8 December 2025 – The Brightside, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Ricardo Croce
On their second run of the country in six months, English pop punk juggernauts South Arcade graced Brisbane for both the bands final show of this Australia run, and their final show for 2025. I became a fan of South Arcade after their blistering set opening for Bilmuri back in June, so it was cool to see them back so quickly for both the Good Things festival, plus some headline shows. The Live Wire were lucky enough to be invited along, and it was a show for the history books
Before the chaos of the night could truly unfold, I need to shout out the insane crowd, as they were hyped before a single note had been played on stage. Singing along to songs like ‘What I’ve Done’ by Linkin Park, ‘Last Resort’ by Papa Roach, ‘Mr Brightside’ by The Killers, and the loudest sing along for the night, Panic! at the Disco’s ‘I Write Sins, Not Tragedies’, set the tone for one of the most fun gigs I’ve been to all year.
Out first were Brissy locals, Talk Heavy. I couldn’t place why the name to me was so familiar, but I realised very quickly that their new track, ‘Wedding Bands’, had been getting heavily pushed into my Instagram algorithm. After a quick “how ya goin’” from lead vocalist Matt Cochran, they immediately launched into an incredible eight track set, opening up with ‘SOMETHING COOL’ and ‘DIE 4 U’, with ‘DIE 4 U’ giving a shout of to the crew that got into the show early. Up next was a track called ‘The Song That Plays (When Marissa Shoots Trey)’ and I love how unserious some of these songs and titles are. Because if you know, you know.
Talk Heavy – Brightside – photos by Ricardo Croce
The previously mentioned ‘Wedding Bands’ was next, with a shout out to how epic love can be. Cochran then teased that we were about to get a fast one, and we did, with ‘The Montreal Screwjob’, which honestly, 10/10 live. The fact they wrote a whole song about one of the craziest moments in professional wrestling caters specifically to me, and me alone, and I love it. They ripped out a song about wanting to skate again, with the bold title of ‘I Want to Skate Again’, and even ripped out a Coheed riff just before the song started. Again, this band was made FOR me and I cannot be convinced otherwise. They sent the set off with the tracks ‘THRIVING’, and ‘Hoping the Middle’ to close out a fun opening set.
South Arcade ran a little behind the planned 9pm start time, but The Brightside did not care, because as soon as Cody, Harry, Ollie, and Harmony walked out on stage and opened with ‘Fear of Heights’, the place imploded. I’ve been to a number of shows at The Brightside, and I think this show has to have been the loudest band response I’ve ever heard. They then ripped into ‘Supermodels’, and even pulled a fan up on stage who had a sign, asking to play drums on the track. Cody swapped with the fan, and as the fan ripped the last minute of the song with the band, Cody was out moshing and partying with Brisbane to his own song. Iconic work.
South Arcade – Brightside – photos by Ricardo Croce
Harmony spoke about tonight being the band’s last show for 2025, and how amped they were to be playing Australia one more time. The energy continued to ride hight with songs like ‘Nepo Baby’, and ‘DANGER’. After a quick check in to make sure the crowd was okay, before they got into ‘HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER’. Up next was the track ‘Bleed Out’, which I spoke to Ollie and Harmony about at Good Things (interview on Live Wire YouTube), and Cody even ripped a shoey mid drum during the song. Absolute lad. Harmony put two and two together, and had a laugh that Mr Brightside was being played at The Brightside, which was funny to watch, before we got asked if it was okay to play ‘MOTH KIDS’, which Brisbane was a big fan of.
Harmony then spoke a bit about how out of all the festivals they’ve done all over the world, Good Things has become their favorite one, which was a lovely sentiment. She also acknowledged the crowd doing circle pits and utter mental behaviour in such heat, and the band had a lot of respect for everyone showing out despite the heat. They then played the track ‘Drive Myself Home’. Someone in the crowd asked who the band thought was better between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and after thinking about it for a minute, the band agreed on Brisbane, with a promise that it wasn’t just saying that for the sake of it, it was the real answer. The reason that was given, was the crowd under the tent, singing loudly and being filled so early in the day was a magical moment for them as a band. They then asked the fans that have known them a while to show themselves, which a lot of people put their hands up for, before we got a real throwback, with ‘Sound of an Empty Room’.
South Arcade – Brightside – photos by Ricardo Croce
Harmony spoke about the heat in the room, and how sweaty it was getting. She checked in to make sure the crowd was good, and that we were getting a chance for the sweat to dry up as they played “the sad one” in ‘Blood Run Warm’. Cody then led an Aussie Aussie Aussie chant, which Ollie joined in on later. Harry then got asked to do it, and did it with an Aussie accent that had the band dying laughing. It was a pretty good attempt too. With three songs, left, Riptide was up first, before we got the two biggest songs of the night, in “stone cold summer”, and the set closer, ‘2005’, which had Harry jump into the crowd to have a circle pit run around him for the final 30 seconds of the track.
