Brisbane is one of Australia’s largest cities, and enjoys an enviable position, being both a rich center for urban culture, but also having easy access to gorgeous natural areas, with the Barrier Reef, vinelands, and outback in close proximity. Being one of the great metropolitan centers, there is a wide range of five star Brisbane hotels to keep you in the very lap of luxury while you’re visiting. Seeing the city from such spectacular lodgings gives it another layer of polish that makes it very compelling. Not that it needs more polish. Brisbane is one of the most exciting places in the world, and is one of the really great music capitals.
The Brisbane alternative music scene is influenced today by its rich punk rock roots. It was one of the great centers in the world, very likely up there right next to New York City and London, for the immense creative output by the local music groups, along with the history of youth culture here that was very outspoken and active, and caught the attention of the local police. There was an awful lot of great music that came out the first and subsequent waves of punk rock from Brisbane, like the Leftovers and the Survivors, and then there’s the Saints, who are still considered to be one of the main forces behind this music in the world.
The second wave, riding on the gravitational pull of the first, was also a fantastic time to be living here. Most of the bands were socially rebellious, and interrogated the culture at large with large doses of wit and sarcasm. This was followed, in the mid-80s, by a more hardcore punk scene, like in the U.S. and the U.K., and gothic elements started to play a more central role. In some recountings, this is where the scene ended. It would be easy to make a case that it hasn’t really ended, and there is a fresh energy to the music right now that is just as vital and exciting, as evidenced by groups such as Escape from Toytown, whose career lasted from 1997-2004, with a sound that carries some of the best edge and grit from the second wave, with a technical precision that speaks to contemporary tastes. If music is your thing, there’s plenty to see here and see how history plays out as the musicians continue to rise out of the ashes of the previous generation.