Bugs HEADNOISE Album Launch: A Celebration of Community, Friendship and the Power of Music
There was a distinctly warm and moving atmosphere within Magandjin’s Crow Bar on Thursday night. A gathering of community, friendship and music to celebrate HEADNOISE, the latest album from Brisbane favourites Bugs, and their final shows together following the news that bassist Jordan Brunoli is entering the final chapter of his life as he navigates terminal cancer.
Across the night, joy, pain and grief sat side by side. It was a celebration, but it was also a goodbye and you could feel the weight of that throughout the room.
Dirty Harry opened the night with a burst of powerful energy, setting the tone for a stellar lineup. Second act SUPERNEW followed with their finely tuned shoegaze-rock set, fresh from a week of multiple BIGSOUND appearances.
Sam Cromack took the stage with Jen Boyce on bass and Tom Myers on drums, immediately acknowledging the honour of being part of such a special evening. His set was filled with familiar Ball Park Music favourites, including Please Don’t Move To Melbourne, alongside songs from their alter ego band, The Pizzas. A call-out to the crowd asking who had a broken heart led into a cover of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game, while local favourite Apartment by Custard brought a vibey rock shift that had the room responding enthusiastically. The set eventually descended into the ultimate battle-of-the-bands moment with Silverchair's Freak, requested as a must-do song by drummer Tom. It was playful, joyful and completely community-driven, a fitting prelude to what was still to come.
By the time the night reached its headlining set, the Crow Bar was packed tightly with people ready to celebrate one of the city's most beloved bands.
Then the black curtains opened.
An audio recording of a squeaky recorder rendition of a classic movie opening filled the room before Connor Brooker's distinct voice cut through with Neighbourhood. The crowd immediately joined in on the chorus.
The boys; Connor Brooker, Jordan Brunoli, and Brock Weston, meant business dressed in suits, adding a serious element to the classic larikin themes that are interwoven within their lyrics. Almost immediately, someone yelled, “We love you, Jords,” prompting one of those small but deeply human moments that would become a defining feature of the entire set.
Bugs moved through Instant Coffee, before the punchy lyrics of Esky Lid and purple lights got everyone moving. There was a playful looseness to the performance, with the essence of the show focusing on fun and connection.
The band was filled with gratitude, shouting out to their guitar tech, Seb, saying it was the first time they'd had one at a show and that they must be “so rich” now - a nod to their humble Brisbane beginnings. Jordan also shared that his sister was having a baby that very evening, pointing towards the beginning of something new while the band themselves were standing in a moment of reflection.
Those human moments made the set.
When Bugs moved into songs from the latest record, beginning with Crystal, showcasing the depth and growth in their songwriting. There was a sense that every detail of this new body of work had been considered carefully, and hearing it live made its cathartic qualities even more apparent. The album feels like music made through a difficult time, and performed live, it carried that weight without ever becoming overwhelmed by it.
I particularly loved the spoken interjections throughout the set. They made everything feel intimate and conversational, as though the audience weren't simply watching a band but were being invited into something deeply personal.
“How good's Jord?”
“How good's Brocky?”
“How good's friends?”
“How good's Connor?”
That has always seemed to be part of what makes Bugs special. This is a band deeply rooted in community, and that energy was everywhere tonight. Brothers first, bandmates second. It was impossible not to feel part of it.
‘Heaven’, Connor’s favourite song from the new album, was a highlight for me. With the message about being on the opposite side of the world and not being able to see each other until an eclipse brings you together. Connor implored us to tell our loved ones that we love them - tearing me up in a big way - and I wasn’t the only one. It finished with an anthemic ending, the wall of sound washing over us and making us feel all the emotions.
Jordan was so stoic in his delivery that it’s the energy of the crowd that keeps him going as he navigates this phase of his life. Playing drums, guitar and bass on the new record, it really shows what huge impact he has within this band and these songs.
Then came Stay With Me.
The crowd swayed and sang along through the pre-chorus, before the music cut out leaving the crowd to sing “stay with me” together. It was one of those live music moments that can't really be replicated anywhere else.
From there, Bugs moved seamlessly into the familiar territory for the end of their set. Their playful, tongue-in-cheek lyrics were delivered with such infectious engagement that the audience soaked up every second.
They asked if anyone in the crowd liked birds, which was (obviously) a huge yes from me and did a shout out to the child star Myles who wrote the viral track Eastern Rosellas - one of my favourite things to come out of the internet this year - before breaking in their own song about birds with red lights coating them in a glow. I love the fun overdubbed voices and bird sounds put into this track. It was actually just so much fun to witness.
An encore was inevitable with the classic “one more song!” Foot stomping. Loud whooping. The room erupting in cheers.
When Connor asked how many people had been to one of their shows before, the response was an emphatic roar. They launched into Seriously, turning the song into one enormous crowd singalong. Watching the trio together, it was obvious how much fun they were still having. Their chemistry was effortless, their delivery playful, and there was a genuine sense of enjoyment being up there together.
They finished with their 2020 Triple J Like A Version cover of Mallrat's Charlie, bringing another wave of nostalgia into an already emotionally loaded evening. Once again, the room sang along.
And that was really what this show was about.
It was more than an album launch. More than a farewell. More than a gig.
We laughed. We cried. We grieved. We celebrated. We held each other.
HEADNOISE arrived in a room full of people who understood that music isn't simply something we listen to. Sometimes it is how we process pain. Sometimes it is how we celebrate the people we love. Sometimes it is how a community reminds us that we aren't alone. For a band whose identity has always been so deeply intertwined with community, Bugs' shows together felt like the perfect culmination.
A room full of friends, brothers, sisters, bandmates and strangers loving the same songs together and holding onto the music, and to each other, for just a little longer.
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