Brisbane is the kind of place that revels in the fact that, over the years, it has given birth to some amazingly talented bands and tonight the prodigal sons have returned. Regurgitator are back to remind the fair folk of this city exactly how SuperHappyFun they are and to celebrate playing in the town where it all began. Joining in on the celebrations are Melbourne’s experimental punk trio Ouch My Face and local pop-garage scallywags Cannon.

Cannon start things off at 8:15 sharp. A local five-piece band notorious for their inability to separate playing and partying on stage, they’ve built a steady reputation so far, but tonight’s crowd seems unfamiliar with their onstage antics. Aside from a loyal following of friends and fellow party go-ers up front, most of the audience are leaving some distance, staying towards the back of The Zoo.

Frontman Callan Murray performs each song with an urgency which suits their short, sharp nature, and his infectious energy extends itself out across the rest of the band. Meanwhile, the jagged bounciness of the tracks is controlled by drummer Chloe Baxter, who maintains the coherence and pace of the set with genuine focus. After thirty-five minutes and seventeen songs though, the audience seems unresponsive and the excitement of the band hasn’t quite reached the crowd.

As Ouch My Face prepare their gear on stage, people roll in from every direction. There’s an excited buzz amongst the growing audience, as if they know something incredible is going to happen, but the Melbourne trio seem calm and collected as they mumble some last minute plans to each other. Moments later, fingers find guitars and the heavy post-punk experimental tsunami begins.

Celeste Potter, on vocals and guitar, is in full force tonight, screaming each song with such conviction that the audience has both fear and admiration in their eyes. She’s like a pint-sized nuclear warhead, oozing attitude and intensity like a less sultry, but fiercer, Karen O. Accompanied by Ben Wundersitz on drums and new member Ben Ely (pulling double duties tonight) on bass, the set is a loud, raucous explosion of heavy guitar and pounding drums. As the energy peaks and the set comes to a close, the hype in The Zoo is palpable as everyone rubs their overworked necks and reflects on the mind-blowing performance they just experienced.

After a fairly lengthy break, Regurgitator spring into action, welcomed by the army of enraptured fans that now throng the stage, eager to catch their hometown heroes’ return. Quan Yeomans (vocals, guitar), Ben Ely (bass, vocals) and Peter Kostic (drums) don’t mess around as they leap straight into ‘Blood and Spunk’ from their sixth album ‘Love and Paranoia’; the perfect upbeat start.

It’s a varied set tonight, showing off their extensive back catalogue and encompassing everything from the tongue-in-cheek hiphop of ‘Track 1’ (from 1995s self-titled ep) to the “mid-paced rock” (Quan’s words) of recent track ‘No Show’. The crowd is lapping it up, singing along to every song and thrashing about madly on every up-tempo track, which is most of them. It’s the humour-laced tracks like ‘Sucked a Lot of Cock’ and ‘I Will Lick Your Arsehole’ which sees the biggest response and these filthy, decade-old, songs prove strangely timeless.

The band may have been going for 17 years now, but these guys perform onstage as if they had an elixir of life and age was never a factor. Quan jumps around like a 10 year-old, high on red cordial, and spreads his contagious energy with the crowd. He’s clearly impressed by their response in turn and the initially perfunctory “it’s good to be home”s soon seem completely genuine, particularly when he suddenly realises it’s a Sunday night.

By the time the encore rolls around and we’re treated to ‘Black Bugs’ and ‘The Song Formerly Known As’ there isn't a straight face in The Zoo. Each person is starry eyed and giddy, reminiscing about the special times they've shared with this pop electro and hip-hop inspired music, the soundtrack to countless Brisbane parties for many years to come.

Words by Em Wade, photos by Sky Kirkham