With the sale of the Kings Arms, many acts have started carrying out what could potentially be considered their contribution to the venue’s swansong. Having performed at the Jim Beam Homegrown last weekend, I Am Giant lined up a follow up show at Auckland’s King Arms Tavern, for what may be their last chance to grace the stage that has been a staple of the Kiwi music scene for over the years.

Armed in Advance were first up on stage, opening the night. Despite rather awkward positioning on the stage, they put on a solid performance. Instrumentally, the music was sound, and they performed a well done Deftones cover (though the vocals didn’t quite fit as well). The crowd did take a while to warm up to them, and were hesitant to approach the stage, but gave a generous applause as they completed their set.

The final support act before the headliners took the stage was Silence the City. A self-proclaimed high energy rock group; and it really isn’t hard to see why. As they powered straight into their set, the crowd instantly became more receptive and started moving closer to the stage. Justin Pitt’s unique voice makes it very easy to identify their music, which is consistently fast-paced and in-your-face. While they have a tendency to use similar vocal choices in their songs, their tracks had plenty of musical variety, and garnered much praise from the audience.

With the support acts done and dusted, I Am Giant hit the stage. Shelton Woolright entered the stage with a dramatic barrel roll much to the glee of the crowd that had started to gather at the front row. Performing a similar set to that of Homegrown, vocalist Aja Timu ripped into Russian Doll with seemingly boundless energy. Kudos to the crew, the sound was lush and clear right from the start. They played a well-mixed set list, with an equal number of songs from debut album, The Horrifying Truth, and follow-up, Science and Survival. They also performed their latest single, Dead Flower, which the crowds were already happily singing along with, and a brand new track, Playing with Fire which has a rather catchy hook, that gets better every time I hear it, and got the crowd moving.

Early into the set, Aja took on dual duties mid-song, donning the guitar while singing, and working together with Andrew to create a thicker, richer sound that could be heard in all corners of the venue. Every song that they played from the debut album brought the crowd closer, and made them rowdier, as Aja visibly sweated through his shirt and sprayed perspiration into the air every time he whipped his drenched hair about. Despite the audiences’ obvious preference for tracks from The Horrifying Truth, the most excitement and energy came from their encore performance of Purple Heart. The last track of the night, and the crowd went absolutely wild. A solid performance from the band, back to the quality and passion I have come to expect from them, and I can’t wait to hear some more new tracks with the latest vocalist.

• 1
  Head Like A Hole
• 2
  Horror Story
• 3
  Fraser Ross
• 4
  Fur Patrol
• 5
  Michelle Rounds
• 6
  L.A.B.
• 7
  The Boondocks
• 8
  Late to Chelsea
• 9
  Springloader
• 10
  Baconfoot

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• 
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• 
  Infinity Ritual @ Franks Bar, Whanganui - 15/11/2024

• 1
  APT.
  ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
• 2
  DIE WITH A SMILE
  Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
• 3
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
  Billie Eilish
• 4
  TASTE
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 5
  I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
  Gracie Abrams
• 6
  ESPRESSO
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 7
  SAILOR SONG
  Gigi Perez
• 8
  LOSE CONTROL
  Teddy Swims
• 9
  A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
  Shaboozey
• 10
  GOOD LUCK, BABE!
  Chappell Roan

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