that in the end just wasn’t long enough.
They were crude, controversial, and sometimes downright f*cked up. But still, there goes one of the best damn bands punk rock has ever seen.
If this really is the end, I’m glad I got to be a part of it.
