For the last 21 years, the two person team that is Punkfest have been providing the city of Brisbane with a regular and reliable flow of punk gigs - covering all the various strands of punk and hardcore, and always with a chilled out and good humoured vibe.

It’s fitting then that for the 21st birthday celebration, a stellar lineup has been assembled at The Brightside. Drawn from the local neighbourhood and across the country, it has everything from hardcore and street punk to classic rock, folk punk and cheesy electronics.

To cram in so many bands it is a very early start, which meant I personally didn’t get there in time to see openers Not Telling. But I do think it is very emblematic of Punkfest that on a night when the headliners are somewhat big names which appeal largely to an audience of middle aged men, there is still time to include an up and coming local mixed gender band.

So the first act I got to see was local favourites Mitch Please. I think maybe because they present as a not very serious band of friendly nerds, it’s possible to forget just how good a band they are and how good a frontwoman lead singer Polly is. Switching easily from a sweet croon to a deep growl, magnetising audience attention and providing humourous banter between songs; Polly is a born performer and in a more just world would be a rockstar. Mitch Please, as always, put on a good show, with the classic Polygon Pit whipping the crowd into all kinds of shapes. 

Next up were The Cutaways. Another local band though one who we do not often get to see play live. It seemed like they were keen to make up for lost time, thundering through their set at a ferocious pace. There does always seem to be something kind of desperate about The Cutaways - the lyrics are often about the struggles of mental health and gender identity - the battle to stay alive and be one’s authentic self. And lead singer Emmy Haora howls them into the mic, while the rest of the band hammer away at their instruments. tonight's set is another fantastic show and a reminder of how good The Cutaways are.

The arrival of the Arseless Chaps to the stage was the cue for an abrupt change of energy. Arseless Chaps is the combination of TISM’s Damien Cowell and comedian Tony Martin - a dream combination for fans of a certain type of Australian 1990’s pop culture. It’s an entertaining show - Cowell playing some cheesy beats and dancing around, while Martin recites deadpan stories. All the while, a video is playing with cartoon rendition of the duo and written lyrics. The audience response is extremely enthusiastic, and it’s certainly a symbol of how much variety you can fit under the label of punk. Punks can be a dogmatic type at times, but I have always thought one thing about Brisbane's scene is that it is more accepting of variety and not inclined to take itself too seriously.

The Go Set as a band are approximately the same age as Punkfest, and the two have often gone together - with regular trips up to Brisbane from the folk punk band who even wrote a song about "Punkfest Night in Pig City". These days singer Justin is surrounded by a mostly younger crew of musicians, and there are a lot of them onstage with bagpipes, fiddle and mandolin accompanying the traditional rock instruments. Their set draws from all their many albums, and they get a cheery response from most of the audience and total singalong devotion from the diehards in the front row.

Finishing up the night was The Disables. Back when Punkfest kicked off 21 years ago, The Disables were the kings of Brisbane punk - packing out the sweaty pubs of East Brisbane and hitting the top spot of the 4ZZZ Hot 100. These days a Disables show is a rare occurrence, but there are a few old band t-shirts that have been dusted off for tonight, and the band can still elicit a singalong for set opener ASIO. They don’t have an extensive back catalogue to draw from, so it’s a short Disables set but one loved by an audience who are by now reaching a state of euphoria after six straight hours of punk rock and good friends.

They finish with a cover of Bouncing Souls classic True Believers. Another song from back in the 2000s, it gets an arm-around-the-shoulder singalong from those old enough to remember it; and seems like a fitting way to end the night celebrating the people who have been putting in the behind the scenes hard work to make a punk scene function for two decades and counting. A lot of things have changed in that time, but Brisbane’s local scene has kept kicking, helped along by all those Punkfest shows put on in the sticky humid pubs of our city. Tonight was a celebration of that work, and of the variety and possibilities of loud fast guitar music. May Punkfest continue for many decades to come!

Words and Photo by Andy Paine