Live Music Review: Pond Brings the Fuzz to Mohawk, Then Kevin Parker Crashes the Encore

September 17, 2026 Case Cockrell 97 Views Australian psych rock, Bella Martinez, concert review, Grocery Bag, GUM, Jay Watson, Jimmy Mercado, Kevin Parker, Levitation Festival, Mink Mussel Creek, Mohawk Austin, Nick Allbrook, Pond, Tame Impala, Terrestrials

There’s something in the water in Perth, Australia, maybe the whole country. Psychedelia runs deep down under, and a wave of bands has carried it around the world to fanfare most scenes would kill for: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Tame Impala, and more. Pond, fronted by singer and guitarist Nick Allbrook, belongs to that company. Across a discography that keeps growing, the band has built a worldwide following and a rotating lineup tied to Australian psych royalty. Pond played to a packed-out Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District on Wednesday, September 16, and the crowd turned out to soak it in.

Levitation Festival wrapped the Sunday before Pond’s Central Texas appearance, and plenty of the crowd still looked worn down from the four-day run. Local psych punk risers Grocery Bag held the sole opening slot for the night. The quartet came out in their usual tight-knit form, slinging mosh-ready tunes to warm the room up for Pond. Singer and guitarist Bella Martinez could be seen in the photo pit at Levitation all weekend as well, and splitting time on both sides of the stage has made her a mainstay in the Austin scene. Drummer Jimmy Mercado sharpens with every run of shows, hitting with the same force as Osees or past tourmates Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.

Pond took the stage in a punctual manner at 9 p.m., and as this was a Wednesday evening show on Red River, outdoor music had to be wrapped by 10:30 p.m. due to the residences in the immediate area. There was no time to waste. Frontman Allbrook brings immense energy to the stage, donning a Jagger-esque presence that runs from the fashion sense to stadium-ready vocal cords, commanding a crowd fully locked into the world of Pond. The group recently released its 11th studio full-length, Terrestrials, a notable departure from their usual psych-whirlpool sound, leaning instead on post-punk influences, with Allbrook taking a more IDLES-esque approach and a delivery that’s both political, emotional, and laced with utmost charisma.

The instrumentalists that back Pond all have stacked resumes of their own, starting with drummer and synth player Jay Watson, who tours with Tame Impala and records under his own GUM moniker, an outlet that’s released close to ten studio albums, including a collaborative effort with Ambrose Kenny-Smith of King Gizzard. The lineup also includes Joe “Shiny Joe” Ryan, who works Tame Impala’s live crew as well. Watson manned the drums for a big chunk of the set before switching to synths, with Ryan taking over on drums in his place. These Aussie musicians all seem to play a little bit of everything.

The night’s setlist ran through Pond’s prolific history, heavy on the new record but padded with fan favorites from The Weather, 9, and Hobo Rocket. Then came the magic of the night: an encore drumming sit-in from the Tame Impala mastermind himself (and one of Pond’s original drummers), Kevin Parker. Currently on tour with his band, he had a gig scheduled for Dallas the next day and decided to stop by and see his homies. The song was a surprise too, a deep pull from Parker’s original outfit with Allbrook and Ryan, Mink Mussel Creek: “Makeout Party Girls.” The crowd reaction was beyond ecstatic. Since Parker is now an arena-drawing artist, seeing him up close can be a live rarity. (Tame Impala tickets are pushing $300 these days.) It was a full-circle moment for the Australian psych scene, and there couldn’t have been a better way to send off the night in the Red River Cultural District.