I was greeted at The Foundry’s nostalgic British telephone booth by a bold ‘Sold Out’ sign. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised seeing as The Belligerents have become a strong part of the fabric that makes up Brisbane’s unique music scene. Entering the gig space I caught WAAX attracting the strong beginnings of a mosh with their aggressive indie punk bangerz. With lead singer Marie DeVita’s powerful vocals heating up the room nicely. The curtains were well and truly open for The Belligerents stellar, theatrical performance.

The lads belted open a killer version of their highly popular track Voices, followed closely by the tour’s tremendous single Before I Am. Although I enjoyed laying down some fancy footwork with the head nodding, toe tapping backseat bandits of the room, I would have to admit that a portion of my motivation to catch The Belligerents again was being able to experience the captivating performance of frontman Lewis Stephenson. With this as my mission, I edged closer to the front as the ethereal, psych-rock track Looking At You was playing as my soundtrack. I was now safely in the front section of the gig space for the duration of the set. After some friendly banter about a bet made with the sound guy was settled, they cruised into a brand new single Caroline which featured some fantastically early 80’s/Mamma Mia vibes, which always goes down smooth. After surveying for the perfect moment and obviously feeling the crowd’s praise, Stephenson leapt into the crowd, hoisted by the hands of loyal fans and an abundance of 5 panel hats atop ringleted manes.

Throughout the entire performance, all eyes can’t help but be glued to the stage to witness the theatrical mastery of each band member. All four instrumentalists tossed their dazzling locks around to each guitar riff, led by Stephenson's cosmically psychedelic dance moves. I felt that his uniform like, drama blacks costume, consisting of a black turtleneck and black pleated trousers, acted as a blank canvas for his erratic jazz hands and facial expressions. I couldn’t help but reference his attire and abstract footwork to an excellent Saturday Night Live sketch called 'Sprokets' in which Mike Myers is a trendy Berliner talk show host (also donning a skin tight black turtleneck) who abruptly dances mid interview - supported by a lofty German sounding techno beat and gaggle of other turtleneck wearing, abstract dancers.

As their set neared a close and the airy guitar welcomed their track In My Way, the front of the crowd transformed from a groovy Dad dancer into a violent Moshi Monster that probably would have been better suited to Violent Soho’s gig down the road. However, this didn’t deter from the killer chooones and the raging enjoyment levels as they closed with their coveted tambourine packed version of Fatboy Slim's Praise You.

Overall if psych-pop-rock beats are your thang you should definitely let your ear holes feast upon The Belligerents - I guarantee they will be in for an absolute treat. If you also enjoy your live music with a spectacular stage performance, do yourself a favour and catch The Belligerents the next time around.

- Luci McAfee