Saturday night saw Melbourne’s hard rockers Twelve Foot Ninja kick off their first headline tour of Australia in over 2 years by “blowing out the cobwebs” all the over the delighted faces of the Rosemount’s heaving front row. A practice hit out was hardly required though as the well drilled, super talented musicians never missed a beat.
With little-to-no advertising announcing their inclusion to the line-up, local prog-rock outfit Yalla Yalla opened the night to an appreciative crowd. With TFN’s gear taking up vital real-estate on the small stage, the 3-guitar attack, 6 piece band from Rockingham was forced to get energetic in a dangerously shared space. Swerving, sidestepping and limbo-ing under and around swinging guitar head-stocks, the boys delivered big sounds and a tight set and warmed up the venue as per job description. Mission accomplished.
Perth veterans Voyager took stage to a near packed venue and continued the great start to confidently confirm their place as worthy support on TFN’s Upload Tour. Swirling and driving rhythms, crunching & harmonising guitar work and an impressive vocalist make these guys a must watch for anyone thinking of just coming for the main event. A slight deviation into a metalled-up version of East 17’s ‘It’s Alright’ was fun. Voyager were also made to contain their abundant energy to a tiny space which resulted in the drummer being forced up-front, shoulder to shoulder with the axe-men and I’ve got to say how much I loved this! Experiencing Voyager & Yalla Yalla’s powerful drummer’s up close and personal was a highlight for the senses. Don’t miss.
The last long-weekend in Perth saw six tumbleweeds and a lost hens party the only patrons at an abandoned Rosemount but not tonight. Queues of Twelve Foot Ninja fanatics arrived early and wound out to the carpark representing in all their merch and ninja star tattoos.
A darkened stage welcomed our 5 favourite ninjas onto stage to huge applause. Opening with the epic ‘One Hand Killing’, the boys brutally & forcefully announced their arrival back on the west coast.
Three songs in and the Rosemount was getting hectic to the anthemic ‘Sick’. Crowd control tried to hold back the tide of crowd surfers with little effect. Like TFN hits, the surfers kept coming all night.
What is a curiosity to witness, is the frantic nature of a crowd surfer during the sternum shattering heavier moments of a TFN hard hitter like ‘Collateral’, to suddenly relax and lounge calmly above a chilled mob during an interlude of Latin, Reggae or Caribbean Cruise Liner inspired moments fused into each song! TFN are classic chameleons of genre and effortlessly shape-shift their way through any style that takes their fancy. They say when something looks effortless, it only highlights just how good the tradesman is at his trade, and these boys are master craftsmen.
The unveiling of a brand-new song was greeted with happy approval and a sweet taste of things to come. The obligatory encore was shelved due to the futility of it, and the time better used to toast Yalla Yalla and Voyager, further highlighting the class of these guys. A powerful finale of the bone jarring ‘Invincible’ rounded out a none too shabby “blowing out of the cobwebs”
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Sharon Burgess Photography
TWELVE FOOT NINJA
AUSTRALIAN TOUR MARCH 2019
+ DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL SHOWS
Saturday 2nd March 2019 – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Friday 8th March 2019 – ANU, Canberra
Saturday 9th March 2019 – Download Festival Sydney: Parramatta Park, Sydney
Monday 11th March 2019 – Download Festival Melbourne: Flemington Racecourse, Flemington
Friday 15th March 2019 – Miami Tavern, Gold Coast
Saturday 16th March 2019 – The Valley Drive in, Brisbane
Saturday 23rd March 2019 – The Gov, Adelaide
FOR MORE INFORMATION & ALL TICKETS LINKS, GO TO
TWELVEFOOTNINJA.COM/SHOWS
