Live Review: Osaka Punch @ Crowbar

The crowd sprinkled in small numbers for the support acts, but as the clock struck 10:30, numbers flourished and those in the intimate Crowbar venue packed in tight to see local Brisbane outfit, Osaka Punch.

Front man Jack Venables donned a black suit jacket over a black t-shirt, while the rest of the band dressed down. The fashion diversity among the band was representative of their music style, given their unique mash of metal instruments with pop vocals and rock theatrics.

The set began with Eat Red Carpet; a great song to open with, as the quirky, comedic lyrics crossed with a heavy riff at the end really gave the audience an insight into what was to come. This was shortly confirmed as Venables fist pumped the air to signal the end of the first song, and followed it by yelling, “Brisbane, you are such a sensational crowd!”.

It was as if the band was playing a game of tug-a-war with the genre of their sound, and the crowd was the rope. It’s definitely not a band to see live for those who have trust issues

The only way to make the first song as good as that was to follow it up with something as equally engaging. So what did Osaka Punch do? They followed it up with one of their quirkier songs, Served With Mustard. It was in this song that the pop vocals and rock theatrics were more evident, but the metal energy was well and truly still among the crowd.

It wasn’t until the fourth song into the set that they unveiled their newest single, Stonk. The band was pumped to be to releasing new music, and the crowd got amongst it, by moving about like it was nobody’s business.

One of the most entertaining moments of the evening was definitely the inclusion of the mysterious, seductive tune Sex Panther. As the lights faded to red, Venables announced, “this is an ass slapping song.” The crowd followed suit and began slapping asses and what followed was seven minutes of some sensual beats.

During the set, a few of the songs took me to a place where I didn’t think they were going. It was as if the band was playing a game of tug-a-war with the genre of their sound, and the crowd was the rope. It’s definitely not a band to see live for those who have trust issues.

At times the acoustics within the brick exterior had me questioning whether the music was giving me goose bumps, or whether it was just the vibrations. It wasn’t until the final song I discovered it was the vibrations, as the sheer volume managed to knock over a glass from a table. It was unreal.

The lead singer emphatically displayed his delight by gulping his beer and spitting it back out into the crowd

The band itself has a very niche following, and one thing is for certain, they have an incredible stage presence. They aren’t afraid to welcome crowd interaction. At one point, a fan was on his friend’s shoulders, only centimetres away from Venables face, and in that moment they shared the vocals together. A punter even managed to get five-seconds of fame for successfully managing to crowd surf.

As the set was drawing to a close, and the band looked like they may just finish, the crowd began chanting “One more song” but before they could get another chant, Venables intervened and announced that there was to be ‘one more song’. The lead singer emphatically displayed his delight by gulping his beer and spitting it back out into the crowd. It certainly wasn’t as pretty as RZA shaking and spraying champagne into the crowd, as I saw a week earlier at Wu Tang Clan, but the crowd still loved it.

Before they started strumming their last tune, Osaka Punch announced who the real winner of the evening was – and that’s live music. Venables, along with the band, addressed the audience and thanked everyone for coming out and supporting “original, live music.”