Reviewed onSaturday June 25 (photo by Ashley Mar)
After triggering the fire alarms during a recent Brisbane show, The Jungle Giants were surprised by a different commotion during Saturday’s sold-out Metro Theatre performance – that of an exceptionally rabid crowd. As leading man Sam Hales succinctly put it, “Sydney, you are fucking insane tonight!”
It’s a badge of honour, fellow Sydneysiders. These Brisbane indie rockers know their audiences, having just returned Down Under from extensive overseas touring to promote their second LP, Speakerzoid. For their Sydney fans, it seems distance really did make the collective heart grow fonder – or perhaps less respectfully restrained.
The evening’s fervour begun brewing early, with kudos to a strong cast of homegrown supports. Solo composer Machine Age got things simmering with his mechanical mishmash of chugging riffs, soaring vocals and industrial beats. Ex-Preatures vocalist and guitarist Gideon Bensen upped the ante, embodying ’80s swagger with tight jeans and an even tighter setlist, complete with space-agey sounds, saxophone solos and more yelping than a barefoot dash across the car park in summer. Anticipation reached boiling point when goodtime goofballs The Lulu Raes had the crowd sweating to match their bouncing Britpop-esque tunes.
When the notes of The Jungle Giants’ ‘What Do You Think’ finally resounded, the audience was a shaken Coke bottle ready to blow. Cue the chorus, and kaboom; the mosh liquidised into an undulating mass of boogieing bodies. The momentum continued into ‘Anywhere Else’, where Hales’ falsetto finale was engulfed by the responding roar of the crowd. “Holy shit,” he puffed. “You guys are amazing.”
The frontman had no chance to catch his breath. The Jungle Giants hurtled through a pithy set of new and old favorites embellished with trashcan endings (‘Mr Polite’), raucous keyboard jams (‘Creepy Cool’), peppy flute solos (‘Lemon Myrtle’), and rallying a capella moments (‘Kooky Eyes’).
Hales patrolled the stage like a zealous coach: “Hands up!” “Everyone squat down!” “Jump as high as you fucking can!” The activity culminated in closer ‘I Am What You Want Me To Be’ as Hales dived into the masses, attempting to crowd-surf (or ‘crowd sink’, rather. Turns out mosh pits of teens aren’t particularly helpful for buoyancy).
This was the evening’s only bellyflop moment. The Jungle Giants have worked their arses off to deliver a mature sound with the youthful verve, and their fans love it. Their Sydney show only proved they are reaping and relishing the rewards.
