GalleryDitch This MagazineSeptember 05, 2026gallery, live, melbourne, The Bennies, Young Offenders, Ben Gunzburg, The Ghost Inside, Bleed From Within, Day Of Contempt

Skindred + Future Static + Dregg @ Northcote Theatre 04-09-2026

GalleryDitch This MagazineSeptember 05, 2026gallery, live, melbourne, The Bennies, Young Offenders, Ben Gunzburg, The Ghost Inside, Bleed From Within, Day Of Contempt

photos: Ben Gunzburg @benshootspeople

Welsh Reggae Metal legends Skindred are back in town, so we're heading to the Northcote Theatre to get our groove on and our socks rocked off.

Melbourne locals Dregg open the show and do so with both intensity and finesse. Hard to pin down to one style, they shine in their comfort with this, seamlessly throwing into the mix a healthy dose of bouncy riffs, chuggy breakdowns and two-stepping grooves, with some glitchy and trap undertones sprinkled in for extra weirdness. A great way to start the night and get the crowd ready for more.

Future Static hit the stage next, making it 2 for 2 on the Melbourne front. Another rollercoaster of styles, they ebb and flow through their set, blending a love of progressive metal and heavy breakdowns, alongside soaring melodic leads and a ton of atmosphere.

Lead vocalist Amariah Cook dominates the stage and effortlessly intertwines angelic singing and brutal screams, backed up superbly by bassist Kira Neil for some captivating and haunting vocal tag teaming.

Guitarists Ryan Qualizza and Jack Smith, and drummer Jackson Trudel round out this wall of sound, as the quintet leave us fired up and blown away. Bonus points for throwing in their banging cover or Daddy Yankee's Gasolina.

Skindred have a lot to live up to and certainly rise to the challenge, as they open the proceedings with This Is The Sound and turn things up to 11. Singer Benji Webbe is ferocious, commanding the crowd at every turn while he spits fire and infects us with his energy.

Guitarist Mikey Demus may hide his face behind his signature giant beard, sunglasses and fedora, but there's no hiding his riffs, or from them, for that matter. Churning them out with ease, he keeps us bouncing all set, while Arya Goggin pounds those drums into oblivion and touring bassist Tommy Gleeson brings the low end in style.

Skindred has to be one of the funnest bands around on recordings alone, and they sure as hell bring that onto the stage. The band exude pure joy when playing together and that radiates all the way to the back of this beautiful theatre, engulfing us all.

Navigating their way through their massive 9 album discography, the band mix things up, with old school favourites Pressure and Rat Race sitting chummily alongside tracks new anthem You Got This, and then Kill The Power highlights just how diverse they are.

Along the way, we get pep talks on life, Reggae jams and, of course, an abundance of "Whoops Whoops!" and hands in the air. There's a hell of a lot of love and whimsy in this room and it's lost on neither band nor crowd, as set closer Nobody brings everything to boiling point. Oof!

But wait...

A few moments and a bunch of chanting later...

Benji returns to very politely ask if we'd like another song, as Gimme That Boom shows that both band and crowd have some more left in the tank. Saving the best 'til last, Warning brings the set to a close in fine fashion as Benji has the whole room swinging any accessible item of clothing above our heads for their patented Newport Helicopter dance move. A sight to behold and some much needed ventilation at this point. A grand finale, indeed!

Skindred deal in the crafts of groovy riffs, potent vocals and massive party vibes, and they're masters of all of them. Tonight's party was on fire!