Brisbane's Cheesiest Band... or its worst?: The Pizzas Review

The LayMusic’s mission is to promote Australian bands and singers. We listen to their music, attend their gigs, then write about them with a positive point-of-view to encourage others to give them a listen and buy a ticket next time they come around. So far, this has been an easy enough task; most bands are made up of beautiful human beings with a passion for what they do and a dedication to their music and their supporters. It’s hard not to sing from the rooftops of our admiration for these acts.

Admittedly, most of the concerts I go to are for acts I already know and love. In order to be a fairer reviewer, it’s important to seek out new artists and give them a fair go as well. That’s why I decided to get a ticket to a small Brisbane act called The Pizzas. The band is shrouded in controversy already, stemming from a feud between local legends and labelmates Ball Park Music. But I tried to withhold judgement as I stepped inside the darkened hanger of The Triffid to see The Pizzas for the first time.

This is what happened at The Pizzas’ Sorry About Everything Baby: Unlucky Christmas Show at The Triffid on December 13th, 2024.

Blue Diner

It’s not often that I go to a show where I know the support artist better than the main act, but seeing Blue Diner added on as the opening act was a great relief. At least I know there’ll be some music I like tonight, I thought, glad to revisit the ‘quiet loud’ sound I heard previously at Fortitude Valley’s Black Bear Lodge and the now-closed Stranded Bar. This was the biggest stage I’d seen Blue Diner take to and probably the best I’ve seen them perform as well! Their confidence was infectious and their music was tight and polished, taking hold of the crowd with their headbanging indie rock energy. This show cemented me as a Blue Diner fan and I’m closely eying their socials now for the chance to see them at some headline shows in 2025 (fingers crossed!).

Singers Rosa Chen and Jarren Abraham took the right of the stage, centring the instrumentals around their reflective vocal performances that connected really well across the crowd. The two seemed comfortable and free to have fun rocking out on stage during the hard-hitting blasts of music that each song builds up to. On the left of the stage were Jack Lestone, who tore up the stage, and drummer Tim Johnson. I found that Johnson’s drumming best encapsulated the quiet-loud sound, often becoming the focal point of the group in the soft moments to build up each song’s explosive rock sections, providing a contrast between the levels of volume that the band does so well exploring and synthesising as a whole. Follow them on Instagram to keep up with their 2025 dates: @bluedinergonefishing.

Fave song: Mezzanine (still!)

The Pizzas

I didn’t realise the reception The Pizzas would get when they took to the stage. Although their labelmates, Ball Park Music, were contractually obliged to promote The Pizzas’ show they couldn’t refrain from being honest about their ill-standing with the lesser-known band. It seems many loyal Ball Park Music fans attended the show, purely to make a statement: The Pizzas were not welcome in Brisbane. As they took the stage, the crowd booed and hurled insults: “No more songs!” a woman yelled, even as the band took up their instruments for the first time. “Practice!” called a man near the front. Multiple birds were flipped, but not just from the crowd.

I imagine it’s difficult to perform to a crowd of all your worst detractors and greatest critics. But there’s a way of managing the audience backlash and, I have to say, it doesn’t speak to the professionalism of the band that they were just as rude and insulting to their ‘audience’. Lead singer, Tony Pepperoni, gave as good as he got, constantly telling the audience to “Shut the f*** up!” so he could start the song. He led by example, as his bandmates were similarly immature and brutally honest in broadcasting their disdain for the crowd. Pepperoni took it upon himself to explain the animosity for any newcomers, alleging that it was Ball Park Music who had stolen their look, sound and crowd in the early days and not the other way around! They then preceded to play a set entirely consisting of Ball Park Music hits, so I’m not sure how valid those claims of copyright infringement are…

Let it be said that The Park’s songs are mind-blowingly great, no matter who performs them. Although this is best exemplified by Tim Minchin’s cover of Exactly How You Are from Triple J’s Like A Version, it also proved to be the case for The Pizzas. Luckily, they chose a good band to rip-off and their mediocre performing talents were elevated by the fantastic musical arrangements and inspiring lyricism of many of Ball Park Music’s hits, including Everything Is Shit Except My Friendship With You, Struggle Street, and I Feel Nothing. But Ball Park Music wasn’t the only artist they stole from, with a rock cover of Dean Martin’s That’s Amore serving as a pretty decent opening song from the band. They also contributed one original song, listed as Xmas on their set list, which is arguably the best modern Christmas song in the last ten years… and also arguably the worst.

In an effort to appease their not-fans, The Pizzas did do the tremendous act of shouting dinner. Though they may have underestimated the quantity of food needed for a venue that packs 800 and also the amount of time Pizza Hut would take to complete a standard size order, the band did arrange for the delivery of ten pizzas and ten garlic breads during the show, frisbeeing them out to the crowd who was grateful to have something good at last. Of course, half the crowd further cemented themselves as enemies of the band due to their vocal criticism of Dominos, but this is a music review blog so we won’t go any further on that!

I was hoping for a great end of my concerting adventures for 2024, perhaps a little glimpse of all the live music glory that might be in store for me in 2025 as well. Instead, I got The Pizzas.

Fave song: It’s pretty slim pickings here but… I guess the Christmas one.

Sounds Good?

Haha… no it doesn’t.

But chuck Blue Diner a follow on their socials and check out Ball Park Music’s latest single, Like Love. There's something that'll make you feel better!