PAIN have been a band I have wanted to see in Australia for some time. Ever since glimpsing them live at a European festival a few years ago, I knew I had to see them live in a club setting. While it seemed like this tour might have been on the rocks and may not have gone ahead a short time ago, that did nothing more than make the fact that not only had the band made it here, but that they were performing their final performance In Australian at Brisbane’s The Zoo that extra bit special.
Opening the night were Brisbane’s very own Darkcell, who put on a good show despite the lacklustre turnout so early in the evening. Darkcell is a band that generally takes their performance to the next level and thrives off strong crowd interaction, but wasn’t able to truly excel this evening due to the limited crowd that they had to work with. They didn’t let this stop them though and worked hard with the beginning crowd through their 30 minute set to put on strong and worthwhile performance as the nights opening act.
Witchgrinder were next and also performed well themselves, but suffered some technical difficulties throughout the course of their set which impacted on the smooth flow of their performance. These weren’t issues that were present during their songs but were issues that popped up between song transitions. Musically tight, the band were captivating when they were playing, and with a larger crowd having shown up by their performance the Brisbane crowd certainly gave the Victorian’s a warm reception.
Normally, a diminished turnout might have dampened a bands spirit but PAIN seemed to thrive off the energy from the small crowd. Maybe it was the ecstasy of being on stage, but from the moment that the band emerged the intensity from each member was unrivaled to all others in the room.
Peter Tagtgren was every bit impressive and engaging on stage as his reputation has made him out to be. Taking no time to establish a connection with the Brisbane crowd, the voice of PAIN created an impressive figurehead on stage and commanded a presence that ensured that all eyes were on him. Vocally impressive, with the ability to change from calm to harsh at the drop of a pin and still have it sound as good as it is on the recorded albums, there was so much to like in his performance.
Likewise, Jonathan Olsson on bass and Greger Andersson on guitar complimented the enigmatic frontman perfectly with their energy and intensity drawing the crowd into the performance. While there was nothing overly theatrical about anything that was occurring on stage, the simplistic nature of the performance put a much greater emphasis on the instruments and the overall sound. Rounding out the band was none other than Tagtgren’s own son Sebastian, who didn’t have as much of an impact as the other members but certainly let his presence be felt through his drumming.
Having taken two decades to finally make their way to Australia, PAIN’s set was a wonderful mixed bag of classics ranging from items off their 1999 release Rebirth all the way up to their latest release Coming Home. Tracks like On and On, Call Me and Just Hate Me were but a small variety of songs included in this set that showed the range of Tagtgren and gave the crowd a fitting demonstration of just how diverse PAIN is as a band.
As a curtain call for the night, PAIN ended their performance with fan favourite Shut Your Mouth but made it a special occasion inviting the two support acts on stage to participate in singing the final chorus. This was an act that not only showed the true class of the band, but ended the night on a very positive and relatable vibe – a vibe that worked so well that one eager fan also jumped on stage to participate, before quickly being ushered off.
While the turnout was incredibly disappointing, PAIN didn’t hold back for the final show of their inaugural Australian tour and gave the Brisbane crowd an evening to be remembered. With Peter and Co. departing the stage after promising to be back, you can’t help but think that we might see PAIN back on our shores in the near future.