Twelve Foot Ninja – Gig Review 19th February @ The Zoo, Brisbane QLD
Twelve Foot Ninja
The Zoo (Satan’s Hotel), Brisbane QLD
February 19th, 2017
Support – Humality, Osaka Punch
Sometimes there’s the slim chance the stars will align and you’ll be gifted with the perfect gig. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, Jesus Christ it’s glorious. So it gives me great pleasure to declare the sold out Twelve Foot Ninja show at the new and “improved” Zoo to be one of those amazing, star aligning nights.
Beginning with the math-core tones of the wonderfully potent Humality. This band are simply awe-inspiring to witness as they prance about the stage, whipping the crowd into a frenzied mass of flying hair and alcohol fueled mayhem as they rip a hole in the space time continuum with their heavy as fuck riffage. Lead singer (whatever) cuts a particularly ominous figure as he shreds his throat with his monstrous vocal performance. This band is certainly one to watch in the future.
Following on from Humality we have the glorious Osaka Punch who almost top the headliners tonight for the level of energy they ooze onstage. Their show appears effortless as the band brave the unrelenting heat to give Brisbane a performance it deserves. Front man (insert name) is the definition of charisma as employs all-manner of vocal gymnastics over the bands beautiful and eclectic prog compositions. This musicianship is matched by their own traditional Aussie sense of humour as they spray the entire crowd with a water pistols at one point (it was really, really, fucking hot) and also cause everyone to sing and dance to a stirring rendition of the Ghostbusters theme song.
Simply put, everyone should shamelessly plug this band as much as they shamelessly plug their shirts and albums onstage, they fucking deserve it.
Returning to Brisbane to tour their latest masterpiece Outlier the Melbournian legends in Twelve Foot Ninja grab you by the throat from the very first note, choking the life out of you (though, that might have been the lack of air-conditioning) throughout their frantically energetic set. The sounds and presence of each member are a sight to behold as they conquer each and every song with even greater energy than the last.
All the hits are accounted for tonight as old fan favourites such as “Mother Sky” and “Shuriken” turn this overly hot oven, into a barrage of sweat and bodies, as the pit opens up and swallows people whole, only to spit them out, soaked, aching and begging for more. This also applies to the newer songs which are given just as warm a welcome as their older material and fit nicely in the set, adding a more cohesive and overall heavier sound to the mix.
To say this concert had everything would be an understatement as the beginning of the fan-favourite “Coming For You” was stopped so a couple could propose onstage (she said yes) which then proceeded into everyone up on the stage sharing a round of champagne to congratulate the (hopefully) happy pair. Not even missing a beat, they soon gave everyone the song they demanded which saw everything go up another notch on the crazy-as-fuck-gig-of-the-year scale.
Finishing with an encore of the new songs “Sick” and “One Hand Killing” saw the crowd screaming themselves hoarse as they sung every note back like the songs have been around forever. The astronomical riffs in “One Hand Killing” were a particularly highlight as they smashed you in the face in all their glory before leaving you to pick yourself up off the floor.
Hopefully Twelve Foot Ninja will be back sooner rather than later, hopefully they’ll choose a venue which isn’t hotter than a night in bed with Satan. Despite The Zoo being a literal oven, this concert fucking rocked, please go and see this tour if you get a chance.
You won’t regret it!
By Kaydan Howison.
