7 April 2024 – The Triffid, Brisbane – words by Tarynne Ambrosi – pictures by Bec Harbour
Brisbane on a Sunday night is always a tough call for gigs – however the punters turned up in force to see Filter with support act from New Zealand Black Smoke Trigger.
Baldrick – vocals, Charlie Wallace – guitar, Dan Fulton – bass, Josh Te Maro – drums took to the stage at 8:30pm and kicked off a thoroughly enjoyable set with ‘The way I’m Wired’. Notes taken ‘if Sweet Child O Mine and something from Alice in Chains had a mutant love child, this is it’. Super nostalgic sounding – the influences from the 80’s and 90’s are apparent through the whole gig.
A few of the guitar solo / breakdowns might need some refinement, however the enthusiasm from the band and led by Baldrick were absolutely a credit to the gig.
The bass driven tracks are consistently good and the punters are responding really well to the tracks – then we get to ‘Blindfolds & Rattlesnakes’, yes 80’s hair metal vibes, yes! An absolutely serviceable pub rock track inspiring crowd participation with the ‘whoa whoa oh oh’ chorus singalong. The folks loved it.
Black Smoke Trigger – The Triffid – photos by Bec Harbour
Then we move on to ‘The Way Down’ which has a catchy hook and an all round cracking tune – also fun fact: you can now see the music video for this song on YouTube if you want to check it out HERE
We move on to the last two songs of the set which are ‘Caught in the Undertow’ and ‘K.M.T.L’ both killer tracks and big tunes to finish on. What a fantastic introduction to Black Smoke Trigger – I expect we will see much more from this hard rock outfit from NZ in the future. Check them out if you get the chance. You won’t be disappointed.
Now after a few minor adjustments – FILTER!
More punters file in to see Filter take to the stage at 9:30 – and boy did they pack a punch right from track 1 with ‘You Walk Away’.
From the first note played the sound quality of this performance and Richard Patricks’ voice are simply the best I have heard for an age. It is a rare thing to have a performer obviously singing live and the quality of the voice is equal to a studio mixed album. Wow and double wow! Ok, so this is going to be a bloody good show.
Filter – The Triffid – photos by Bec Harbour
The band powers through the first few songs (‘The Drowning’ and ‘For the Beaten’) with force. Notable the harmonies from the band are melodic and rich
We head into ‘Hey What Do You Say’ from the new album Algorithm with a crowd participation call and response – which was enthusiastically met. And we are then onto an obvious crowd favourite of ‘Trip Like I Do’ which took me right back to the 90’s awesome film soundtrack days with this track being featured on the most excellent Spawn from 1997. What a brilliant sonic time capsule.
‘Obliteration’ – cruisy vibes
‘The Take’ and ‘Jurassitol’ had the crowd going and an impromptu video for the ‘Gram from Richard. Be sure to check it out and see if you can spot yourself in the Triffid crowds.
Filter – The Triffid – photos by Bec Harbour
‘Take a Picture’ – notably the most known song from Filter and highest chart position. Phones went up, as the Triffid horde sang along loudly. This drew a huge smile from Richard, and he handed out some drum sticks to eager punters – ensuring they went to the right people in the group. Punters around having a chuckle at the act of precise generosity.
Another few tracks along and we hit ‘American Cliche’ which although an early 2000’s song, was aptly rebranded to be a keen observation of American politics and in particular a rather polarising recent American President – we hear you and we see you.
Of course there is no other way to end the show than with the complete gem of a song ‘Hey Man Nice Shot’ – Massive audience participation and a rock solid show from head to toe. I am so happy I was able to make it to this gig and am just blown away (pun intended RE: last song choice) at how amazing Filter are live. If you are ever lucky enough to get a chance to see them live – GO!
