LIVE REVIEW:

The Buoys, Oscar the Wild & Sunburn

Altar Bar, Hobart

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Words and photos by Annette Geneva (@annettegeneva.jpeg)

The Buoys roll into Hobart to kick off their Concrete Cowboy Tour, bringing a new drummer, a stack of new songs and the sort of guitar-driven set that reminds you why hearing a band live will always beat listening through your phone speakers. With Adelaide’s Oscar the Wild and local newcomers Sunburn on the bill, there are plenty of reasons to get there before the headliners.

Opening the night are Sunburn, a local band still finding their feet, reportedly only a few shows into their existence. There’s something particularly fun about catching a band this early in their career. The edges are still a little rough, the confidence is coming together in real time, and you get the feeling you’re watching the beginning of something rather than a finished product. Their set leans heavily on covers, including Blur’s 'Beetlebum', The Lumineers’ 'Angela' and Pixies’ 'Here Comes Your Man'. It’s an eclectic little playlist, but one that gives you a decent idea of the music floating around in their collective heads. The originals are where I’m most interested, though. Sunburn bring plenty of energy and enthusiasm, and they look like a band having a genuinely good time up there. Are they a perfectly polished live act just yet? No. But that’s hardly the point. They’ve got time to work on the rough edges, and getting a spot on a touring bill like this is a pretty great way to start building an audience. Consider me interested to see what they do next.

Adelaide’s Oscar the Wild follow, and I suspect a few people who come along specifically for The Buoys leave with a new band to add to their playlists. The songwriting is immediately catchy, with melodies that get under your skin without requiring a second listen to figure out what’s going on. 'Kiss Me Aphrodite' is the standout for me. There’s a theatricality to a title like that, and the song delivers on the promise, landing somewhere between irresistible earworm and indie-rock singalong. Oscar the Wild are a great fit for the bill, bringing enough personality and hooks to hold the room rather than simply warming it up. The set has that lovely support-band quality of making you wonder why you haven’t already heard of them.

By the time The Buoys take the stage, Altar Bar is ready for them. The Sydney four-piece kick off the Concrete Cowboy tour in Hobart ahead of the album’s release (on 23 October), and there’s definite excitement in hearing the new material at the very start of its life on the road. There’s a new face behind the drum kit, too, with a new drummer joining the live line-up. The Buoys have built their reputation on big guitars, sharp songwriting and lyrics that don’t shy away from the uncomfortable bits. That combination still does the heavy lifting live. The guitars are sharp, the rhythms keep everything moving, and the songs carry the emotional directness that makes a room full of strangers feel briefly united in whatever they’re yelling along to.

The set opens up the Concrete Cowboy era with newer material including the not-yet-released 'Give or Take' and 'Welcome to My Brain', setting the tone for a night that looks forward without abandoning the songs that get everyone into the room. My favourite, 'Ahead of Myself', continues that thread, giving the crowd an early taste of the record before it officially lands. There’s something particularly satisfying about hearing an album’s worth of new material in a live setting before you’ve had the chance to attach it to a particular memory or play the chorus into oblivion.

'Linda' and 'Bad Habit' add to the mix, while 'Check Mate' and 'Up to Date on Politics' bring further character to a set that moves between the new material and the band’s familiar tunes. The balance works. The newer songs don’t feel like obligatory stops on the way to the older favourites, and the established tracks give the set those welcome moments of recognition when the crowd can meet the band halfway. It’s a good position for a band to be in on the opening night of a tour: enough familiar material to keep everyone invested, with a fresh batch of songs ready to take on a life of their own.

An unreleased song adds another point of interest. There’s always a particular thrill in hearing something before it has a title you recognise, before the studio version has settled into your listening habits, when the song still belongs entirely to the room. It’s a reminder that even with a new record about to arrive, The Buoys are still a band in motion. The Concrete Cowboy era feels like a continuation rather than a reinvention. The punchy guitar work and emotionally candid writing remain at the centre, but there’s a fresh collection of songs to carry that sound forward. The set offers both sides of that equation: the comfort of the favourites and the curiosity of hearing where things might go next.

What makes the night work is the full bill. Sunburn get an opportunity to introduce themselves to a bigger audience, Oscar the Wild deliver a set full of memorable hooks, and The Buoys give Hobart the opening night of a new tour. It’s easy to treat support acts as the warm-up before the name printed in the biggest font on the poster, but nights like this are a good reminder that a gig can be about discovering who’s coming up as much as celebrating who’s already here. Sunburn have room to grow, Oscar the Wild make their case for a return visit, and The Buoys have a new record about to hit the world.

Three bands, one very good Wednesday night, and a few more names to add to the rotation.

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