ZEBRAHEAD – MAX WATTS – MELBOURNE – 10.10.2025
Review and photos by Craig Eriksson.
It’s been 7 long years since Zebrahead last played in Australia and last night at Max Watts in Melbourne they played a killer show that had fans running circle pits all night, which left participants saturated to the core.
Hailing from California, Zebrahead formed almost 30 years ago back in 1996 in a time where there were several iconic punk bands coming out of California during the 90’s such as The Offspring, Blink-182 and Alien Ant Farm. Zebrahead are far more than just a punk band, they are a pop-punk powerhouse. Their music is a mix of punk rock, rapcore, alternative metal and hard rock. This combination of genres works incredibly well and results in a diverse, upbeat and entertaining show. The dual vocals of Ali Tabatabaee and Adrian Estrella work brilliantly, bringing the right amount of energy to their gigs and separates them from other punk bands I’ve seen.
The crowd went bonkers when Zebrahead emerged on stage and completely tore it up with fast-paced riffage and drumming along with catchy vocal contributions by both vocalists on WHEN BOTH SIDES SUCK, WE’RE ALL WINNERS, a high energy, absolute banger to kick start the show. This song instantly fired up fans and had them running a circle pit and body slamming each other. This intensity remained throughout the entire show.
The chemistry of the rotating dual vocals is a strength of Zebrahead. You have Ali providing the unique rap-punk scream verses and Adrian seamlessly transitions with the clean, melodic, warm tenor vocals creating a dynamic sound that works so smoothly. Lead guitarist Dan Palmer and bass guitarist Ben Osmundson provide strong melodic backing vocals that complete this wall of sound. Then you have drummer Ed Udhus who plays fast and tight with punchy snare backbeats and sloshy hi-hats that add a rhythmic texture, drive and momentum to their songs.
Zebrahead played a couple of tracks from Brain Invaders (2019) including pop-punk anthem WE’RE NOT ALRIGHT. which had the crowd fist punching the air in unison projecting a camaraderie amongst fans. HELLO TOMORROW from MFZB (2003) was a crowd favourite and reminiscent of a Green Day song but with a rap-influence. They also sang RESCUE ME and FALLING APART from MFZB. Many of Zebrahead’s songs are high-energy and fast-paced such as HOMESICK FOR HOPE and LAY ME TO REST from III (2021 EP). This kept the circle pits running chaotically and fans rockin’ out. The funky MIKE DEXTER IS A GOD, MIKE DEXTER IS A ROLE MODEL, MIKE DEXTER IS AN ASSHOLE had the band jovially dancing around the stage. Lead guitarist Dan Palmer stood out with his distinctive look sporting a well-groomed Dali moustache and wearing a newsboy cap. His energy on stage with high star kicks would have impressed David Lee Roth.
Ali had a wonderful connection with the crowd too. He asked for a show of hands who had seen Zebrahead before and about 80% raised their hands. Ali went into the crowd during two songs and had fans run a circle pit around him as he sang. Zebrahead had an onstage bar with a barman and backing vocalist Callum. Ali announced it was Callum’s birthday and invited some fans up on stage for a birthday drink as they launched into DRINK DRINK. Ali also split the crowd in two before commanding fans to then run full pelt at each other like going into battle. This saw fans colliding in a pop-punk wall of death creating full mayhem and madness within the bandroom. It was an unforgettable sight to witness.
Zebrahead belted out 21 songs in just over 1-hour, 20 minutes that incorporated songs from literally all their albums. They threw in a Beastie Boys cover FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT which delighted fans and mashed in BLITZKRIEG BOP by The Ramones in another song. Other faves were WHO BRINGS A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT?, HELL YEAH! and ANTHEM. Ben announced a tradition they have adopted over the years is playing CHECK from their self-titled debut album only in Australia. The band are very quirky and in between songs, there was friendly banter on stage with Ali giving bass guitarist Ben some stick that had the crowd laughing along.
They closed out their show with a 2-song encore consisting of FALLING APART and their biggest hit ALL MY FRIENDS ARE NOBODIES, which had the crowd singing and craving more. The experience of attending a Zebrahead show is delightful chaos, too wild to cage and too loud to ignore.
BAND:
Ali Tabatabaee – lead vocals
Adrian Estrella – lead vocals / rhythm guitar
Dan Palmer – Lead guitar / backing vocals
Ben Osmundson – Bass guitar / backing vocals
Ed Udhus – Drums
SET LIST:
WHEN BOTH SIDES SUCK, WE’RE ALL WINNERS
WE’RE NOT ALRIGHT
HELLO TOMORROW
HOMESICK FOR HOPE
LAY ME TO REST
RESCUE ME
POSTCARDS FROM HELL
THE PERFECT CRIME
NO TOMORROW
MIKE DEXTER IS A GOD, MIKE DEXTER IS A ROLE MODEL, MIKE DEXTER IS AN ASSHOLE
HELL YEAH!
FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT (BEASTIE BOYS COVER)
WHO BRINGS A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT?
DRINK DRINK
SINK LIKE A STONE
WORSE THAN THIS
CHECK
CALL YOUR FRIENDS
ANTHEM
Encore:
FALLING APART
ALL MY FRIENDS ARE NOBODIES