Live Review: Twelve Foot Ninja, Dan Richardson, Acolyte

Powerful, soaring vocals from Acolyte take hold of the audience early. Lead singer Morgan-Leigh Brown looks like a gothic Stevie Nicks, and Chris Cameron is a weapon on drums. The prog-rock quintet is impressive and it's easy to see why there is a buzz around them, but at times the repetitive melodies allow our attention to drift.

This is a sold-out show and the room is chockers, the capacity crowd shaking with anticipation. Melbourne busker Dan Richardson braves the stage alone and sends us back to the late ’90s. He plays the didgeridoo to a backing track of electronic dance beats. The room seems to have transformed into a bush doof. This guy is unknown to most unless you’re a Bourke Street Mall regular. An interesting choice for a support band right before a heavy fusion act, obviously a palette cleanser and it totally works. The crowd claps and dances to the African rhythms and droning sounds of the didj.

Now it’s time for the main course and we’re all hungry for it. The crowd chants their name before Twelve Foot Ninja explodes onto the stage. The experimental-metal quintet opens with recently released track Invincible, boasting big riffs and an extremely catchy melody. The heavy intro of Mother Sky sends the crowd jumping before the dub sounds kick in. Devoted fans sing back the chorus to Vanguard and we bop along to the dub beats before thrashing around to the heavy riffs.

Lead singer Kin Etik brings a lot of energy with vocals that are early-Mike-Patton-esque. The guitar licks on Deluge sound epic and the crowd singalong to the heavy jazz track Coming For You. You can hear the Mr Bungle, Faith No More and Alice In Chains influences, but Twelve Foot Ninja has so brilliantly molded their own sound that it's refreshing and exciting. The band is instrumentally tight with a rock-solid performance that sends the audience into a crowd-surfing frenzy. The mosh-pit becomes so intense it blows out and topples over the bystanders in the outskirts of the room.

We, of course, demand an encore and are thrilled when they return to stage to deliver Shuriken. It was an incredible set, the likes of which we hope to see again soon.