Ethereal, romantic, and cathartic – those are the three perfect words to describe Cub Sport’s “Jesus At The Gay Bar Tour”. Every time they play a show, the Brisbane based four-piece always manage to cultivate a safe and inclusive energy that brings together so many people to celebrate queerness, love, and expression, and this tour was their biggest celebration of that to-date off the back of their first #1 ARIA album. 

With a packed out Enmore Theatre ready to show them so much love, the Sydney crowd was bursting with excitement to experience this magical gig. The set design, as always, was grand and lined with LED screens and different levels that saw two drum kits sitting at the top. Bringing the crowd into a visual world of colour and expression, this show intertwined aesthetics with pure musicianship. Opening with “Always Got The Love” and “High For The Summer” they immediately brought fans to the club with thumping beats, angelic vocals and dance floor energy. Declaring they were going to take the audience back to their album “Bats”, they gave fans the favourites “Hawaiian Party” and “Chasin” before jumping forward to one of their most vulnerable and bold tracks, “Confessions”. The whiplash of emotions was intentional and gave you an understanding of the growth and understanding they’d been on over this journey of love and self-discovery. 

Lead vocalist Tim Nelson knows how to make a crowd feel comfortable and confident with themselves through their personal expression on-stage. Encouraging a safe space for everyone, they had people crying during their Like A Version cover of Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over”, and then passionately screaming out the lyrics to the loved-up “Party Pill”, “Best Friend”, “Keep Me Safe” and “Zoom”. As the show headed into the finale territory they brought the dancing to the highest level with “Replay” and “Sometimes”, before sparklers ignited during the emotionally evocative “Come On Mess Me Up”.

There was a euphoria that radiated during the entirety of the show’s duration. It was confident, romantic, and vulnerable, and allowed everyone in that venue to feel free. There was no judgement  in the room, and it was all about the music and the connection we feel to each other, which was a beautiful and powerful thing.  

Cub Sport Australian Tour

Thursday 31 August – Tanks, Cairns

Saturday 2 September – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane

Friday 8 September – The Forum, Melbourne