Live Review: GWAR – Good Things Festival Sideshow – Crowbar Brisbane

Brisbane Beheaded: GWAR in Brisbane: Blood, Gore & Galactic Mayhem Unleashed! The Good Things Party Bus has arrived, brace yourselves Brisbane!

Words and Images: Mert Tyson Photography

Prologue: Respect Where It’s Due

Before diving into the madness, it’s only right to pay respect to the Melbourne lads DREGG. Their support slot was nothing short of explosive. From the moment they hit the stage, they unleashed their trademark fusion of metal, hardcore, and rap with raw energy that immediately set the tone. Wild movements, crushing riffs, and unpredictable antics made them the perfect warm up act for the intergalactic chaos to follow.

By the time GWAR took over, the audience was already drenched in adrenaline thanks to DREGG’s relentless pace. Their set wasn’t just support, it was a statement of intent, proving that Australia’s underground scene can stand shoulder to shoulder with the global heavyweights.

Now for the next band to say I was a little nervous was maybe an understatement! I had no idea of what to expect as a GWAR Virgin being fed like a lamb to the slaughter in a mass of equipment covered in waterproofing and fellow photographers wearing ponchos and wrapping their cameras in glad wrap! Holy Crap what is happening tonight… It wasn’t long before I found out.

Act I: The Arrival

On a humid Brisbane night…. OK Let me stop you here, being said GWAR Virgin I had asked the sound guy. “Hey man at what point do things get soaked with blood so I can prepare my camera” He just looked at me and stared for a second before saying “THE WHOLE FUCKING SHOW” Now with that in mind we continue…

The Crowbar became ground zero for an invasion. Fans stepped into what felt less like a venue and more like the set of a grindhouse horror flick. The air was thick with anticipation, the stage cloaked in shadows, and then, like a cosmic curtain tearing open, GWAR descended.

For the uninitiated (like me), GWAR are not merely a band. Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1985, they are a satirical thrash metal collective wrapped in grotesque alien mythology. Their albums, Scumdogs of the Universe, America Must Be Destroyed, The New Dark Ages are not just records, but chapters in a sprawling saga of interstellar chaos.

Act II: The Cast of Cosmic Villains

You know you are in trouble with band members with names like

Blöthar the Berserker , Balsac the Jaws of Death, Beefcake the Mighty, Jizmak Da Gusha, Grodius Maximus

Together, they embody GWAR’s daunting presence, towering, armoured, grotesque, and hilarious all at once.

Act III: The Carnival of Carnage

The setlist was a blood drenched circus. The ringmaster made an appearance and started to guide us through the story, a circus train disaster, it was very cool I had never seen anything like this before and to be honest it was a little freaky followed closely by the silhouettes of the band, tall large and intimidating and then leading into “Metal Metal Land” and “Filthy Flow”, where the ringmaster himself lost his face in spectacular fashion, from there, the chaos escalated here is a snapshot form what the hell I can remember of this chaos… To be fair I spent most of the time trying to escape Grodius trying to kill me in the pit. So, one tends to get a little side tracked…

“Saddam a Go Go” detonated with strobes, and Blood!
“Crack in the Egg” introduced Baby Gor Gor, who got more than a little bite of the hand that feeds and yep you got it more BLOOD!
“Bring Back the Bomb” drenched the pit in crimson spray. (for those who don’t know that is more BLOOD!)
“Womb” and “Presidente Trump!” brought grotesque satire to life, lampooning politics with gallons of gore and more BLOOD!
“Fuck This Place” erupted in slime cannons, baptizing the crowd with more BLOOD!
“Mother Fucking Liar Father Bohab” and “Lot Lizard” kept the chaos rolling, with some addition of BLOOD!
“Bad Bad Man” and “Tyrant King” introduced the ringmaster and Teen Gor Gor, adding another layer of absurdity with a hint of BLOOD!
“America Must Be Destroyed” reminded fans of GWAR’s legacy of satire and I’m sure there was a little more BLOOD!
“Rock n Roll”, “Pussy Planet”, and “Sick of You” closed the night in a frenzy of slime, riffs, and laughter and of course… MORE BLOOD!

And yes! The beheading of Elon Musk and the grotesque parody of Donald Trump were centrepieces of the show, sparking cheers, and controversy. GWAR thrives on lampooning power, celebrity, and human absurdity, and Brisbane got the full dose. I reckon it should have been ALBO as discussed with a few punters. I mean we got rid Tony Abbott in 2014 with a friendly beheading!

Act IV: Costumes from the Void

Though Crowbar’s intimate stage couldn’t host GWAR’s towering monster props, the costumes themselves were the spectacle. Spiked armour, dripping prosthetics, grotesque masks, each member looked like they’d crawled out of a cosmic nightmare. Without the larger set pieces, the band themselves became the props, looming over the crowd like galactic overlords.

Every squirt of blood and slime hit the audience directly. Fans weren’t just watching they were participating in the ritual, drenched head to toe in GWAR’s theatrical gore it was just awesome at this point I got it and realised this was an experience I’d never forget and never see again from any other band.

Act V: The Horror Movie Trailer

In a world where Elon Musk loses his head… where Donald Trump is torn apart by alien warlords… where Baby Gor Gor bites, Teen Gor Gor rampages, and a stingray slithers through the chaos… one band dares to drench humanity in blood and riffs.

That band is GWAR. And on this night, Crowbar was their cinema. Every song was a set piece, every skit a grotesque parody, every costume a monster from the void. Fans weren’t just spectators they were extras in GWAR’s horror metal movie.

Act VI: Shock Factor & Skill

Beneath the gore lies undeniable musical ferocity. Blöthar’s vocals commanded the room, Balsac’s riffs cut through the chaos, Grodius shredded and scared the fuck out of me and Beefcake’s bass shook the floorboards, and Jizmak’s drumming thundered like war cannons. GWAR’s satire may steal the spotlight, but their musicianship is the glue that holds the madness together.

Albums like Scumdogs of the Universe echoed through the set, reminding fans of GWAR’s long history of satirical carnage. Newer cuts from The New Dark Ages proved the band’s mythology is still evolving, still biting, still drenched in slime.

Final Carnage

As the final notes faded, fans stumbled out drenched, dazed, and deliriously happy. It wasn’t just a concert it was a blood soaked galactic ritual, a parody of politics and celebrity, a grindhouse horror flick starring Brisbane as the set.

GWAR proved once again that they are more than musicians. They are intergalactic overlords of shock rock, wielding satire, gore, and riffs as weapons of mass entertainment.

It wasn’t a gig it was a grindhouse epic, a blood drenched carnival of cosmic horror and heavy metal glory. I became a part of a ritual of audience and band and it was just beautiful, blood soaked beautiful. As per normal thanks to everyone who made this happen it was BLOODY sensational!

Mert.

Rolling credits…