Phantastic Ferniture, supported by Juice Webster | Tivoli in the Round
Images supplied by BrisFest
The Tivoli has always been a jewel in Brisbane’s live music scene, but its In the Round program offers something different from the standard theatre set-up. By placing artists at the centre of the venue with the audience encircling them on the ground or balcony level.
The concept isn’t entirely new to Brisbane—venues like The Zoo, the Old Museum and Brisbane Festival pop-ups have experimented with variations of the “in the round” idea—but The Tivoli has made it a signature. Over the past seasons, the program has welcomed a diverse range of artists including Angie McMahon, Paul Dempsey, Caiti Baker, Emily Wurramara, and Boy & Bear, all of whom have contributed to cementing its reputation as one of the most immersive and adventurous live music series in the city. The line-up of 360 degree sonic experiences this year included Brisbane pop favourite, Mallrat (Friday 5 September); Julia Jacklin's garage pop project, Phantastic Ferniture (Tuesday 9 September); Australian blues artist,C W Stoneking (Wednesday 10 September); Scottish techno producer, Franck (Friday 12 September); and electronic music artist, Odd Mob, (Saturday 13 September).
I attended the Tivoli in the Round event featuring Phantastic Ferntiture. The night opened with Melbourne songwriter Juice Webster, whose set unfolded like a slow exhale. Webster’s voice—silky, plaintive, and laced with melancholy—carried across dreamy guitars washed in chorus and delay. Songs like Without You felt like a tide lapping at the shore: understated but insistent, each note arriving with emotional weight. When she shifted into Headaches, the mood darkened; the restrained textures gave way to heavier drums, sharp bass twangs, and a cathartic lift in volume that hinted at grunge influences. Her ability to hold a consistent tonal palette while gently shaping mood gave the audience space to sink into her world. In the round, every vocal nuance and reverb-soaked chord wrapped around the room, magnifying her introspection.
Phantastic Ferniture. Image supplied by BrisFest.
Then came the night’s headliner: Phantastic Ferniture, returning after a long hiatus with a performance that was nothing short of euphoric. Fronted by Julia Jacklin with Elizabeth Hughes and Ryan K Brennan, the trio leapt into their set with a swagger that matched the occasion. From the first crunch of distortion, the energy shifted; the audience pressed closer, ready for the ride.
Their songs unfolded with a balance of grit and groove. Change My Mind swayed between smoky verses and a slick, rolling bassline, while Maybe We Were Never Meant to Be leaned into soaring vocals that yodelled into the higher register, capturing the tension between desire and release. Dark on a Dance Floor turned the room into exactly that—a pounding, bass-driven celebration that had the crowd moving in unison.
The highlights, unsurprisingly, came with their cult favourites. Take It Off shimmered with its carefree confidence, building from jangly restraint into a pulsing, irresistible chorus. Fuckin’ and Rollin’ was pure ‘yes’: distortion heavy, bass-driven, and delivered with a grin that dared the audience to shout along. The round setting heightened the impact, the music didn’t just fill the space—it spiralled through it, the interplay of reverberant drums, chorus-soaked guitars, and pulsing basslines creating a sonic whirlpool.
Phantastic Ferniture offered more than nostalgia for their debut album. Their return showed a band unafraid of looseness, thriving on spontaneity and the joy of live imperfection. Their songs and Jacklin’s voice, so much better live, were playful, primal, and defiant.
More than just a concert series, the ‘in the round’ program continues a tradition of reimagining how live music is staged in Brisbane. It transforms a historic theatre into a circle of connection.
The 2025 Tivoli in the Round concerts ran as part of the 2025 Brisbane Festival from 5-13 September 2025.
