4 July 2026 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words by Zachen Wiki – pictures by Bec Harbour
Celebrating 30 years of Ivy & The Big Apples, Spiderbait opened their anniversary tour to a sold out night at The Tivoli in Brisbane, giving this beautiful country something of their own to celebrate on the 4th of July. This capacity crowd was made up mostly of people over the age of 40, veterans of the music scene, and despite probably going to shows for years it was pleasant to see such a strong turnout for the shows unannounced openers.
VOIID, (void with two i’s as vocalist Anji Greenwood so eloquently put it) brought a fantastic energy for the first band on the bill. Their set was paced perfectly, allowing punters to ease in and get settled for the evening before deciding to go absolutely ballistic in their final two tracks. There’s a sense of togetherness amongst the group that could only be earned through years of grinding through the Aussie punk DIY scene, casual but calculated, raw yet polished in a way that it felt like witnessing masters of their own craft just jamming together on stage with an audience lucky enough to watch. VOIID did mention that back in the day they used to cover ‘Calypso’ by none other than Spiderbait, a tribute to the evening’s headliner and potentially the classic 90s film ’10 Things I Hate About You’. Despite not including it in the night’s setlist, Brisbane gave a rapturous applause for their efforts in kicking things off.
VOIID – The Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
The decision for VOIID to go all gas no brakes with it at their set’s climax really played into the favour of the squad from Frankston, Victoria, The Gnomes. Barely offering much in the form of an introduction, they ripped right into a balls to the wall tempo and vibe that didn’t seem like it would relent at any point through their 20 minute set and, well, it didn’t. Whether it be because they didn’t have much to say, or due to the short set time, banter between songs was kept to a minimal, allowing them to let the music do all the talking. The tight knit lineup of Jay Millar, Ned Capp, Jay Katsianis and Ethan Robins spoke in the language of pounding drums, guitar solos and chant along hooks that got a few enthusiastic punters jumping around and headbanging. There was a cheekily fun way these guys went about everything and really endeared themselves to me this time out definitely ones to watch out for in the Aussie scene.
The Gnomes – The Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
To add some further Brisbane flavour to the lineup, local legends Custard were the penultimate stop before the main event, and they came out while the PA was still blaring Daft Punk’s ‘Around the World’ encouraging a quick singalong before getting into things with ‘Hit Song’. I hadn’t seen any of the bands on this bill live before, let alone even heard of Custard prior to the event, but boy can David McCormack sing ‘gotta write a hit’ very quickly in this fun, tongue in cheek number. The running theme of the evening appeared to be don’t take yourself too seriously, perfectly encapsulated by David’s ‘we wrote this song in 1957’ midway through the set popping a cheeky laugh from a few audience members.
Custard – The Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
Despite having a hiatus from 2000-2009, you’d think they had never stopped from their inception in 1989 as they really knew how to play along with the crowd and have fun whilst doing it. In one of the bravest things I’ve seen in my time attending concerts, they encouraged everybody to clap along with them at a very fast tempo and live music crowds are notoriously bad for staying in time. Despite this, Brisbane managed to pull through and keep the energy levels high even as Custard switched things up, with a literal ‘pull of the switch’ when things got ‘too damn funky’ the band excelled in showing off their diversity as musicians throughout their set. They were the cherry on top of a great Australian lineup paving the way for Australian legends Spiderbait to cap off the evening.
Custard – The Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
In true anniversary set fashion, Ivy & The Big Apples was played in its 16 song entirety and was a true display of a band that has been playing together for almost 40 years. Janet English was about as in the pocket you can be despite doubling bass and vocal duties, consistently jamming in sync with guitarist Whitt. Kram held it down in a way only Kram can, impeccably thriving at what I believe to be rock’s most intimidating dual duty role, drumming and singing. Whether leading the whole crowd in a sing along to ‘Calypso’ or running through ‘Joyce’s Hut’, ‘Jasper’ and ‘Goosh’ in quick succession, the band was at their absolute best on a night ruled by good times and great vibes.
Spiderbait- The Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
They kicked into a pseudo ‘second set’ after completing Ivy in full, starting off with ‘Big Furry Green Monster’ and presenting us with other hits from their discography such as ‘Shazam!’ and ‘Fucken Awesome’. Stretched out with long instrumental jams, there were definitely a few older punters who couldn’t hold out until the very end as night wore on with the set finishing close to midnight. Nevertheless, before it was all said and done, the crowd roared along for Spiderbait’s famous rendition of ‘Black Betty’, sending everyone into a frenzy and ensuring everyone was happy when all was said and done.
Spiderbait- The Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
Despite the evening celebrating Ivy & The Big Apples the rest of Spiderbait’s catalogue was able to shine with their 9 song ‘encore’, proving that true talent and class never fades with time.
Spiderbait- The Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
