Jinjer - Gig Review & Photo Gallery February 25th @ Festival Hall, Melb VIC

Jinjer
Festival Hall, Melbourne VIC
February 25th, 2025
Support: Kittie 

‍It was standing room only but pleasantly surprised at how packed it was before the opener, Canadian band Kittie, hit the stage at 8pm. It’s been 13 years since Kittie was last here for Soundwave Festival and fans have been waiting patiently.

There’s a decent roar when they open with ‘Fire’, led by Morgan Lander’s inspiring growls. The crowd came to life for ‘Spit’, with the bass player, Ivy Jenkins, calling for jumping and the fans rising to the occasion. They kept that enthusiasm for new tracks like ‘Eyes Wide Open’, with Mercedes Lander drumming and adding growls to the chorus. I haven’t seen too many drummers hitting double kicks while doing clean backing vocals but she did it on ‘We Are Shadows’. Many in the crowd came for ‘Brackish’ and they weren’t disappointed when the riff kicked in and it was 2000 all over again. Whilst ‘Brackish’ is a throwback to another era, ‘We Are The Lamb’ is a ferocious closer with a ripping guitar solo.

When I reviewed Fire, I called it the most surprising release of the year because it was so heavy and enjoyable but clearly that was on me - the reception to this career spanning set was nothing but positive. 

‍Jinjer have been one of those bands that has relentlessly toured since they first broke out of Ukraine, pausing only for the pandemic and Russia's initial invasion of their homeland. We’ve been fortunate to have them pop down under regularly, even recording Alive in Melbourne here in 2019, and anticipation was high for the biggest Australian venues they’ve headlined. I deliberately positioned myself to the right hand side of the stage so I have a full view of bass player Eugene Abdukhanov, whose work with a five-string needs to be seen up close. They took the stage with grace that was immediately upended by a blitzing duo of early songs ‘Just Another’ and the blastbeats of ‘Sit Stay Roll Over’. Tatiana Shmayluk called out the handsome boys in the pit to show their moves, who obliged the lady’s request on Micro EP singalong ‘Teacher, Teacher’. She has a dance style that draws on headbanging and hip hop hand movements plus a lot of swaying hips but paused to ask the crowd: “Do you like hardcore?” The band kicked into the new anthem ‘Fast Draw’. 

Four songs in and they’ve proved there’s few things they can’t do live. Oh and then they dropped ‘Green Serpent’, with its moody alternative opening verse and bass outro a counterpoint to the sheer aggression of the first part of the set. While other bands open up circle pits and displays of machismo, Jinjer fans move and sway, headbang even, to the song’s complicated structures and changes. Many are entranced by the band as a whole, the rhythms and riffs convey a heaviness that’s no less precise than other prog bands but drips with humanity rather than mechanics. They shout out their homeland on deep cut ‘Retrospection’ with its Ukrainian language opening. It’s no easy feat matching Tati’s vocal range but she gives the audience their chance on crowd favourite ‘On The Top’. They’ve brought the songs to life for the bigger stage. Both ‘Duél’ and ‘Kafka’ are accompanied by animations that add to each song’s burning intensity. It’s here that the boys in the band shine bright, alongside Tati who remains an absolute star. The control they have over a proggier song like ‘I Speak Astronomy’ reverberates throughout the crowd who are captivated by the performance.

The final portion of the set combined new and old songs, with the largely clean singing on ‘Someone’s Daughter’ dedicated to “all the beautiful ladies in the room”. She has a real connection with the crowd, smiling, waving and winking, acknowledging our presence with enthusiasm. It's a tricky balance that she manages effortlessly when they switch to faster songs such as ‘Copycat’ and ‘Perennial’. 

They left the crowd begging for more after ‘Rogue’ ended the main set, and they obliged with the now classic ‘Pisces’. It’s a song that early on encapsulated what Jinjer is and can be, and it’s a sensational tune to end on. Perhaps we might get them in an arena next time?

Setlist

Just Another
Sit Stay Roll Over
Teacher, Teacher!
Fast Draw
Green Serpent
Retrospection
On the Top
Duél
I Speak Astronomy
Someone's Daughter
Kafka
Copycat
Perennial
Rogue

Encore

Pisces

Review by KJ Draven (Instagram & Threads)

Photo Gallery by Clinton Hatfield. Insta: @ampd.agency.
Please credit Wall of Sound and Clinton Hatfield if you repost photos.

The tour continues into Adelaide and Perth - tickets here