LIVE REVIEW: DESCENDENTS + PINCH POINTS + THE LIZARDS @ THE COOLANGATTA HOTEL – GOLD COAST 13/06/26
Descendents @ The Tivoli
Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi Photos taken at The Tivoli show by Sarah Gilpin
The Descendents have played both the Tivoli in Brisbane and The Balcony at the Coolangatta Hotel on the Gold Coast as part of their Australian Run Down Under Tour. And both these gigs ended the Australian Tour and had a very different flavours: the Brisbane gig had a dynamic crowd-surfing mosh pit and the Gold Coast crowd were moshing-pit bouncers with great singing voices. But crowds at the venues were big to see Descendents: the punk legends that have influenced a generation of musicians and bands worldwide.
The ‘Cooly Balcony’ hosted three bands as the crowd delivered the punk fashionista show: chains, hairstyles and the ever-popular rock gig t-shirts of prominent bands until Descendent shirts were put over the top. It was what everyone was there for: Descendents and their rapid-fire performances, brilliant instrument control with melodic energy. It was all about celebrating 30 years since the release of the band’s genre-defining 1996 album ‘Everything Sucks’ with “added extras”. The crowds were treated to two young and upcoming Australian bands, The Lizards and Pinch Points.
The Lizards @ The Tivoli
The Gold Coast local grunge-punk band The Lizards opened the evening with an incendiary set. The three-piece band consisting of Pat Ramm (guitar/lead vocals), LeighVergou (bass/backing vocals), and Kyle Sambel (drums/backing vocals) got the night moving with their distinctive drum and bass heavy infused sound. The Lizards are all about the rhythm section: the drumming woven with the bass was very impressive and pounded.
There was a large crowd to see The Lizards and the locals obviously have a large and committed following. The band were thrilled, and with a “this is so cool”, they drum blasted their punk recipe through as many of their songs as they could in 30 minutes. The songs ‘Directions’, ‘Beyond Me’ and the newly released single ‘No Wax’. Then, they crammed in “one more last song” at least two times as they tried to beat the clock with ‘Saved By The Bell, ‘No Fracture’’ and ‘The Fat Controller’ mashed into the mix. The crowd were delighted as the dancing started. The Lizards were a refreshing opening act for punk fans and the right choice for this prestigious affair.
After a substantial break, the next band up were the Melbourne based indie noise rock purveyors Pinch Points.
The band came out onto The Balcony stage and delivered a fast-paced 30-minute set of punk-rock with jangly guitars and matching band baby-tees. The four-piece bandof Adam Smith (guitar/lead vocals), Acacia Coates (bass/vocals), Jordan Oakley (guitar/vocals)and Issy (drums/vocals) performed their catchy garage style no-frills songs. It was great to see some females on stage, and the band used that male/female dynamic to alternate lead vocals and musical styles. The band members’ use of call and response in the vocals gave the whole set an entertaining vibe.
Pinch Points @ The Tivoli
Pinch Points cranked out tracks from their albums ‘Process, Mechanical Injury’ and ‘Reasons To BeAnxious’. The band told the crowd that they had come out of a “mini-hiatus”. The crowd listened, and the band received an enthusiastic reception to their fun set of originals that included ‘Ouch!’, ‘Spelt Out’, ‘Don't Want It’, ‘Jellybrain’ and ‘Stranger Danger’.
I was completely mesmerised by the band’s drummer, Issy, who unleashed a barrage of sound on the drums and sang a number of their songs. Pinch Points held the crowd as they delivered the last songs of their set with ‘Copper’, ‘Liquid Stone’, ‘Ground Up’, ‘System Failure’ as Pinch Points ended with ‘Reasons To Be Anxious’.
Pinch Points @ The Tivoli
There was another overly long break but the venue was filled. And everyone was there to see the now “middle aged punks” as Bill Stevenson described the band. Descendents have, like the deluxe paint ad says, “kept on keeping on” and are happy to punk-rock “on and off” as best suits them today.
It was wonderful to see them take to The Balcony stage with no-frills, lights up, and straight performance. There was no pretence here with the Descendents, it was “what you see is what you get”. And the crowd were thrilled to see them. The drummer Bill Stevenson with his “headphones on”, vocalist MiloAukerman, bassist Karl Alvarez and guitarist Stephen Egerton greeted thecrowd with a short chat about what they were going to play – “We are going to play the entire album ‘Everything Sucks’ but not in the order as that would be boring and just weird”. The crowd agreed. And then the band, got stuck in to delivering a massive thirty-five songs in around 75 frenzied minutes.
Descendents @ The Tivoli
Cue the singing! The title track ‘Everything Sucks’ was delivered by the band and crowd as they joined them and the voices filled the venue, and the song was loaded with emotion, and full of meaning, and it was thrilling! Descendents launched straight into their pop-punk anthem ‘I’m The One’ with its hook-filled guitar riffs and driving drumbeats and the crowd were dancing, bouncing and singing from the get-go. The band’s tone was so sharp it could cut diamonds.
The Descendents blasted their way through their short, sharp and fast songs. The crowd was delighted to hear the album tracks and then a career-spanning set of fan favourites and live staples including a number of tracks from 1982’s ‘Milo Goes to College’. I was completely blown away by their stamina. It was all killer, no filler, as the songs: ‘Coffee Mug’, ‘Rotting Out’, ‘Myage’, ‘Hope’, ‘Clean Sheets’, ‘Sick-O-Me’, ‘Caught’, ‘Good Good Things’, ‘No Fat Burger’, ‘When I Get Old’, ‘Doghouse’, ‘I'm Not a Punk’ and ‘Get the Time’ were performed and they barely stopped for a breather.
Milo Aukerman was fantastic, engaging with the crowd and his stage presence was dynamic as the band around him delivered music at a blistering, high-tempo pace. The drummer Bill Stevenson maintained control as Karl Alvarez and Stephen Egerton’s guitar was incredibly tight. The next blast of songs came straight for the crowd. The now highly ironic ‘My Dad Sucks’, ‘She Loves Me’, the song where the crowd were at their loudest ‘I Don't Want to Grow Up’, ‘Weinerschnitzel’, ‘Hateful Notebook’ and the fantastical ‘I Wanna Be A Bear’.
The crowd had a mosh pit bouncing and a circle pit was running every so often through most of these songs. Then, the next barrage came along: ‘Coolidge’, ‘We’, ‘Eunuch Boy’ and ‘Bikeage’. Then, the songs kept coming with ‘This Place’, ‘I Won’t Let You’, ‘I Like Food’ and ‘Suburban Home’. Milo Aukerman got close and personal with the crowd to let the crowd sing into the microphone before the band ended with the regulation set with the appropriate ‘Thank You’. And the crowd were feeling it as they thanked the band for their amazing performance.
Descendents, then returned and performed a 5-song encore that started with ‘Sour Grapes’ and then a set highlight with ‘Silly Girl’ that was followed by ‘Van’, ‘Merican’ and then how everyone was feeling at the end of the set with a huge ‘Smile’ on their dials.
Descendents did not disappoint. A concert of 35 songs, ‘Everything Sucks’ with a deep mix of older and newer music. Descendents just deliver. Their set was really impressive. Punk music has a reputation for being messy and chaotic, but this band is as tight as it gets. The crowd was so happy with what they had just experienced and witnessed.
