Regurgitator @ The Marlin, 13th Feb ’26

Friday night at the The Marlin Hotel had that familiar buzz before the main act had even started — the kind that tells you the room is packed with people who came specifically for the music. On the South Coast that usually means two things: a crowd that knows their stuff and a night that turns into more of a party than a typical gig. With Regurgitator on the bill, that outcome always felt inevitable.

Support came from Media Puzzle, who deserve serious credit just for showing up with the energy they did. The band had driven 13 hours from Lismore to get to Ulladulla, no small effort at the best of times, let alone with fuel prices currently climbing thanks to the tensions surrounding the Iran conflict. If the road trip had taken anything out of them, you wouldn’t have known it. Their set was tight, punchy and confident, the kind of performance that quickly gets a room engaged without trying too hard. By the time they wrapped up, the crowd was properly warmed up and clearly ready for the main event.

When the ‘Gurge hit the stage the vibe shifted instantly from “good gig” to full-blown party. From the opening run through “I Sucked a Lot of Cock to Get Where I Am,” “Bong in My Eye,” “One Day,” and “This is Not a Pop Song,” the crowd was already shouting back every word. It didn’t take long for the sing-along moments to start stacking up, especially when “Polyester Girl” dropped and the whole room seemed to bounce in unison.

What really made the set work though was the balance of the song selection. Classic tracks like “Blubber Boy,” “Kong Foo Sing,” and “Like It Like That” kept the nostalgia factor high, while deeper cuts such as “Mountains,” “Fat Cop,” “Cocaine Runaway,” and “Epic” kept things unpredictable.

The band moved comfortably between eras, throwing in everything from “Modern Life” and “Tsunami” to “All Fake Everything” and “Happiness,” before closing out with a wild run including “I Wanna Be a Nudist,” “I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff,” “Blood and Spunk,” “Black Bugs,” and “! (The Song Formerly Known As).”

One of the standout moments of the night came when Quan Yeomans jumped down into the crowd for a singalong, turning the middle of the room into an impromptu stage. It’s the kind of move that instantly collapses the gap between band and audience, and the crowd absolutely loved it. Earlier he’d also thrown in a cheeky snippet of Sweet Child o’ Mine, not the full track, just a playful tease, but it was enough to get a wave of laughter and recognition through the room before the band steered things back into their own catalogue.

The crowd itself deserves a mention too. It was enthusiastic but chilled, which is something the South Coast tends to get just right. Plenty of dancing, plenty of singing, but none of the pushy chaos you sometimes see at bigger city shows. It felt more like a shared celebration than a performance people were passively watching.

If anything, the whole night just reinforced why gigs like this work so well outside the big cities. Between Media Puzzle’s heroic road trip effort and a perfectly tuned Regurgitator setlist designed to keep the party rolling, the show felt less like a tour stop and more like a celebration with a few hundred friends who all happened to know the same songs. On the South Coast, when the band brings the right songs and the crowd brings the right energy, it’s almost impossible for the night not to turn into something special.

Full galleries: Media Puzzle | Regurgitator

Photos: BJWOK