Live Review: Ball Park Music, The Jungle Giants

13 February 2017 | 1:14 pm | Joe Dolan

"Ball Park Music are total musical animals on stage."

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As the sun slowly descends on the crowd at Melbourne Zoo Twilights, the ambience of a serendipitous festival takes over. Rugs are out and tinnies are stacked high in conscientious piles, ready for recycling. The atmosphere is unbeatable and the bands haven't even started yet.

The Jungle Giants coolly saunter onto the stage, fresh from indulging in some childhood dream-realisations. "I just fed an elephant, it was pretty cool," vocalist Sam Hales declares, before exploding into an electric rendition of What Do You Think. The quartet are on fire tonight, showcasing a perfect level of energy that proves unwavering throughout. Kooky Eyes gets a fair few butts off the ground, Hales constantly smiling at them with the sincerest of gratitude, and the first-ever live performance of Feel The Way I Do is a home run for the band. The Jungle Giants make an indelible mark on the night, easily making an early claim for band of the evening.

After an immense opener, an uphill battle awaits the kids from Ball Park Music. Never ones for shying away from a challenge, however, the Brissy five-piece rip into Feelings amid a sea of surprisingly vocal fans. Lead singer Sam Cromack is initially a little off from his usual, affable self, but he eventually finds his footing after a rousing version of Alligator — an archived track brought out especially for the context of this evening.

Coming Down brings the band together in a melding of perfect musicianship, each member showing off exactly what they do best. Jennifer Boyce hits flawless harmonies while grooving out the bass lines, before drummer Daniel Hanson destroys in Literally Baby. As a full moon beckons overhead, bats, as if planned for the gig, fly overhead in their thousands. "All the profits for this show go towards helping the special Bandicoot," Cromack announces, "I don't think 'special Bandicoot' is its scientific name, though." An audience member corrects him by offering the actual scientific name, Eastern Barred Bandicoot, and suddenly Cromack is among the punters as he belts out iFly. "Nice to make some of your acquaintance," he laughs as a security guard pulls him from the crowd.

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The band reach their close in the sensational Nihilist Party Anthem and Pariah, wrapping themselves around the sounds of the crowd and their own brilliant instrumentation. Ball Park Music are total musical animals on stage — presumably, they're feeling very much at home.