Review: letlive. @ Lion Arts Factory 09/09/25
Cali punk rockers letlive. sent Adelaide into meltdown when they took over Lion Arts Factory as part of the Australian leg of their global reunion tour.
Words & Images Thomas Jackson
letlive. w/Stepson @ Lion Arts Factory 09/09/25
Revolutionary soul punk legends letlive. have reunited for a proper farewell tour to give fans one last chance to experience the most chaotic live show on earth.
It was a shock when the band suddenly broke up in 2017, but last year they took to social media to announce, “We shouldn't have left you without one final dope beat to step to.”
letlive. locked in a series of reunion shows across the US, UK, Europe and Australia, with the quartet at the tail end of their Australian tour and about to raise hell on a Tuesday night at Adelaide’s Lion Arts Factory.
Melodic hardcore act Stepson warms up the timid Tuesday night crowd, making the absolute most of their half-hour set. It's a pinch me moment for the band as vocalist Brock Alan Conry highlights how letlive. were an all-time inspiration for them.
Stepson shines on songs like ‘Deeper Sleep’ that combine fast-paced hardcore staples with a danceable groove-filled bassline. Throughout the set, Conry leads the vocals, but bassist Jayden Ridley and guitarist Nickolas Sean Farr contribute clean and scream additions, giving each song massive depth and variation.
It all connects on the penultimate song, their latest release, ‘Venom’. “It’s the heaviest song we’ve ever written,” says Conry. It’s a ground-shaking anthem that could be a sign of an exciting new era for the band. By the time they finish with ‘Eraser’, it's a rare occasion where the crowd are left wanting more from the support act.
It’s pandemonium from the first note as letlive. dive straight into ‘The Sick, Sick, 6.8 billion’. If there was anyone left not moving after that opener, ‘Renegade 86’’ gets every single person banging their heads. Vocalist Jason Aalon Butler has the cardiovascular endurance of an Olympian as he throws himself around the stage. He’s drenched in sweat by the end of the second song but hasn’t missed a note.
The band do their best to match Butler’s energy with instruments in hand, but he’s at a whole different level. letlive. don't give the audience any time to catch their breath as they charge through ‘The Dope Beat’, ‘Casino Columbus’ and ‘Banshee (Ghost Fame)’.
There’s a small respite during the first half of ‘Muther’, a song that highlights the trademark soul that caused letlive. to coin the term ‘soul punk’, by the end of the song, Butler’s contagious mayhem on stage sends everyone back into a frenzy. It’s a back-to-back onslaught as they go straight into the mantra, ‘Good Mourning, America’. “This song goes out to the circle pit that's about to start in this room,” says Butler as everyone begins to kick up the floor during the final song ‘27 Club’.
They quickly return for an encore, not giving the energy in the room any chance to dissipate with ‘I’ve Learned To Love Myself’. “We should come back to Adelaide… one more time,” Butler teases.
The band are obviously having the time of their lives on stage as Butler beams at the audience with a devilish smile between songs. “Thank you for keeping us in your hearts for this long,” he says as they farewell Adelaide, for perhaps the last time, with ‘Day 54’.
