LIVE REVIEW: THE CLOUDS + GHOST MUTT @ THE TRIFFID 15/11/25

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi

With their soaring harmonies, edgy indie pop undertow and undeniable stage chemistry, The Clouds’ delivered a unique and memorable gig at The Triffid for their 35th Anniversary tour. They promised on this tour that they wouldn’t stick to one album, or one body of work, and would cherry-pick their favourite songs and “deep cuts”. Then, a comment made mid-set before playing “Blade” showed the mindset of the band. The interplay with words, puns and their sense of humour set the tone for the night with lots of “I Love You’s” from the crowd who were “using their words”. It was that kind of night.

The evening commenced with a short, but dynamic 8 song set delivered by the local band Ghost Mutt. The five-piece band comprises of Annabelle Bingley, Madeleine Postle, Torian Brewer, Dylan Kidd and Alice Headlam. They started the distorted, reverb of the indie-rock guitar sounds with their opening song ‘Ember’ that set the tone for the evening, and then quickly followed up with their song ‘Hot Fudge Sundae’.

The Triffid crowd instantly started to sway along. Ghost Mutt looked to be in their element onstage, and didn’t need any time to settle in. The songs ‘Pity Olympics’ and ‘White Hot’ were performed and came from the band’s most recent album ‘Anos Migranos’. Then, the fabulous ‘Rinse And Repeat’ was delivered as the lead singer wrangled her guitar strap and quickly reattached it without any fuss.

Ghost Mutt’s last 3 songs were ‘Baby Shower’, ‘Stud Puppy’ and they closed with ‘Crush’ from 2023’s ‘Perro Fantasma’. The band’s use of vocal harmonies floated over the top of the guitars to give their music that floating vibe. It was mesmerising to watch the lead singer’s green eyeshadow reflect off her guitar during the set. It was striking! Ghost Mutt played a great set and the crowd was very appreciative.

There was a short break as the stage crew removed drum kits, put things away under the stage, and generally stripped it back so that The Clouds could move around more freely. Setlists and water were put down – and then drinks like tequila – eventually joined the water. Tequila, the crowd found out, makes reading set lists easier and you don’t need a ‘tea-towel’ to remember the chords or lyrics.

The Clouds 18 song regulation set with 4 songs delivered for an encore was a dream pop, angular indie-rock, delight. But the set started with a loud: “Fuck!” delivered by guitarist Dave Easton.

The bassist and singer Trish Young’s in-ear monitor pack had fallen off. Then, her amp wasn’t on and she had to fiddle with cords. “It’s okay,” stated guitarist and vocalist Jodi Phillis. “We will get to playing you some music eventually”. Then, there was a question to the crowd about how are you feeling tonight and a big ‘woo’ came back. Trish Young responded: “Use your words”. Then, the ‘I Love You’s’ started and that was going to be the call out of the night.

The drummer Raphael Whittingham took charge and started the rhythm for ‘Soul Eater’ and the song was delivered in a heady rush. Then, Dave Easton said: “Well. That was the first song. Let’s all go and get a drink as that felt like hard work”. Then, another ‘I Love You’ rang out from the crowd. Trish Young exclaimed “Was that someone different? Yes. I think we are having omi-love”.

Then, The Clouds put their collective heads down and delivered ‘Here Now’ and ‘Anthem’ before they stopped to draw breath. Then, there was a call out from the band to “Izzie – Are you in the house?” and there was an excited squeal in response. The band dedicated the performance of ‘Foxes Wedding’ to her for her birthday. The song really showcased the vocal harmonies of the two women in The Clouds and that magic has not faded in any way.

Then, after more ‘I Love You’s’ from the crowd, the band got ready to perform the song ‘Aquamarine’. Before it started, Trish Young said: “I would love you to play an E” to Jodi Phillis. The response was: “Oh! So, love is conditional on the E” and Trish Young answered “Isn’t it always”. The band’s banter between themselves, and the crowd, was like being in a room full of long-lost friends and family as they casually connected with back-and-forth wit. The Clouds were relaxed and clearly enjoying themselves and were having fun on their last gig of their tour.

The songs ‘Bubble Baby’, ‘Motherson’ and ‘Maryanne’ followed. The chat sprinkled between the tracks covered topics like the heat in Brisbane, the storms and hail, and how many ways you can put ‘hail’ in a sentence or use it in exclamations. There was also a short reset as Jodi Phillis said about key and chord changes: “this is what happens when you don’t drink enough tequila”. Then, Trish Young tried to explain about the “name-letter effect” and no one understood what she was talking about, so she recited a poem to the crowd instead. It was a mum joke about Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ and 2B pencils!

‘Domino’, ‘Alchemy’, ‘Bower Of Bliss’ and ‘Colourblind’ were delivered rapidly. Then, the fan favourites of the brilliant ‘Panel Van’ and ‘Blade’ were performed with puns intact as Trish Young stated about the “deepcuts” quip – “I see what you did there”.

Then, The Clouds set hit the peak with the delivery of ‘House Of The Sun’, the wonderful and much loved ‘Heironymus’ that took most of the crowd back to those early university years, and ‘Say It’ closed the regulation set. It was performed twice as Dave Easton forgot what he was playing and needed the tea towel from the merch area with the lyrics and chords written on it to play the song. The song was stopped and played again from scratch.

The Clouds, then, left the stage. They returned quickly to deliver a four-song encore with ‘4PM’, ‘Maybe’, ‘The Edge’ and closed out the gig with ‘Boy Of Air’.

The Clouds proved that they still have that fire. During the performance there was chat about the next 35th anniversary tour with comments about the use of “telly promoters and zimmer frames”. Trish Young told the crowd: “You talk for yourself. We will be fine”. Let’s hope it is not that long before The Clouds make their next visit to Brisbane: keep looking for those Clouds on the horizon.