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20 January 2026 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
It was with great interest that I headed to the Fortitude Valley Music Hall to see and hear Poppy’s Constantly Nowhere Tour. She had brought along with her two amazing bands: Melbourne’s nu-metal genre bending doyens Ocean Grove and the fabulous Sydney based metalcore masters Inertia in support. It was a fantastic line-up of musicians who are pushing the boundaries in their music.
The night commenced with a 7-song set from Inertia. The amazing four piece metalcore band comprises of Mark Williamson (guitar/production), Julian Latouche (vocals), Oliver Smith (bass) and Sebastian Schaber (drums). Their sets with Imminence and at Good Things in 2025 were just terrific so expectations were high.
Inertia came out swinging! They were loud, heavy, and full of energy. There was a thunderous precision as they delivered ‘Counterfeit’ and the impressive ‘Leviathan’. The mix of the thrumming bassline and every drum beat reverberated through the crowd. Julian Latouche delivered incredible dynamic range between his soaring cleans and guttural screams especially on face-melting heaviness of ‘Dominion’ and ‘Enrapture’ were powerful. Mark Williamson and Oliver Smith completed the wall of sound with brutal guitar accuracy.
Inertia had the circle pit going early to the delight of the crowd. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands and under control. So much so that the band played the crowd a new song as yet untitled. It was well received. Inertia then delivered a calmer moments in ‘Too Far Gone’ and the lovely ‘Lament’ that closed out the set. Inertia is a band you do not want to sleep on: have a listen to their 2024 album Second Shadow and get out and see them live.
Ocean Grove were up next to the Fortitude Valley Music Hall stage and the band just detonated into their opening ‘OG Forever’. The band jumped and spun out with their high-energy nu-metal rap-infused rock. The live band compromises of Dale Tanner (vocals), Sam Bassal (drums), Brent “Twiggy” Hunter (bass/vocals) with Todd Andrews (guitar). They also have Running Touch (Matthew Kopp) as a studio only band member for recordings.
Ocean Grove wasted no time in delivering an exciting and flamboyant set. They got the whole venue moving instantly with ‘Cell Division’, ‘Superstar’, ‘Stratosphere Love’ and ‘No Offence Detected’. The 13 track setlist slammed with bouncy and heavy songs that had the crowd jumping and shaking. Dale Tanner’s vocals brought raw power and emotion to the set and the band’s synchronised stage presence and infectious energy proved why they are a fantastic live band.
Ocean Grove did it all from high-octane songs like ‘My Disaster’ to the affecting ballad of the ‘Last Dance’. The band held nothing back as the crowd surfers got going and the circle pit was turning from the opening beat. The songs ‘Guys From The Gord’, ‘SoWhat1999’ and ‘Raindrop’ showed the bands versatility as they swapped roles to sing when bassist Brent “Twiggy” Hunter took over.
The band closed out their set with three rollicking songs: the crowd favourite ‘Sunny’, ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Junkies’. Ocean Grove’s grooves ricocheted around the venue with electric energy and swagger. They had the bounce and the bite, and the crowd just loved their set. Ocean Grove live should not be missed, get to one of their live shows, you will be energised.
Then, the stage was totally changed around. Equipment was removed and the impressive drum kit was ordered. There was an amazing rhinestone covered microphone stand put into place and its reflection of the amazing lights was beautiful as it glittered.
The stage went dark and introduction music played as a robotic voice welcomed the crowd to the idea of the dark and light hidden in masks. It was like an Ancient Greek fable. Finally, it was time for the show to begin. Poppy’s band entered the stage first, her drummer, bassist and the amazing guitarist Johnuel Hasney and their faces were adorned with creepy, skin-like masks that fit the eerie Ancient Greek tragedy aesthetic. Then, Poppy appeared on stage with her mask and launched into ‘Bruised Sky’.
I have followed Poppy (aka Moriah Pereira) since her very early days back in the early 2010’s period with her sweet pop songs. Poppy started her early music career on YouTube around 2011 when she posted covers and the original songs to vlogs before moving to LA in 2014 and collaborating with director Titanic Sinclair. There was a theatrical dynamic around her iconic android-like persona with ‘Everybody Wants To Be Poppy’ and ‘I’m Poppy’ that culminated in her debut EP Bubblebath in 2016 with the breakout hit ‘Lowlife’. It seems like a world and lifetime away now from the massive transformation she has undertaken with her musical journey leading her to heavy metal and her musical vision fusing pop and metal that has led to signed deals with Sumerian Records.
Poppy’s set was focused on delivering her high-energy, theatrical take on her style of genre-bending heavy metal music from her 2024 album Negative Spaces and the about to be released album 2026’s Empty Hand. Her setlist of 17 songs catered to old and new fans with songs from the albums and quite a few covers. The theme of the evening about masks, and what lies underneath, was held to throughout the set.
Poppy did not engage in much banter and hardly addressed the crowd. Her band had an unusual strategy of performing. They delivered ‘Bloodmoney’ and then they walked off stage. Then, they returned a minute later and performed ‘Scary Mask’. Then, the band moved off stage again and then returned for ‘The Cost Of Giving Up’. Then, it was “exit stage left”, only to return a minute later to play the new song ‘Public Domain’. After a while, the crowd got used to the stop -start motion of the song delivery.
The middle of the set had the impressive circle pits and at the end of the gig Poppy went down onto the floor to join in. There were many smoke pillars that helped set the scene for the song ‘Concrete’ with its moody vibe. It was so much fun live, with all its musical twists and turns with lighting and performance energy to match. ‘The Centre’s Falling Out’, rhythmic metal jam of ‘Anything Like Me’ and the fabulous ‘Have You Had Enough?’ got the crowd jumping, bouncing and crowd surfing. It was great to see a lot of young women crowd surfing.
Then, Poppy launched into a cover of Babymetal’s ‘From Me To U’ before she left the stage and then returned and launched into the crowd favourite of ‘Crystallized’. Then, ‘Time Will Tell’ and the cover of the Bad Omen’s ‘VAN’ with her soft vocals in focus against booming bass and drums followed. The crowd were loving it and had worked themselves into a sweaty mosh.
Poppy played another new song ‘If We’re Following The Light’ and it was well-received. The song reminded me of the lighting of the set, and it was beautifully done with all the colours of the rainbow fracturing around the musicians. The lights and smoke pillars really went off in ‘Never Find My Place’ and ‘They’re All Around Us’.
Finally, it was time for the encore, as the creepy, disembodied voice talked to the crowd about the light and dark in people. Poppy, then returned to the stage with that sparkly microphone in her hand and delivered ‘New Way Out’. It is a song about finding yourself in a world that wants you to be anything, but what you are. It was the perfect closing song and message complete with confetti cannons of white covering the crowd and the stage.
As I left the venue, there was a large crowd of very sweaty and happy music fans. You could tell that the whole evening had been one where they really lost themselves in the music. It had been an intense performance from Poppy. She is still finding her feet and voice, but her people and fans are there for her, as she takes that journey from pop and finds her calling card in heavy rock and metal. It was truly the perfect way to end off a night full of excitement.
