It’s been a long time since The Jungle Giants have played Melbourne and a sold out Saturday night at the Corner in Richmond showed how much they‘ve been missed.
Kicking things off were Dirt Farmer, who proved to be a pleasant surprise. Bar a set marred with multiple guitar issues, the crowd showed up early in force to catch their act. With a tight set and a great mix of guitar and harmonica solos it was a fantastic way to ease the crowd into the night.
Next up were City Riots, and it was their eerie riffs and extremely energetic frontman that gave a very impressive start to the set. They were amped and smashed through a set that showed Melbourne why they are one of the indie scene’s up and coming bands. They had set the bar high for Jungle Giants to follow.
Jungle Giants are a band who you need to see live to fully appreciate. While they already have a plethora of fantastic songs, it’s when they play live that you can truly appreciate the fine music that they create. They are a band with a personality, and frontman Sam Hales is a guy you just can’t help but like, and he was clearly here to give the crowd a night to remember.
It was evident from the get go that Jungle Giants is a band sole focused on having a good time. Kicking things off with “You’ve Got Something” and “No One Needs To Know”, the best way to describe their sound would be explosive. Pauses in the song followed up by beefy riffs with slick instrumentals via the lead guitar over the top had the crowd screaming in appreciation.
Bassist Andrew Dooris was running around the stage like a madman, flinging his bass around and getting the crowd pumped up, while guitarist Cesira Aitkin’s smooth notes were gliding gracefully over the top. What was so great about the Jungle Giants was their interaction with the crowd, talking to different people mid-set, trading banter and even sharing a glass of cabernet merlot.
The set continued as the pace slowed down slightly with “Way Back When” and regardless in the change of pace, the crowd was still hanging on every note and every chord. Changing course slightly and dedicating a song to all the ‘whipped boyfriends in the crowd’, they dipped into their forthcoming debut album () with a very cheeky song entitled “Domesticated Man”.
Hales pulled off more than a few high notes with seamless ease and didn’t seem to miss a beat, powering through the lyrics without losing his breath. This was best seen in their newest release “I Am What You Want Me To Be”.
Crowd favourite “She’s A Riot” was played exceptionally well but it was “Mr Polite” that was by far the song of the night. The sound on disk compared to live sound is incomparable, with the sing-alongs followed by the enormous backing riffs producing a truly awesome sound. Being played live just adds that little bit extra to the song that you don’t quite find on recording. Despite the energy they were producing for the crowd of 500 strong and the response they were generating, they played the set with a comfortable and laid back fashion.
While the audience’s chant for one more song was met with no response, it was still a flawless and polished performance from the group. The combination of a well-played set, an energetic and interactive frontman and a crowd clearly enjoying themselves, the night went down as a huge success. With the announcement of another Australian tour in the coming months on the back of their debut album, it will be with eager anticipation that they make their return back to Melbourne.
