LIVE REVIEW: ZEBRAHEAD + THOMAS NICHOLAS BAND @ CROWBAR 12/10/25

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi. Photos Charlyn Cameron

Zebrahead has not been to Brisbane for over seven years. So, the pent-up demand from fans was palpable at the Crowbar on Sunday night. It had been a long wait for Brisbane fans, but Zebrahead's return was pure party chaos in the best possible way: the onstage bar, the shoeys, the stage diving, the crowd surfers, and the circle pit. It went off!

Before all this high-octane party fun, there was an opening act in the three-piece Thomas Nicholas Band (the TNB family). The TNB is the creation of Thomas Nicholas on vocals and guitar, and yes, he is the guy from the cult classic movie ‘American Pie’. He was joined by Skipster on bass and Rossy from internetfrendz on drums. The TNB family has built a following of fans from the ground up, and there was a solid crowd at the Crowbar to see them.

The band’s music was very much in the spirit of the night, as the crowd journeyed back to the mid-1990s to early 2000s soundscapes with pop-punk dominating the airwaves. There was no Hollywood ego, and lots of ‘You’re welcome’s’ during the forty-minute, nine song set of good, fun, time rock ‘n’ roll music. The opening cover of Fountains Of Wayne’s ‘Stacy’s Mom’ was popular and set the tone for the night.

The original songs ‘My Generation’, ‘Tomorrow’s Gonna Hurt’ written with Bowling With Soup, ‘Same Kids’ were delivered with bounce. TNB really were bouncy as they jumped, spun, and engaged the crowd with them standing over the front of the stage. There were some great songs performed, with the covers of Lit’s ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ and a re-imagined version of Bowling For Soup’s ‘1985’ changed to ‘1999’ complete with all the in-jokes and references to ‘American Pie’.  The TNB closed out the set with ‘Back for More’ as they left Brisbane with another “you’re welcome” as they left the stage, as they finished ‘Just Leave It’. And they left…the crowd was confused but happy.

Then, the stage crew for Zebrahead placed the beers and setlists down. They checked the instruments, flags were put out, and the bar was up and operational. The songs ‘American Idiot’
and the punk cover of ‘America F*** Yeah’ played loudly as the band psyched themselves up.

Then, the night really kicked off as the band Ben Osmundson, Ed Udhus, Ali Tabatabaee, Dan Palmer, and Adrian Estrella exploded onto the stage and just whipped the crowd into a frenzy with ‘When Both Sides Suck’, which they quickly followed with ‘We’re Not Alright’ and ‘Hello Tomorrow’. The love in the venue was real as the huge sing along had started from the first line. The vocal dynamics between Ali Tabatabaee and Adrian Estrella’s beautiful voice was a pleasure to hear and watch.

It did not take long for frontman Ali Tabatabaee to get the circle pit going. Then, he came down into the crowd to sing as “You look more exciting than my friends” to deliver ‘Homesick For Hope’. The energy, enthusiasm, and intensity of the crowd were next level as ‘Lay Me To Rest’, ‘Rescue Me’ and ‘Postcards From Hell’ were performed. Zebrahead delivered pure fun!

The crowd surfer competition was awesome, as was the birthday celebration for Dylan, complete with ‘Happy Birthday’ sung and the shoey, the band’s banter about drug quality, and Ben Osmundson’s love of tequila and his wanting to buy everyone in the crowd a shot after the show. It was like the band was on steroids! The 21-song set was turbo charged as the band left nothing in the tank.

The Crowbar was just full of energy as the crowd celebrated hearing songs like ‘The Perfect Crime’, ‘No Tomorrow’ and ‘Hell Yeah’. Then, there was a cover of the Beastie Boys ‘Fight For Your Right’ that was big fun. The circle pits were continuous and Ali Tabatabaee went and stood in the middle of it. The fan favourite songs of ‘Who Brings A Knife’ was huge. Then, fans were invited up on stage to have a drink at the bar as ‘Drink Drink’ was delivered and it was followed by ‘Sink Like A Stone’ and ‘Worse Than This’. Loved moments! Then, ‘Check’ was played to the crowd’s delight as there were many fans of Tony Hawk’s video games and soundtracks. The crowd was in heaven, and it was like this was the last gig as they rejoiced in Zebrahead’s music and humour.

It really was a joyous gig. The last songs were ‘Call Your Friends’ with the songs by The Ramones ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ and Green Day’s ‘Basket Case’ woven through it. The last song in the regulation set was the stunning ‘Anthem’. It was like a call out to friends. The band left the stage for a few seconds before re-appearing and saying: “So, a few more songs – yes?”. The crowd roared back. The encore of ‘Falling Apart’ and “All My Friends Are Nobodies’ closed out the night. Zebrahead had whipped the crowd into a frenzy all night and left everyone spent at the end.

Zebrahead left the stage to Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ which was a great piss take and fun as the fans left the Crowbar to start the working week. It was a truly fantastic night of raw and authentic music delivered by a band at the top of their game.