11 February 2026 – Crowbar, Brisbane – words and pictures by Maxine Thomas
Crowbar was the place to be for those chasing that hump day high with Sydney hardcore band BLOOM kicking off The Light We Chase Australia Tour on Wednesday night. Bringing a whole new level of chaos to the tour alongside Jono Hawkey and crew was Seattle hard-rock four-piece AVOID, Melbourne’s Saving Face waking up the crowd and upcoming Brisbane local band Garden Eyes. Setting the bar high for the rest of the Aussie cities to live up to, Brisbane Bloomers did not disappoint, proving the successful Withered Across Australia Tour last year was just the beginning of the love this Sophomore album has surrounding it.
With only three songs published by the alternative rock group, Garden Eyes faced the instant challenge of building a 30 minute long setlist. For people who didn’t know this fact until lead singer Jaydn Reti announced it to the audience towards the end of the set, concert goers would’ve never known. Opening with their debut single ‘Habit’ and closing the set with other 2024 release Cold Silhouette, Garden Eyes took the chance to give a sneak peek into a couple upcoming releases.
For those familiar with the local East-Coast Aussie music scene, you could hear elements that sounded quite similar to the styles of The Comfort and The Dead Love. It’s really cool to be able to see that even local bands which may not be as well known around the world are already beginning to be the start of the next generation of upcoming bands, even if the influence is intentional or not. You can absolutely see the different worlds colliding just from the amount of local Aussie music shirts being worn in the crowd. Playing more into the cleaner vocals side of the evening, it was a nice way to ease gig-goers into the midweek concert feels before what you could possibly describe as literally kicking off into a crazy show of metal sub-genres.
Garden Eyes – Crowbar – photos by Maxine Thomas
Although battling with ongoing audio and music mix level issues, nothing was stopping vocalist Ricky McCandish from leading the two-stepping Aussie-scene supporters to letting loose in the Crowbar mosh pit. The sound issues in their own way worked in the Melbourne hardcore band’s favour by getting people to move closer to the stage, filling the floor with hungry ears eager to hear every lyric. McCandish’s harsh, scream vocals showed just how much power he has behind his voice with those being heard around the room without much microphone assistance. That alone was an impressive feat to be proud of being up against pummelling instrumentals.
Saving Face took the set route of opening with their latest 2025 single ‘Safe Keeping’ then diving into a few songs from their Sophomore EP The View From Up Here, keeping to their promise on Instagram about teasing new music and closing out with their hit single ‘Comprehension.’ For those hearing the punk five-piece for the first time, punters were given an across the board look into the Saving Face discography.
Saving Face – Crowbar – photos by Maxine Thomas
UNFD metalcore group AVOID are going to be giving BLOOM a right run for their money on this tour for which band can receive the biggest crowd reaction. Crowbar stage design was nowhere near made for just how devoted these fans are. Never ending circle pits, wall of deaths you wouldn’t thought feasible in a venue this size and stage divers turned crowd surfers, everything and anything was a go at the demand of frontman Benny Scholl. With absent security standing by due to there being no barriers, members of the touring crew were having to rush on stage just to catch die-hard devotees from hurting themselves when they came flying over heads. Crowd control was quite the sight but, BLOOM’s Jono Hawkey said it best during a brief catch up after the gig. “American metal bands bring a whole other level of energy with their performance. You can’t put your finger on what it is exactly but it’s something in the air that just pushes crowds to the next tier.”
Opening the live set with ‘Sour Apple,’ the last single release of their latest EP Creature of Habit, then throwing it back to a couple songs off of the Cult Mentality album, transitioning into the last half of the show with their biggest song ‘Flashbang!’ before closing out the explosive night with ‘Song About James.’ A great setlist overall bouncing between some of the bands most recent music successes, however a missed opportunity to play their song ‘Bloom’ from their debut album Alone, at a BLOOM show.
Avoid – Crowbar – photos by Maxine Thomas
Scholl’s vocal talent shone through with his dynamic range. Smoothly transitioning from pristine, resonant sound to piercing, fry-based shrieks, Scholl is up there for being one of the most underrated metal vocalists in today’s scene. Where Don Broco stage presence meets Windwaker propulsive sound, it’s no wonder touring friends Thornhill and Ocean Grove couldn’t stop raving about the Seattle rockers and why they’d be the perfect addition to ‘The Light We Chase Australian Tour.’
With guitarist Nick Olsen rating the Brisbane punters a 7/10 at the start of the evening to ending it on a near perfect 10, there’s only one appropriate question to have been leaving the show with. When can Australia expect an AVOID headline tour? The answer unfortunately is not soon enough with Scholl explaining how the band hopes to make their first headline debut over in the US homeland, take on a few more opener spots before maybe bringing the full show back to Australia in a few years time.
The Brisbane night air wasn’t the only thing heating up Wednesday evening. Already having experienced a small teaser into the then upcoming album The Light We Chase last September during the Withered Across Australia Tour, the BLOOM fanbase was raring to sweat it out even more in the pit to celebrate the Sophomore album success. With nostalgia at its core, the opening night of the Aussie tour is for sure going to be a night for all to remember.
Bloom – Crowbar – photos by Maxine Thomas
The vocals shared between Hawkey and guitarist Jarod Mclaren glided between the pair effortlessly. With Hawkey bringing the abrasive intones and Mclaren coming in with polished harmonies, a perfect balance without either singer fighting for vocal dominance. It’s like watching a gender swap performance of Melbourne’s Future Static Amariah Cook and Kira Neil. Now that would be a powerful tour team up.
Having been rehearsing for the show since Monday and all the travel on top of that, the BLOOM members were already feeling the exhaustion hitting. But with the adrenaline and love these guys have for the stage, audience members really couldn’t tell especially when front man Jono took the singing experience to a crowd surfing level.
Bloom – Crowbar – photos by Maxine Thomas
Tapestry’s Benjamin Masters stepped in for drummer Jack Van Vliet, holding down the fort at the back of the stage and putting on an absolutely smashing performance. There’s no wonder Masters is a go to filler drummer amongst bands around Australia. He learns the songs and plays them like they’re second nature. But Masters wasn’t the only familiar face making an appearance. Like Hawkey had teased in an earlier interview with The Live Wire discussing possible live show collaborations, no one could do ‘Tongue Tied’ justice alongside Mclaren like original feature artist Mikaila Delgado. The Yours Truly front woman took to the stage briefly during her part of the acoustic duet before hugging Mclaren and exiting to not distract from his live vocal solo inauguration.
This isn’t the first Bloom x Yours Truly collaboration to be debuted live on stage with original vocalists taking part. Jono Hawkey made an appearance at Max Watts in Melbourne during Yours Truly’s Australia Toxic Tour in June last year to perform his feature on ‘Sinking.’ Jumping forward to now with getting to trade rolls and have Delgado take part in debuting the original ‘Tongue Tied’ duet live is a truly special moment. Delgado is rumoured to possibly make more appearances on The Light We Chase Tour on the Victoria dates.
Bloom – Crowbar – photos by Maxine Thomas
You can’t open a setlist for an album celebration show without starting with some of the newest hits metal heads are loving. From opening with ‘Out Of Reach,’ throwing some love to their debut album ‘Maybe In Another Life’ with ‘Bound To Your Whispers,’ and giving fans who came to the last tour their own bout of nostalgia by closing with ‘Withered.’ A perfect setlist for closing out possibly the biggest chapter for this Sydney metal band yet.
Mini moshes were scattered around the room for Bloomers not ready to take on the unhinged circle pit showing how all lovers of metal music can come out to a BLOOM show and still have fun even if you’re not getting crushed in a wall of death. From fans screaming lyrics aloud, guitarists Mclaren, Oliver Butler and bassist Andrew Martin shredding and spinning onstage to a wild Mario bringing his party to the pit. After a huge year for the guys, BLOOM are ensuring to exit this chapter with a bang.
The Light We Chase Australia Tour has started off on a high note with Brisbane fans setting the bar high for just what is to come for the remaining seven tour dates. With each state getting to experience a new local opener almost every night, Saving Face bringing the energy levels up, Seattle’s AVOID debuting their insane talent and BLOOM proving themselves time and time again why they are bound to be one of Australia’s next biggest upcoming metal artists.
Bloom – Crowbar – photos by Maxine Thomas
The tour continues on Friday at Mo’s Desert Club in Burleigh Heads before heading to Hamilton Station Hotel in Islington, NSW on Saturday. If you haven’t secured your tickets already then now is the time do so before BLOOM go on a well deserved break.
The Light We Chase sophomore album by BLOOM under Pure Noise Records streaming everywhere now.
