3 March 2026 – The Triffid, Brisbane – words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi – pictures by Marty Schmidt
The sold-out crowd at The Triffid came to see Arrows In Action and Taylor Acorn. This unique tour of friends and collaborators were together to celebrate Taylor Acorn’s new album Poster Child and Arrows In Action’s latest release I Think I’ve Been Here Before. It was a huge night of pop-punk hooks and emotion: there was lots of screaming, tears of joy and laughter as bras were thrown onto the stage.
The Nashville based band Arrows In Action kicked off the evening with their dynamic 11 song set. The band charmed the crowd and had them in the palm of their hand by the end of the first song ‘Empty Canvas’. Arrows in Action are Victor Viramontes-Pattison, Matt Fowler, and Jesse Frimmel and the female fans they attract were passionate about them and their music – that led to bras flying about. The whole crowd was hooked as the songs ‘Light Like You’, ‘Put You Through Me’ and ‘High’ were performed with high octane energy.
Jesse Frimmel came out from behind the drum kit to sing the acoustic song ‘Head In The Clouds’. It is always great when drummers can do that singing and he led a choreography rhythm class where we all stomped and clapped in time. Brisbane crowds are amazing at following direction. There was new music in ‘Stop Talking’. Then, a bra was launched from the crowd and onto the stage and the band got the giggles as they kept the set on track.
Arrows In Action – Triffid – photos by Marty Schmidt
Then, Arrows In Action performed a high energy version and massive sing along version to ‘Uncomfortably Numb’. It was followed by ‘All The Ways I Could Die’. The Triffid went off! The singing was huge, the energy was pumping and you could feel everyone getting even more excited. The band absolutely nailed it!
Arrows In Action’s closed out their set with ‘Over it/Beautiful Soul’ and ‘Cheekbones’. The arrow hit the target.
The stage was made quite simple and it was stripped back with lots of room to move. The reason would become obvious as Taylor Acorn and her band (Ethan Harb and Ricky Jab) would bring the spins and the wild movement to the Triffid stage.
Taylor Acorn was unwell. However, she delivered an outstanding set. She lit up on stage like a firecracker. The crowd realised from the tea and the emotion that things were not as it should be but they responded by driving the energy in the room higher by singing along at full volume to every song. The Triffid was buzzing with positive energy and vibes.
Taylor Acorn – Triffid – photos by Marty Schmidt
Taylor Acorn delivered ‘Poster Child’ and followed it quickly with ‘People Pleaser’ and the older song ‘I Think I’m In Love’. It was big choruses, call and response lyrics and melodic hooks. The strongest songs of the set hit with ‘Coma’, the wonderful and vengeful ‘Blood On Your Hands’ and the magnificent ‘Cheap Dopamine’.
Visually, the bare stage with its beautiful butterfly backdrop and the physicality of the band’s movements in the dynamic drumming and in the explosive guitar riffs delivered by Ricky Jab was awesome to watch especially through the songs ‘Goodbye, Good Riddance’ and ‘Burning House’. The band’s energy was controlled and energetic.
Taylor Acorn switched it up with some pop-rock ballads with ‘Home Videos’ where she forgot she needed her guitar and started without it. Her acoustic guitar was given to her half way through the song. Then, the huge fan favourites of ‘Crashing Out’, ‘Hangman’ and ‘Greener’ followed.
Taylor Acorn – Triffid – photos by Marty Schmidt
The performance hit peak energy with ‘Birds Still Sing’ and this song closed out the set. Taylor Acorn was overwhelmed with the love in the room and thanked her fans for being there for her, and seeing her, and listening to her music. It was an ending full of emotion as she shed a few tears before leaving the stage.
The venue went black. The screaming kicked in. The clapping and yelling for an encore saw Taylor Acorn and her band return quickly. The lights went up, and the first notes of ‘Shapeshifting’ ripped across the venue and the crowd had their voices on and hands in the air. The energy kept flowing for ‘Psycho’ as the song closed out the evening.
Taylor Acorn – Triffid – photos by Marty Schmidt
It was a fabulous night! Arrows In Action and Taylor Acorn had delivered two wonderful sets that were joyous and cathartic. With a magnetic stage presence and unrivalled energy, Taylor Acorn delivered an emotional charged and dynamic show to an adoring crowd.
