Die Antwoord performed their first ever headline show in Melbourne last night.
"Eyee eyee I, I am your butterfly," resonated the voice of Yolandi Vi$$er, "I need your protection, be my samurai." The Prince Bandroom was alive with excitement. “I’m a ninja, yo, my life is like a video game,” finally he entered from stage left. The mythical figure known simply as “Ninja” had made his grand entrance to rapturous cheering. Hundreds of zeflings piled into the St. Kilda venue last night to see internet phenomenon, Die Antwoord, in the flesh.
The zef/rap/rave crew from South Africa performed their first ever headline show in Melbourne to a full house. They opened the proceedings with Enter The Ninja, a song that gained them a cult following from music fans around the world. Not fully knowing what to expect, the crowd was witness to what can only be described as a spectacle of live performance. The group started the performance wearing matching tracksuits of sorts donned with images allegedly drawn by Ninja himself. This was, however, shortlived as the performance moved on as both Ninja and Vi$$er removed their clothing. By the end of the night Ninja was left standing in his boxer shorts and Vi$$er in tight gold pants and a matching crop top.
Die Antwoord performed most of the songs off of their debut record, $O$, including a bizarre rendition of Evil Boy. Ninja left the stage briefly to change into a pair of Spongebob Squarepants boxer shorts fully equipped with a microphone disguised as a large rubber penis emerging from his crotchal region. Weirder still a large inflatable Casper The Ghost also blessed with a mammoth penis was suddenly erected at the side of the stage.
Before performing the song Fish Paste, Ninja explained that the lyrics “jou ma se poes in ‘n fish paste jar” literally meaning “your mommy’s private parts in a fish paste bottle” are based on the popular South African insult “jou ma se poes”. “We just took it one step further,” said Ninja. It was awesome to hear the crowd singing these lyrics along with the group.
The concert ended with a song called Doos Dronk (Afrikaans slang for very drunk), which was only released on the South African edition of the album, and Ninja and Yolandi dressed in unidentifiable furry animal costumes. This song, although sung 100% in Afrikaans, still managed to captivate the crowd which further displayed Die Antwoord’s crossover appeal despite the language barrier.
Throughout the concert, Ninja would randomly stage dive into the crowd sending the security guards into a frenzy of panic. His last words to the crowd before leaving the stage were “Aussie Aussie Aussie” and their responses of “oi oi oi” disappeared into the night just like a ninja.
