GalleryDitch This MagazineDecember 05, 2025gallery, live, melbourne, forum melbourne, Snarky Puppy, The Goods, Gallery, Bluesfest

Refused + Delivery @ Northcote Theatre 04-12-25

GalleryDitch This MagazineDecember 05, 2025gallery, live, melbourne, forum melbourne, Snarky Puppy, The Goods, Gallery, Bluesfest

photos: Lucas Packett @lucas_packett_photography

Swedish hardcore icons Refused returned to Melbourne for a Good Things Festival sideshow that turned the Northcote Theatre into a pressure cooker on 4 December. Supported by Melbourne post-punk outfit Delivery & Baby Mullet, the night was a tight, charged celebration of noise, politics, and the joy of live music.

Delivery opened with an impressively sharp set, leaning into their wiry rhythms and deadpan vocal delivery. Their songs—equal parts nervy and hook-laden—filled the room with an anxious electricity that proved the perfect appetiser for the chaos to come. Delivery commanded the stage with confidence, winning over early attendees through sheer precision and charisma.

When Refused emerged, the energy flipped instantly from simmer to boil. Dennis Lyxzén, endlessly athletic and charismatic, bounded across the stage like a man possessed, his voice as urgent as ever. The band tore through a set that balanced fan favourites with deeper cuts, all delivered with a surgical ferocity. “New Noise” arrived mid-set and detonated the room, sending the floor heaving as the entire crowd shouted back every word. But just as striking were performances of newer material, which blended seamlessly with the classics and reaffirmed Refused’s continuing relevance.

The Northcote Theatre proved an ideal venue—intimate enough to feel volatile, big enough to let the sound breathe. The mix was punchy without being abrasive, allowing the band’s trademark sharpness to shine. What stood out most was the sense of purpose: between songs, Lyxzén’s commentary touched on solidarity, resistance, and the communal power of live music, echoing themes that have defined Refused since the ’90s.

By the end of the night, the crowd spilled out into High Street sweaty, breathless, and buzzing. This was not just a sideshow—it was a reminder of how electrifying Refused remain, decades into their evolution.