This will be a heap of fun!! Punk Rock Factory are back in Australia to give us a night of punked up tunes we all know, love, grew up with, and can now relive in a very different way. I’ve never seen them before so I’m looking forward to it.
Oh man, the Vengabus is coming and a room full of black T-shirts is getting way too into it before the band even hit the stage. As the band stop the bus, they hit straight into the most aggressive version of ‘Boom Shake The Room’ you’ll ever hear. This is going to be loud and interesting. We head into the Disney catalogue with ‘Friend Like Me’ and this cracks me up it’s just truly punk and they lapped it up. Here’s a version of a song I never knew I needed but am so very happy with… It’s ’Mama Mia’ and it’s delightful, and that breakdown was insane. As the guys have some fun banter, they get the crowd chuckling along before diving into ‘Under The Sea’ which is perfect. How can you not enjoy this?! This is great, and complete with a massive guitar solo made this one a stand out.
OK so I loved this song when it came out, not ashamed to admit it either. B*Witched released a banger with ‘C’est La Vie’ and tonight it gets the punk rock factory treatment. This is so damn good and the mini mosh on the floor was great to see too. Oh wow it’s the TMNT theme and what a choice, that suits this style so much followed by the quickest song ever the SpongeBob theme that rocks out before the stage is lit in red and they head off before the into to ‘Thriller’ begins and they return in masks and Peej in the signature jacket. This song already rocked before but it rocks even harder tonight. A huge breakdown closes the song out, and as we all start clapping to set up ‘You’re Welcome’ and getting a couple of people up on stage to do the Maui rap was hilarious. In the battle between Miller and Britney, Miller took the win. Then as they kick in to smash out the rest of the song that was so damn good and reminds me I need to watch Moana.
We sing a big happy birthday to Jay before an amazing punk version of ‘Down Under’ by Men at Work and a discussion about how many Aussie songs is too many, they throw in the ‘Bluey’ theme and in the 30 seconds it took it was just gold. I love how this set goes from songs like that to now a rocked up version of ‘Back For Good’ by Take That and this really lends itself to this style. I’d listen to this often. With a new album out, they give us their original Christmas song ‘Slay The Bells’ and it’s straight up punk! I have to say that was really good, and I hope the band do more originals down the road. They’d slay! Ugh can’t believe I just wrote that.
The ‘Pokemon’ theme was outstanding and proves how hard that song actually goes. What a banger. From one banger to another and with a “Go go Power Rangers” and some shredding this theme is outstanding. OK speaking of outstanding they tackle ‘You’re The Voice’ and this unofficial national anthem will get any Aussie crowd going! That was great. Putting their spin on ‘Life is a Highway’ was also perfect. This really is a fun night and this is a great band. Closing the set with ‘How Far I’ll Go’ again from Moana was cool before leaving the stage but we’ll know they’ll be back as we haven’t been to Arandelle yet!!
Peej returns to the stage and bathed in blue starts ‘Let it Go’ and here we go. That beautiful intro led into the band joining him to absolutely belt this one out. It was the only way this show could end and you could honestly see how happy everyone was at the end of the show as the lights came up. Tonight was an escape, 90 minutes to just pardon the pun, let go, and just enjoy something different.
I was right at the start! That was fun!! Go and see this band if they come your way!!
Check out our interview with Peej and Stead here!!
Essential Information
Venue: Crowbar, Sydney
Date: November 22, 2025
Presented by: thephoenix.au
Website: http://www.punkrockfactory.com
Set List:
Boom Shake The Room
Friend Like Me
Mama Mia
Under The Sea
C’est La Vie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
SpongeBob
Thriller
You’re Welcome
Down Under
Bluey
Back For Good
Slay The Bells
Pokemon
Power Rangers
You’re The Voice
Life is a Highway
How Far I’ll Go
Let It Go
