HAMMERS - Live In Brisbane
Cock The Hammers, It’s Time For Action!
Saturday 14th March 2026
Written and Photographed by: Rashid AlKamraikhi
There are many things in life that can throw you off balance. It’s in those moments that it’s best to stay loose and ride with it, because if you can hold on long enough, at best you just might course correct, or, at worst, ragdoll your arse out of it with minimal damage.
I’d been having a bit of a rough day myself, for reasons I won’t disclose here, and when I rocked up to the Black Bear Lodge, the door was just ambiguously ajar enough to make it a coin flip as to whether or not it was actually ‘open’. I could hear REGULAR GONZALES tones coming down the stairs, so I headed up to find them still sound checking. I sauntered up to the stage to make my presence known, and Jesse greeted me with a huge smile and a hug. My mood was instantly lifted, and it set the precedent for what a night full of fun and friends this would be. They proceeded to blast through ‘Hex Worker’, one of my favourite tracks of theirs, and Ed Gresack, who was handling sound for the night, gave them the all clear.
10 minutes later they hit the stage for real. For those unfamiliar with The Gonz, the first thing you need to know is that they are Brisbanes premier shorts band, and they won’t let you, or anyone else forget about it. The second thing is they play heavy charged music with undertones of rockabilly, blues, and a fucktonne of odd time signatures that are perfect to bang your head along to until you’re no longer sure if you’re on or off the beat. Either way, it doesn’t matter, just keep banging. As they rock through their set the venue steadily fills up, with a lot of people making their way over from Blackened Records List Of Seven, which had been going all day, and had just wound up.
Pictured: REGULAR GONZALES
Pictured: REGULAR GONZALES
Pictured: REGULAR GONZALES
Pictured: REGULAR GONZALES
Next it was time to rev up the engines for PISTONFIST. Like any good hotrod, PistonFist appears to be in a constant state of flux, swapping out parts and pieces on a never-ending quest to get the best performance out of it, and tonight they are performing with a shiny new guitarist and drummer. Regardless of the configuration, one thing you are guaranteed is that there is a monster under the hood in the form of Geoffro, up front, leading the ball-tearing charge down the strip. One of my bands, MASSIC was originally lined up to play this show before we had to pull out due to personal reasons, and Geoffro honoured us by both wearing a cap of ours (so that we could still be ‘on-stage’), and dedicating the final song of their set, ‘BLACK RAIN’, an anthem about the importance of mental health to us. I needed to hear it. Thank you, Geoffro.
Pictured: PISTONFIST
Pictured: PISTONFIST
Pictured: PISTONFIST
Pictured: PISTONFIST
I’ve already started this review with one cheesy music pun for the tag line, and it feels a bit ‘Say the line, Bart’ to do it, but, well, stop or not, it was legitimately HAMMERS time. Time indeed to celebrate the launch of their debut album, Death Wobbles, with them, and what an album it is. When I interviewed Stoney and Dario in the lead up to their tour, they described it as ‘HAMMERS at it’s fullest’, and they are spot on. I first saw them some 10 years ago, and the attitude, drive. and humour of their sound was already there, but over the following decade, they have refined it into something very special. With the recent(ish) addition of Dario to the band, the soaring chorus aspect of their sound has hit new heights, with massive three-part harmonies, while the crushing riff work has descended down to new depths of brute chuggery. Not to mention all the musical nuance that weaves those contrasting elements together.
Pictured: HAMMERS
Pictured: HAMMERS
Pictured: HAMMERS
Pictured: HAMMERS
Thematically, the album addresses a lot of the day-to-day struggles and annoyances one might come across, and how, for right or wrong, people choose, or at least fantasise, about reacting to them. Performed live, the increased amplification carves the songs directly into your psyche, putting you to the test. There is no escaping it, because even if the songs themselves aren’t already doing it, their lead vocalist Fish will jump into the crowd to deliver his lines personally. HAMMERS are now about halfway through their album tour, so if they haven’t hit your town yet, you still have time to absorb Death Wobbles and get to a show. I can assure you, it will make your day much better.
Pictured: HAMMERS
Photos by: Rashid AlKamraikhi
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