Live Review: BUGS, The Con & The Liar

A Thursday night in Fortitude Valley lures in punters of all desires in search of the many drink specials available.

One such lure is the brand-new club night held at The Zoo, Wildlife, which offers student-priced drinks and an assortment of local bands. For their first instalment, the team behind Wildlife is enthusiastic about welcoming local Brisbane mischief-makers The Con & The Liar to open the night and get the party flowing.

They start out with their Bluster intro, and strum straight into the moody, bass-driven Bluer Than The Sea. Vocalist and lead guitarist Callum Halstead leans into his microphone and serenades us with his wistful lyrics as the crowd of dedicated fans lean into each other, and then break out into dance following the punchy synth solos that rip through the groovy rhythm intermittently. The artistry and complexity of many of their songs keep people on their toes, but also ring with a vibe of confidence and comfort between members as they socialise on stage. Filling out their five-piece line-up with drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and a synthesiser, The Con & The Liar have an expansive set list for us tonight, dishing out a few different genres to ease the crowd into latest single Drummers & Lovers. It’s the song everyone’s been waiting for as new fans and old scramble close to the stage and show their passion for the music. After a sweaty 45-minute set, Halstead thanks his audience and their hosts, and introduces to the stage our next and final act of the night: local surf-pop heroes BUGS.

Frontman Connor Brooker immediately calls the crowd in closer, beckoning to the few groups of people playing pool to come and join the growing collective of people jumping with excitement. They start straight into this writer’s personal favourite, Best Friend. It’s an older number, and the crowd knows every single lyric, as Brooker dances around, singing with them. The band plough through an energetic set, never letting up the enthusiasm for a minute, punching through one song after another and even surprising us with the occasional classic sing-a-long cover.

BUGS are experts at engaging their audience, and there are many moments where we see people sitting on each other's shoulders, people climbing up onto the stage to dance with band members, some people even then jumping off the stage and into the crowd to be carried off. At one point, most members of The Con & The Liar are up on stage, Halstead taking over for bassist Jordan Brunoli as he tries to wrestle Brooker to the ground mid-set. The final song for the night is a wild one, and after an exhausting set the boys up on stage jokingly start to pull each other's shirts off over their heads, as female (and male) fans scream and whistle.

Even on a Thursday night, The Zoo certainly knows how to throw a party, and it's safe to say that there are many, many more exciting things in the works at Wildlife.