Three local supports set up U.S. noise band Health for a crowd of enthusiastic Brisbanites at The Step Inn.

Boss Level Monster start things off before 8:30! This doesn’t stop a handful of loyal fans enjoying what they’ve got to show. They’re three guys playing somewhat grimy rock – sounding more like the exports our southern states produce rather than anything from Queensland – think The Mess Hall or The Pictures. They’ve got a nonchalant-yet-fun vibe and a swag of catchy songs.

Axxonn is one guy in a John Farnham tee who plays ephemeral keyboard washouts. He doesn’t want you to forget what his name is, so he gaffer-taped it to an amp behind him. Now we know what a keyboard sounds like when it’s in pain. A little delicate piano comes out, then back to feeding the keyboard’s wails through a fuzz pedal. The audience is then treated to a bit of mic against throat self-indulgence – we’re gargled at. The epic keyboard-noise set ends not long after it begins.

The evening’s dose of danceable emo-punk is provided by locals Stature::Statue. Traipsing a tightrope across hardcore, with a peppering of disco drum-beats and wailing guitars, this rhythm-heavy three-piece manage to confuse the audience into dancing along to their darker brand of beats. The band themselves are dancing too, which is a good thing to see – they’re clearly enjoying themselves. Tonight happens to be their drummer’s last show, and these guys play a set worthy of sending him off.

L.A. Noise-kids Health first turn up on the stage not to play, but to set-up their mammoth array of gear, loop-pedals, guitars, zoothorn, electronic percussion pieces and keyboard. Everyone is probably wondering whether they’ll actually fit on the tiny stage.

The aural onslaught begins with Triceratops – a good introduction to the sounds of Health. _Crimewave_’s intense tribal drumming sees the juxtaposition of members – bassist John Famiglietti tossing his hair and dancing about while singer Jake Duzsik sings timidly into the mic. It’s difficult to explain the kind of energy these guys are outputting – three songs in and there’s already a broken string on the bass guitar.

Before Tigers is pure, brutal noise punctuated by drum thuds – the perfect soundtrack for Famiglietti’s hypnotic hair dance – ending with a splintered drumstick flying across the front row. A synth loop reins us into Death +, with Famiglietti ditching his bass for a floor tom. It’s an instrumental frenzy with haunting vocals to pull it all together – the whole thing drowning out in an eerie silence. An extended drum intro breaks that silence, followed by _Eat Flesh_’s lyrics floating in, then the bass – string dangling. The song builds, the drums pound through the sludgey sounds into your skull, and the guitars delicately scratch over it all.

Heaven takes a few clicks and twists to turn in to Die Slow. The crowd go predictably insane while the band themselves dance up a storm. Everyone seems to have been waiting for this one. Rapid fire drums that descend into disco beats before droning out is the sound of We Are Water, which ends with nothing but the lonely thud of the kick-drum.

The band awkwardly apologise for being unable to play us the last song of the set, explaining that they’ll just play the encore and leave. Sure. Random bangs of the drums play a Simon-says role until the anthemic Severin really sets in, with Famiglietti swinging his hips all over the stage. The nightmarish shrieks of Courtship take the band out – a fitting ending to an expectedly short set.