Indented
Balmoral
blackbird
In Her Palms
Chromatin
Waxman
Wrench
Street Carp
Zara Alice

On Sunday, The Tote hosted a sold-out festival that ran from afternoon into evening, uniting nine different acts to support an important cause. Organised by Declan of @capital.noise and my friend Lotti, all proceeds from this show went towards Jesuit Social Services, an Australian not-for-profit organisation who (among other things) provide support to people and families impacted by suicide. Through counselling, peer support groups, and community programs, their work focuses not only on prevention but also caring for those navigating grief and trauma in its aftermath.

Suicide, and mental health more broadly, remains an issue that we can’t afford to ignore. Most people are affected by suicide at some point in their lives, whether directly or through someone they love. Thank you to everyone who donated, played, organised, or simply came along to support this show. Always remember that your actions carry meaning, and can make a genuine difference.

Singer/songwriter Zara Alice was the first act of this festival. Although I was only able to see the very end of her performance, her emotional indie-folk acoustic music left an enchanting and dreamy impression.

Following Zara Alice were Street Carp, a band from regional Victoria who played an energetic and upbeat set of indie and slacker rock, with unexpected elements of hardcore in their drumming. Their new guitarist demonstrated some impressive and technical solos, adding a deeper layer to the band’s indie sound, while frontman Hunter thrived on crowd engagement. During their set, Street Carp covered The Chats’ ‘Mum Stole My Darts’.

After this, Djilang screamo band Wrench delivered what was easily their most forceful performance yet. Paddy’s dissonant and distorted guitar tones bordered on harsh noise at points, creating an abrasive wall of sound and oscillating feedback. Their set opened with a spoken word section, read by Jovi (Paddy’s girlfriend), before collapsing into intense and emotional chaos. Early into their set, I was invited on stage to fulfill my promise of covering ‘flood’ by gatecrash with the band. During this tribute, Paddy dove into the crowd and was swinging off a beam on the ceiling at one point??

A reflection of Wrench’s fervent act, Paddy cut his hand while playing and spilt blood onto the pickguard of his guitar. He kept playing regardless, only accepting help from someone with a first-aid kit after the set had ended. Paddy’s vocals were another standout, as he briefly introduced guttural low screams that added even more weight to their sound.

Waxman, a Naarm experimental post-hardcore 3-piece, started their set with no guitarist to be seen, holding their own with only bass and drums. Arriving late, their guitarist quickly set up and joined them to play as a full band. All three members shared the responsibility of vocals, adding further complexity and detail to the act. Their sound was thick, noisy, and intricate, reminding me of the chaotic density of Converge in some ways.

Chromatin’s set further cemented them as one of my favourite emerging skramz bands in the country right now. Partway through their set I had to quickly leave to carry my amp upstairs to the green room, and, as I made my way back, their dense wall of sound bled through the floorboards and walls. Hearing them from a distance, slightly muffled, only reinforced their expansive and richly layered sound.

Liam’s performance as vocalist was characteristically engaging. As per usual, he quickly abandoned the stage to bring a physical element to their act, sharing the microphone and joining the mosh.

Next I got on stage with my bandmates, and played our second live In Her Palms show. We performed a number of our newly-written songs, as well as a cover of ‘Icehead’ by Alex G. While I won’t try to talk about what it was like from on the stage, Liam said that our performance was emotionally moving, which meant a lot <3

I had to leave right after playing, so I wasn’t able to see the other 3 bands on the lineup perform. From what I heard, blackbird’s genre-bending emocore/metalcore performance was “AMAZING” and their breakdowns “weresooo heavy” and “crabcore-dance-able”. Thank you Zi for your enthusiastic field reporting!

I also sadly missed sets from screamo band Balmoral and post-hardcore group Indented. I've had Indented's new EP, The Day That It Broke, on repeat since it came out at the start of the year, so I was particularly disappointed about this. Hopefully I’ll get to see all of these bands live one day.

Thanks so much to everyone who was involved in organising, hosting, playing, and coming to support this show and the cause that it represented. Music scenes like this one can build a shared community, and offer a place of support to those in need. Everybody's contributions matter so much! A particular thank you to @cohen.salnitro, who has once again created some montages of several bands' sets from the evening. Watch his videos here:

Street Carp
Chromatin
In Her Palms
blackbird
Indented

photos from the night (click to expand)

photo credits:
@eryns.photo.diary on instagram
@mart1ncheck
@cohen.salnitro