LIVE REVIEW: THE JUNGLE GIANTS, BAG RAIDERS, LAZY WAX @ SYDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL 29/1/2022
We sent photographer Lauren and writer Dan along (for his first live review!) to the Jungle Giants’ Melbourne leg of their Love Signs tour.
Caught in a deadly combination of traffic and parking, I climbed the hills around Sidney Meyer desperately, ultimately too late to see the EDM sensations LAZYWAX open the Jungle Giants show. I can, however, recommend their songs Santa Catarina and Getting There From Here so that you don't make the same mistake as I did (Or just take PTV...).
What I did manage to catch was the Bag Raiders DJ set which set the tone for the rest of the night. Old school throwbacks were mixed with modern classics, slowly but surely bringing people away from the top of the Bowl and down to the front. It could have been a chill day on the green if Shooting Stars hadn't been played, but when it was blasted through the amphitheatre everyone jumped up onto their feet and started singing along, the air ripe with nostalgia and hope for a better year ahead.
The stage by this point looked like something out of a Vapourware screensaver. It had to be one of the coolest set designs I'd ever seen for a live band, with a bright blue sky projected onto the backdrop and white curtains flowing from the railings...contrasted by the hot pink lighting around.
Then the backing tracks started, and the Jungle Giants wasted no time as all four members sprinted onto the stage through the smoke. It was clear that not only was this going to be an energetic performance, that much was expected from these indie-pop legends, but also that this show was going to be something of a love letter to times past as well as the future ahead. Sam constantly praised his disbelief that they were finally playing the Bowl and most importantly; that they could finally play Love Signs live.
Now, Sidney Meyer is a large venue for four musos, but the band used the distance between them to their advantage by really taking control of each of the spaces they had been assigned. Sam never once repeated a dance move and was constantly on the run both with guitar and without. The crowd went as crazy for 'Charge my Phone' as they did for songs from their catalogue that were a little older like 'Quiet Ferocity'.
Sam created some chants between him and the audience even though they already knew every word (including the new songs), a testament to the Jungle Giants staying power and capacity to create catchy, soulful music, even in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. At one point, someone who looked like Sam crowd surfed close to the stage to which he stated, "you look just like me!". I thought this was especially notable because it was indeed true and hilarious but also because, on a deeper level we're all re -learning how to dance again, figuring out how to be humans once more.
It doesn't really matter who you are, if you're starting the show meekly with your hands in pockets you will definitely be finishing the show covered in sweat and dancing in ways that would have made the old you proud.
The band threw out disposable cameras and operated on a trust system at the end of the show to get them back, stating that everyone in the Bowl was part of a team; and it really did feel that way. One of them made its way a kilometre back to where I was standing. It's clear that it's as much about interaction between the crowd as it is about the music for the Jungle Giants. They feed off each other in a myriad of ways.
It's been the third time that I've seen them, once at the Parliament steps and most recently at Wine Machine. It's interesting to see the band evolve into the indie-pop dance machine that they’re becoming. The way Sam uses his falsetto and the mixture of live music with synth and electronic drums mixed with real kit, really push the indie rock/pop genre into near breaking point before becoming something else entirely.
I lost track of how many times they encored but honestly, they could have stayed there all night if they had been allowed to, as the audience was there for it. This was the first stop of their Love Signs tour and I have no doubt that NSW will be equally as keen to have them as Melbourne was. My only concern is whether they got their cameras back or not. I guess only time will tell.
