Review: Benjamin Coe
Photography: Nate Rose
The atmosphere at The Triffid is electric as the amassed crowd in the beer garden waits patiently for the doors of the main room to open. It’s a night no one thought would happen, the return of the trailblazing Californian punk outfit, Letlive, for one last lap around the country to effectively say “goodbye”.
Labelled the “Sincerley Yours” tour, it’s a chance for a band that has always been more about the people they play for than themselves to give those fans a proper chance to say farewell, and first up on the Australian leg is the lucky town of Brisbane.
As the doors open up, the feverish crowd slowly trickles into the main room of what is arguably one of the best sounding venues this town has to offer.
After a brief wait, the lights go dim, and hometown punk rockers Stepson take the stage as the room continues to fill. A heavy, foreboding electronic intro cuts through the blue lights before the band kick straight into fourth gear with Come With Me from their 2021 album Help Me, Help You.
Frontman Brock Conry commands the curious crowd through his mighty stage presence, ripping through tracks heavily pulled from the aforementioned album with a few newbies thrown in for good measure. The softer, pop punk vibe of Who Are We? gets the crowd moving and dancing while the heavier tracks like Entire History of You are dedicated to “those who came to mosh” and really gets the crowd going.
Conry’s passionate vocal delivery is brilliantly offset by the band’s backing cleans and roars and makes for an excellent introduction for what’s to come.
Bidding the crowd adieu with one last track, 2022’s Eraser, and a heartfelt shoutout to tonight’s headliners for having them on the tour, Stepson leave the crowd more than impressed and well-primed for the main attraction.
We’re not kept waiting too long and as the room fills to the brim and lights go down for the second and final time, the boys from Letlive casually make their way to the stage to deliver what many of us hoped but never believed would become a reality.
Feedback and distortion buzz from the instruments as Jason Butler enters the room to a massive reception and is instantly humbled, showing his appreciation to those that have come to bear witness to tonight’s special occasion before the drum intro to Le Prologue sets things in motion.
Butler’s energy has taken no backseat in the band’s time away as he strides from side to side belting out the crowd favourite anthem of The Sick, Sick 6.8 Billion followed closely by Renegade ‘86 from the band’s 2011 breakthrough album Fake History.
The crowd are in awe from the get go and feed off the band’s performance in the best way possible, throwing every ounce back that they are given. The Dope Beat & Homeless Jazz pack a one-two punch of epic proportions as Butler and his cohorts exemplify why they were, and still are, the best at what they do.
But despite the chaos of the show, there’s also a vulnerability on display tonight. Jason Butler uses the time in between songs to address not only his own personal struggles but the struggles of many and often declares his genuine love and care for everyone in the room. He speaks from the heart, is entirely genuine and there is so much weight to every word he says. The gig feels like, in his own words, “a personal therapy session” with Butler and long-time guitarist Jeff Sahyoun sharing a beautiful moment in front of the crowd.
An atmospheric rendition of Dreamers Disease from hit album The Blackest Beautiful slows things down momentarily before the chaos erupts again during Pheromone Cvlt and main set closer, the blistering 27 Club.
With thank you’s and false goodbyes, the band exit the stage leaving the crowd begging for an encore to which the LA punks quickly oblige.
“You’re still here?” Butler quips cheekily before the delay-ridden intro to I Learned to Love Myself begins the encore in epic fashion.
But it’s not enough, the crowd wants more! And boy do they get it, with the band delivering a masterful version of Empty Elvis before Butler gives a heartfelt speech about lifestyle choices and how much they don’t matter, sending their final song out to lost friends.
Day 54 is the perfect song to close out the set, and if this is indeed the last time we ever see Letlive on our shores then there is no better way to say “this is goodbye”.
letlive. September 2025 Australian Tour Dates
Saturday 6th September – SYDNEY, Manning Bar
Sunday 7th September – MELBOURNE, Max Watts
Tuesday 9th September – ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory
Wednesday 10th September – PERTH, Magnet House
Tickets from: https://thephoenix.au/
– GALLERY –
