Words by Coco Le Sex Bomb
Pix by Kaotic Images
Brisbane heavy-weights Osaka Punch took to the Triffid last Friday night showcasing their new hot off-the-press album Mixed Ape and treated the fans to all the energetic debauchery you usually find at an Osaka Punch show and then some.
Being an avid advocate of arriving at the start of a show and supporting all the acts, it pains me to say we had arrangements we couldn’t get out of and missed Vayer and Natas Natas. It pained me even more after talking to the punters that could make it, as it sounds like I really did miss out on some kick-ass tunes.
Shortly after arriving and finding the perfect viewing location, Like Thieves took to the stage. Fans of the Brisbane music scene will be all too familiar with frontman Clint Boge as the local legend behind the Butterfly Effect, Thousand Needles In Red and his solo career. Clint has been captivating audiences for years whether he is by himself on a stool or climbing the side of the stage with a microphone in hand the live performances are always second to none and like thieves are no exception to the rule. The band was tight, Clint’s voice was on point and at any point you could look around the room and see the entire audience completely captured by the performance.
The mood had been perfectly set all night, and you could feel the tension in the air had grown to a level you only really feel at shows with rooms full of local undying fans. You could tell the crowd had been waiting patiently for this show since it had been announced and that excitement was only amplified by the release of the shiny nugget of gold that is Mixed Ape only weeks before, it had all come to this moment as we braced ourselves for a giant heat death ray attack as the band walks on stage.
From the first note the crowd erupted, and the room started to shake. It’s like a game of sexy table tennis as the crowd and Osaka Punch feed off each other’s energy back and forth. And that wasn’t the only back and forth as it felt like the crowd knew every single word, every cool lead break, drum fill and even sung the guitar solos! It was an explosive experience. It’s almost if as all four members of the band turned the crowd engagement dial-up to 169% and had absolutely no intention of it ever being turned down.
Ending the show with Hekyll and Jive it’s almost like the brisbane locals wanted to fit as much music in as humanly possible as they smashed out the bookending instrumental, symbolizing not only the final track on the album but the end of the night, or so we thought. Merely minutes from leaving the stage the band could be found at all corners of the venue talking to everyone that came to show love with beverages in one hand and a permanent marker in the other.
I always love a great show with great local bands and Osaka Punch, Like Thieves, Natas Natas and Vayer delivered and then some, and for those of you that have not yet had the pleasure of seeing Osaka Punch play you are only doing yourself an injustice and for those that have … HOLY SHIT, AM I RIGHT?!
