LIVE REVIEW: Tigers Jaw Bring Chaos To A Sold-Out Crowbar

Tigers Jaw clearly didn’t get the memo that their Sydney show was supposed to be an intimate club gig.

The Pennsylvania emo-rock faves brought their Australian tour to a packed Crowbar on Thursday night (12th November), delivering a set that had punters flying over one another’s heads, security scrambling to keep up and even the band looking a little bewildered by the mayhem unfolding in front of them.

“I can’t believe how crazy the crowd was” – Music Feeds Reviewer Galen Cole

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“I can’t believe how crazy the crowd was,” Music Feeds reviewer Galen Cole reported.

And the energy was already building well before the headliners took the stage.

Local openers Peace Ritual drew what Cole described as the “biggest crowd I’ve seen for an opening act at Crowbar” – an impressive turnout that, in his words, was “well deserved”.

With their debut album due next year, the band made a compelling case for keeping an eye on what comes next.

Fellow supports Garage Sale offered a different kind of experience, their music providing an opportunity to get lost in the moment.

“I found myself just closing my eyes and vibing along,” Cole recalled (a welcome moment of calm before the storm).

When it came time for Tigers Jaw, a red curtain was drawn across the stage, creating a theatrical pause between sets.

Rather than watching the usual changeover unfold, the audience was treated to a proper reveal as the curtain opened to find the band ready to launch into their performance.

It was a small production flourish, but an effective one.

And the crowd wasted absolutely no time making its presence felt.

“People started crowd surfing during the third song,” Cole reported, with the venue soon becoming an absolutely packed, constantly moving sea of bodies.

For all the physical mayhem, though, some of the night’s biggest musical highlights came from Tigers Jaw’s distinctive vocal dynamic.

The interplay between Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins gave the performance a compelling sense of contrast, particularly during ‘Anxious Blade’ and ‘Baptized on a Redwood Drive’.

“I listen to multiple bands that feature a male and a female lead vocalist (it’s more common than you might think), but this is the first time that I’ve seen it live,” Cole explained.

“Which is why ‘Anxious Blade’ followed by ‘Baptized on a Redwood Drive’ was one of the highlights of the night for me.”

And perhaps his most fitting description of the band’s vocal chemistry?

“It kinda feels like you’re getting two bands for the price of one, with enough similarity that there isn’t a feeling of whiplash between the two.”

It’s a balance that has long been central to Tigers Jaw’s appeal, allowing the band to move between different emotional textures while maintaining a recognisable sound.

Meanwhile, the crowd-surfing situation was becoming increasingly ambitious!

“As the night went on, more and more people were crowd surfing,” Cole recalled, including one particularly enthusiastic punter who decided to “front flip off the stage”.

When the fan subsequently returned to the stage, security escorted them out through a side door – a decision that appeared to leave bassist Colin Gorman visibly unimpressed.

According to Cole, Gorman “didn’t look pleased with this and looked around in disbelief”.

Things escalated again during the following song when another crowd-surfer knocked over a mic.

As security moved to remove that fan, Gorman intervened, positioning himself in their path.

“For the rest of the night there was a security guard on stage crouched down helping people turn back around and into the crowd,” Cole observed.

It was an unexpectedly memorable subplot to a performance already overflowing with energy – and a pretty effective illustration of just how enthusiastically Sydney had embraced the band’s return.

Touring Australia for the first time in three years, Tigers Jaw arrived armed with material from their seventh studio album, Lost On You, released earlier this year, alongside favourites from their extensive back catalogue.

The result was a night that demonstrated why the band remain such a beloved force in the emo and alternative rock world: heartfelt songs, an unmistakable musical chemistry and an audience willing to throw themselves into every moment (occasionally quite literally!)

Cole’s verdict?

“Absolutely recommend going and seeing Tigers Jaw live, but you’ll have to wait until the next time they are here in Aus as the whole tour is already sold out.”