LIVE REVIEW: THE LAMBRINI GIRLS + BIG WETT @ THE PRINCESS THEATRE 25/02/26

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi Photos Charlyn Cameron

Well, there were walls of death, circle pits, stage diving, crowd surfing and real moshing as Brighton punks The Lambrini Girls laid it on at the sold-out The Princess Theatre. The night was an awesome mix of fun and fierce energy and a band with a lot of things to say...it was splendid!

The evening began with the Melbourne electro-pop provocateur and musician Big Wett. She opened the evening with ‘She Got That Thing’ and ‘Number 1 Pussy’ in the club as she performed a fearless and funny collection of slut anthems. With the delivery of her songs ‘Bags’ and ‘King Dick’ everyone in the venue had got the idea that this set was about filthy fun and unapologetic freedom.

Big Wett Photos by Cecilia Pattison-Levi 

Big Wett brought the ‘Crazy’ and a geographic map of the ‘G-Spot’ that was thumping and there were no-holds-barred in the performance. I guess the epithet of ‘feminine and threatening’ were a thing but her fans in the white Big Wett home drawn t-shirts were rabidly supportive. Big Wett had the venue in singalong and dance mode – and even the Lambrini Girls were partying backstage.

Big Wett’s outrageous humour, raw sexuality, and a hedonistic flair was demonstrated in ‘Eat It’, ‘Pony (Ride Me)’ and ‘Hold Up Ur Body’. With her eclectic taste and unapologetic approach to self-expression, Big Wett delivered a bold and unforgettable set that was closed out with ‘Eat My Ass’. Its was unhinged but such a feminist statement of fun and fury.

It was a fast turnaround for the stage. The Lambrini Girls were backstage doing some press photos that looked lovely.

The crowd was restless waiting for them. It was the first ever performance by the Lambrini Girls in Brisbane. The sold-out venue was the signal that the crowd was about to witness something special.

The Lambrini Girls (Phoebe Lunny, Selin Macieira-Boşgelmez (aka Lily Macieira) with their fabulous drummer Samantha Collings) exploded onto stage with ‘Bad Apple’ and followed it quickly with ‘Company Culture’ and ‘Help Me I'm Gay’. The fuse had been lit in the crowd – the first song had a wall of death crush and crowd surf from Phoebe Lunny that ended in bodies on the floor – but the crowd was wired and went off! The sweat was flying!

When covering a gig, there's always a decision to be made whether to carefully observe from the back, or to get to the barrier. When at the barrier, there is a risk of getting too carried away with the performance for clarity. But I decided to risk it. I didn’t want to miss this performance. So, I headed down to the front. I wasn't disappointed with my choice. This was a Lambrini Girls gig after all, I just had to stay on my feet.

The Lambrini Girls formed in Brighton in England in 2019. What drew me to this band was their social consciousness and white-hot lyrics that are on point and candidly witty. The songs like ‘God's Country’ about the decline of the UK, ‘Mr Lovebomb’, ‘You're Not From Around Here’, the funny and scary ‘Lads Lads Lads’ and the sublimely funny ‘Filthy Rich Nepo Baby’ got me hooked.

The other thing that got me hooked was the freedom, the sensible angst at the craziness of the modern world and their exceptional drummer Sam Collings who was just amazing and a joy to watch.

The whole set, through songs underpinned with fierce independent thought, drove ‘Love’, ‘Special Different’, the fabulously funny ‘Boys In The Band’, the wonderful ‘No Homo’ and ‘Craig David’. The Lambrini Girls called out all the strange behaviours from wellness meditation “so stupid” to everything else from sexism, unearned privilege, gentrification, police corruption, “flag-shaggers” and toxic masculinity. Throughout the night they spoke about sexual abuse in the music industry and police corruption with the crowd backing them.

The joy of the Lambrini Girls is how they speak truth to power with straight talking about serious matters interwoven with lived experience, humour, spiciness and a sense of crowd unity punching through their message. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a diverse range of people in a mosh pit from all ages and genders. And, boy, did it go off with ‘Cuntology 101’.

With her uninhibited candour, Phoebe Lunny’s voice feels essential for these divisive times, and throughout the night as she wove in and out of the crowd as she won them over and then had the crowd eating out of her hand. The set closed with ‘Big Dick Energy’. I took off for the mezzanine to watch, and it was awesome – bodies flying everywhere.

From the unbridled performance by the Lambrini Girls, they are a band who do not just deliver shows; they unleash them. The Princess Theatre walls, floor and mezzanine shook with raw power, and the performance form the band challenged the crowd intellectually to think about the norms and assumptions in the way we live. This made all the old punks in the room extremely happy. The performances from Big Wett and the Lambrini Girls reminded everyone in the venue that punk is far from dead: it’s just been reimagined with fabulous fashion, glitter, rage, and a lot more social political bite.

Time to catch the Lambrini Girls’ train – it’s a wild and empowering ride!