9 December 2025 – The Crowbar, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Clea-marie Thorne
Dayseeker has been a very interesting band to watch the trajectory of. I didn’t know much about the band until about 2020, as a Covid era find, when some friends sent me the song and I fell in love. It felt weird at the time discovering a band, four albums into their career, because in most instances, I feel that I have my finger on the pulse when it comes to new music. But since 2020, I have adored this band. And with the release of Dark Sun in 2022, the rise has seemed insane for them. Now, off the back of their sixth record, Creatures in the Black Night, and their appearance at Good Things over the weekend, Dayseeker took over the Crowbar for a fun night of live music.
Kicking the night into high gear was Brissy boys, Headwreck. It’s no secret I’ve become quite a fan of these lads over the last few years, who have crushed every support slot they’ve been given. And the year they’ve had has been a monster one, with spots on shows with Windwaker, ERRA, Inertia, and of course, Good Things Festival over the weekend. They’re primed for a takeover of the world, and I love it for them. In terms of songs played, we got everything from the new EP Attitude Adjustment, with a special shout out to ‘Razor’. Heading that track live was even better than I anticipated. And also, a 50 Cent cover, which was so sick.
Headwreck – Crowbar – photos by Clea-marie Thorne
The Kiwis were out next, as Melbourne based New Zealanders Banks Arcade really showed out for Brisbane. Vocalist Joshua O’Donnell crushed it live, and James Feekes really beat the shit out of those drums. I didn’t know many songs, but I did know at least the opening and closing tracks, with ‘Worship the Internet’ starting the show off strong, and ‘Roulette’ closing things off nicely. I’m not sure if it was where I was watching from, but the crowd energy was super inconsistent throughout the show, which was a shame. Sometimes I feed off the energy of those around me, and to not have so many high energy people around me throughout, dampened the experience for me a little. Nothing to say about the performance though, which was great.
Banks Arcade – Crowbar – photos by Clea-marie Thorne
As the lights dimmed in the Crowbar, the Dayseeker crew filtered onto the stage, and I immediately felt the energy in the crowd switch on consistently for the next 80 minutes. The fifteen song set was filled with tracks from the new record, Creature in the Black Night, but Dark Sun saw some super heavy representation too. I love the Dark Sun record, and I feel that album was a true sonic turning point for the band, so getting to experience some of those songs live was so cool. After the opening of the set with ‘Pale Moonlight’, which out of all the songs off Creatures, is the perfect way to open, vocalist Rory Rodriguez asked if we wanted another new one, which Brisbane definitely wanted, and we got ‘Shapeshift’. So far, a perfect 2/2 opening to the show.
The set got even better with ‘Dreamstate’ next, and this song hits me in the heart every time I hear it. One of my two favorite songs from Dark Sun, and to see it live finally, was unreal. ‘Burial Plot’ was up next, as Rodriguez asked whose first Dayseeker show it was. He asked for singalongs to ‘Burial Plot’, and Crowbar was loud for this one. Rodriguez then dropped a “what’s up c*nts” and talked about how Australia loves that word, and how it makes him laugh. He then introduced his new song off Creatures, and talked about how Australia was the first country to hear the song live, which led into an incredible rendition of ‘Crawl Back to My Coffin’. The crowd was so loud on this one.
Dayseeker – Crowbar – photos by Clea-marie Thorne
Rodriguez then gave a heartfelt speech about how the next song was going to be out of character for the band, and a happy one. He talked about trying to find happiness after his father passed away, and we were treated to ‘Homesick’, which is a beautiful song already. Hearing Rodriguez talk about its meaning to him, made it all the more special to hear live. We got ‘Midnight Eternal’ next, which was great live. But what blew my mind was ‘Dark Sun’. That song is a total banger, and at the end, no one cheered or clapped. It was just silence. It felt kind of awkward. I’ve never seen a crowd not cheer or clap after a song had finished. But it was a perfect live execution of that song, that I adore so much.
‘Bloodlust’ was next, and we got band shout outs before ‘Without Me’, where Rodriguez encouraged singing en masse from the crowd, which they definitely did. After ‘Crying While You’re Dancing’ finished, the band left the stage, with Rory alone, to play one of my favorite songs off the new record, ‘The Living Dead’. He talked about how this song was about therapy, and doing duct tape jobs on trauma just doesn’t cut it, which makes sense based on the lyrics of the track. This song is amazing though, and I would recommend checking it out if you haven’t listened to it already.
Dayseeker – Crowbar – photos by Clea-marie Thorne
Two songs of the main set left to go, and we got the title track of the new record, ‘Creatures in the Black Night’, which slammed way more live than I anticipated. I really like the song, but the live experience with it has kicked it up a notch into being a top five Dayseeker track for me. Rodriguez then mentioned how the band made their debut in Australia in 2022, when they came down with Thornhill, and that they’ve tried to get back every year, and want to continue to do so. So fingers crossed we see them next year to keep that tradition alive. The main set closed out with ‘Sleeptalk’, which drew another massive crowd singalong, and the encore was stamped with a single phrase before it even started. “NEON GRAVE MOTHERFUCKERS”, as ‘Neon Grave’ closed out an incredible 80 minutes of live music.
