PUP // Tear Brisbane A New One, October 5, 2016

Oct 06, 2016 / WORDS Tom Hersey / PHOTOS Matt Warrell / Live Review

PUP with special guests Bugs
The Brightside, Brisbane, October 5, 2016

The last time the little Canadian punk rock band they call PUP rolled through town they were supporting The Smith Street Band and Clive Palmer was a political force to be ridiculed and no one really seemed to care about what they were doing. In fact, the last time they came to Australia it seemed like the crowd for the most part wanted them off the stage so they could hear Wil and the boys do their thing. Oh boy, what a difference 18 months, one album of the year contender and a federal election can make. Tonight the Brightside is sold out and the excitement levels are high enough that a good portion of the crowd seems willing to ignore the cardinal rule of attending shows; don’t wear the t-shirt of the band you’re seeing.

In fairness, tonight doesn’t seem like your average weeknight show. The room is packed out, heaving with excitement and sweaty as fuck as Bugs hit the stage to play a set heavy on covers from the likes of Britney Spears and R.E.M. Did I mention tonight doesn’t seem normal? Bugs’ set turns the what-the-fuck factor to 11 and the crowd seems to be loving it.

As a unit, the melodies they conjure up are superb and tonight they propel the crowd into an apeshit frenzy most akin to the zombies in 28 Days Later.

PUP by Matt Warrell

PUP were good the last time they came through Australia, and the album they were touring on was very good, but this time around they’re playing a great album, and the show is even greater as a result. The band’s approach to their music has changed significantly in the interim. Most noticeably, the last time they came through front man and Despot (listen to more indie rap) doppelganger Stefan Babcock was almost solely responsible for vocal duties. Then, a doctor told him his voice was fucked up beyond repair, it was the interaction which inspired the album title The Dream is Over. Now Babcock is relying on guitarist Steve Sladkowski, bassist Nestor Chumak and drummer Zack Mykula to help give his bummer lyrics weight. As a unit, the melodies they conjure up are superb and tonight they propel the crowd into an apeshit frenzy most akin to the zombies in 28 Days Later. As grommets fly off the stage and the railings and basically anything they can climb, PUP deliver perfectly scuzzy renditions of cuts like Familiar Patterns and Guilt Trip. They’re loose tunes for a loose fucking room, and it seems like every audience member in the sold-out Brightside is right alongside this punk rock quartet. When PUP close out the set with a rendition of Weezer’s El Scorcho that is perfect except for the guitar solo’s vocal accompaniment, the sweaty room overflows with equal parts enthusiasm and exhaustion. PUP have put on a show that all those in attendance will be bragging about when the band comes back and is playing much larger rooms.