I Am Giant

By Poppy Tohill

Artist: I Am Giant

Date / Venue: Saturday August 1st, 2015 - The Powerstation, Auckland

There was plenty of reason to celebrate and let loose at the Powerstation on Saturday night and if there's anything I Am Giant knows how to do best, it's just that.

Bringing their Kiss From A Ghost Tour home to celebrate the release of the single and the latest addition to the line up of the band with new UK based lead singer Ryan Redman, their devoted fan base were more than pumped to see their favourite rockers hit the stage once more.

With a mega line up consisting of Brendan Thomas and The Vibes & Australian alternative rockers Dead Letter Circus, the night only got better as it progressed, with each band delivering top performances full of energy, attitude, fun, passion and most importantly, rock.

As the lights dimmed and the stage blackened once more, the arrival of I Am Giant grew closer as the audience's anticipation & excitement grew stronger. The venue, by this time packed with rock-lovers of all ages and genders broke out into a chant, beckoning I Am Giant to the stage, who before too long appeared amidst the crowds eruption, as they wasted no time launching into the energetic 'Echo From The Gallows', from their 2014 ‘Science & Survival' album.

Announcing to the crowd early on that he has a cold, the audience didn't hesitate helping vocalist and front man Ryan Redman with vocals throughout ‘Razor Wire Reality',' ‘Death Of You', ‘Living The Crash' and other hits from both ‘Science & Survival' and debut album ‘The Horrifying Truth,' while Shelton, Paul & Aja did more than an exceptionally at holding everything together musically and instrumentally, giving each song more energy than the last at Ryan ran jumping on top of speakers from both sides of the stage.

Safely watching from the balcony upstairs, the view looking down onto the see of hands in the air and the growing and continuous death circles and mosh pits that were happening amongst the majority of the hardcore fans slammed against the barriers was more than entertaining in itself as Redman poured Jim Beam into the mouths of those at the front.

Continuously expressing their gratitude for Brendan Thomas and The Vibes & Dead Letter Circus, members of both bands appeared on stage at one point throughout the night to join in some celebratory shots to the mark the last show of the tour. An event that was definitely well received by the audience as they screamed and shouted their encouragement towards all three bands, joining in the fun and taking a drink of their own.

Before too long it was back to the music however, as the crowd began chanting for bass player, Paul, as he kickstarted the intro to obvious crowd favourite ‘Neon Sunrise,' from their 2012 self titled debut EP.

Single ‘Russian Doll' ultimately proved another crowd favourite as the dancing, head banging and death circles continued, before the band disappeared off stage and the lights still flickering accompanied by an ongoing droning immediately grew the anticipation for an encore as both the audience's shouts and claps alongside the background music continued to grow considerably in both volume and speed.

Keeping the suspense growing, Paul soon came running onto the stage with Shelton who now wearing a cape, sat on his back lifting a beer to the audience in thanks. A shirtless Ryan soon followed while the audience erupted as they launched into a strenuous performance of ‘Kiss From A Ghost,' belting out the lyrics, word for word alongside Redman.

Closing the concert with an exhilarating performance of ‘Purple Heart' from ‘The Horrifying Truth' I have no idea how either the band or audience had any energy left to rock, but rock they did and all night long at that