Australia’s favourite Swedish musical imports, Millencolin, graced the stage of Brisbane’s Tivoli Theatre for a headline show Monday, ending their Australian tour as part of Good Things Festival 2022.

First up on the bill were Victorian three-piece punk outfit Something Something Explosion, and I couldn’t imagine a better band to kick the night off. Guitarist/vocalist Grace Drummond nearly blew the roof off the venue – her powerfully rich vocal stylings resonating through the crowd, making this reviewer glad he didn’t show up late.

Being a Monday night, the crowd was expectedly thin, but those in attendance responded well to the melodic setlist, most notably the song entitled Burn it Down, from their 2018 EP. The only disappointment was the measly 20 minutes they had on stage.

Next up, playing to a somewhat larger crowd, were Drastic Park, who burst into their set with a captivating fast-paced track resembling something from Blink 182’s Cheshire Cat, before moving through a range of different styles, some more captivating than others. There’s no denying the band are talented, they just need to figure out what direction they’re going in; their overuse of banter between songs was less than amusing and their attempt at soulful ballad-like vocals really missed the mark, but overall they were decent. A special shoutout goes to their drummer – a powerhouse working like a well-oiled machine throughout the entire set.

By the time Millencolin hit the stage, the venue was comfortably full; not quite at capacity but definitely the busiest Monday night they would have seen in a while. These guys have to be the nicest guys in punk rock (sorry Lagwagon) – their humble nature is always a pleasure when watching them live, and throughout tonight’s set I swear they spent longer displaying thanks for their fans than talking about anything else.

I don’t know how they do it, maybe it’s the Swedish air, but this was a 30th anniversary show, and they sounded better than ever. The near flawless sound exuded a musical maturity seldom seen in the punk rock scene, and this did not go un-noticed by the crowd.

As previously mentioned, this tour was a celebration of the band’s 30th anniversary and played out like a greatest hits show with a few recent releases peppered throughout to balance out the set. Hearing the culmination of their back catalogue in the space of an hour really shined a spotlight on the absolute quality of music they have been churning out for the past three decades.

The choice of songs was a well thought out example of all-killer-no-filler, and crowd favourites like No Cigar and Penguins & Polarbears had the entire venue singing along in a united show of appreciation.

Overall, this was undoubtedly one of 2022’s best live shows. To quote Millencolin guitarist Mathias Färm, “Holy makerel, that was intense.”