ILLAN KAAPAN
your last words
Chromatin
In Her Palms

Every year in Brunswick, @ampedupfreeza host a free & all ages youth stage at the Sydney Road Street Party. For the 2026 festival, the Tonberang Ngarrga Stage on Weston Street highlighted a collection of local emo-adjacent and hardcore acts from 12:30-5:30. The full lineup of the event included hardcore bands Out Of Spite and Heat, but I had to leave before they played their sets </3

Opening the stage were In Her Palms, a band which I am a part of. It was so cool to play a properly organised event like this on a big stage, and a very different experience to bar or DIY shows.

Thanks to the wonderful sound crew and thorough soundcheck we were allowed, our mixing at this show was perfect.. the best we’ve sounded! Playing this stage was a really great experience, especially thanks to the friendliness of the Amped Up team.

Following our set, southeast screamo five-piece Chromatin took the stage. They sounded clearer than I’ve ever heard them before. Their layered arrangements thrived through the festival’s mixing and speaker setup, each instrument well-defined and cutting through where needed. From in the crowd, it felt like hearing their songs the way they were meant to be heard. This clarity made me realise one thing in particular: the band are more than ready to properly record.

In keeping with typical Chromatin fashion, Liam ONCE AGAIN took his vocals beyond the stage and into the crowd, dancing and performing at ground level. Before we played, Asher and I both agreed that he was going to have a hard time getting down from the elevated stage and doing vocals amidst the mosh.. He proved us wrong once again.

Upcoming Naarm screamo band your last words played what would be their second show ever after Chromatin. As with the other bands, the incredible mixing allowed their intricate songwriting to shine through. Heartfelt and anguished vocals combined with clean and distorted guitars to express deep emotion. The original songs they performed showed great variety in dynamics and sound overall, and reflected an evident love of emo-adjacent music shared by all members.

Consistent with their first show, the band covered ‘To a Husband at War’ by I Hate Myself, during which Paddy joined them on stage to scream and dive into the crowd.

After what felt like a long time, metallic hardcore band ILLAN KAAPAN performed next, and were the last band of the afternoon that I was able to see :( The group’s members were all Sri Lankan immigrants, and their politically charged music intentionally reflected the rage associated with the immigrant experience. Their heavy, full sound was groovy, powerful, and angry above all.

ILLAN KAAPAN commanded a powerful mosh in front of their stage, transforming the earlier push-pit into something more distinctly hardcore, with plenty of two-stepping and some stage dives. Leaving near the end of their set, I enjoyed hearing the sound of hardcore music faintly echoing across the surrounding Brunswick streets.

Although the weather was superrr hot on the afternoon of this show, I really enjoyed seeing emo-adjacent and hardcore bands play in this open, outdoor-stage environment. It was great seeing passers-by stopping to watch parts of these bands’ sets, and for these genres to be given a spotlight by the music festival. Thanks so much to the bands we played with and the people who showed their support by coming along! I would particularly like to thank the wonderful Amped Up crew, you guys were so so lovely to work with <3

photos from the afternoon (click to expand)

photo credits:
@tennace.photography on instagram for in her palms photos