Bands: Polaris / Alphawolf / Justice For The Damned / Mirrors
Date: February 25th 2022
Venue: The Tivoli, Brisbane
Reviewer: Hayley Treadwell
Photographer: Andrew Treadwell Photography

As we walked in I relished being at a gig, being back at The Tivoli! (Side note, It looks great and the new owners seems to have made some great improvements!)

The crowd was building already when the first band Mirrors took the stage. As the music started it had a little bit of a Korn feel and I was instantly excited! I always love hearing new music for the first time and although my husband has seen most of these bands, I was experiencing them all for the first time. I thought Mirrors set a great tone for the night. Powerful and rich, and I couldn’t stop bouncing! I was captivated by the bass player right throughout their set, the drumming was outstanding and just all round I thought they were fucking awesome.

The 2nd band of the night was Justice for the Damned. Brutal. Intimidating. These guys were fantastic. And had an awesome following in the crowd. Inciting circle pits and crowd surfing, they left you with no doubt you were at a metal gig. Out of the openers for the night, these guys were my favourite. Something about the way the whole band moved in sync without trying and just oozed dramatic passion with every note played. Their front man Bobak Rafiee is most definitely in the right spot, he elevates the band to another level. I’m checking my local record store for their album asap!

Rounding out the openers was Alphawolf. HOLY SHIT! These guys took to the stage and immediately parted the crowd for a wall of death.
They bought a charming arrogance as they opened their set. They have a take no prisoners attitude, and personal connection they made with the Brisbane crowd show they are on the cusp of something huge. As Alphawolf left the stage everyone scrambled the refill their drinks and get back to their spot and await Polaris! The vibe the entire night had been great and you could feel the excitement in the air.

We didn’t have to wait too long and the black stage lit up with an amazing lighting set up around the drums.
Visually it was so appealing!! And the way the lights triggered added to the whole set, brought the songs to life. Opening with Pray for Rain, you could instantly hear the crowd chanting along. The passionate body movements of frontman Jamie Hails hurling his body to the deep music. His performance added to every song on the night. I fell in love with these guys instantly.

There was a point in the night where Jamie talked about the struggles many of us have faced the last 2 years and how the stage is his safe space and release and I can tell you for a band I had never heard, Polaris gave me that release tonight! They put together a great line up and absolutely delivered as the headliners!

POLARIS SET LIST

Pray for Rain, Vagabond, Creatures of Habit, Crooked Path, Consume, Hypermania, Casualty, Above My Head, Landmine, All of This Is Fleeting. Masochist, Lucid, Martyr (Waves), The Remedy