Sonar on Tour with Die Antwoord, 11/7/12

Eric Gruneisen

Die Antwoord's Ninja last night at the Ogden Theatre. Slide show: Die Antwoord on the Sonar Tour

Things to consider when bringing the Sonar Tour to the Ogden Theatre: Should the set times be released prior to the show? Is it okay to have a show that lasts 7.5 hours without re-entry? Should there be a DJ playing outside in a Red Bull truck? Does Denver truly love techno music? The answer to all these questions, and more, is a resounding yes. Oh, and Die Antwoord is still fucking bonkers, in case you were wondering.

See also:
- Slideshow: Die Antwoord on the Sonar Tour
- Ten best concerts of the week: November 5-9
- Paul Kalkbrenner on keeping his sound pure by not listening to anybody else's music
- Review: Die Antwoord at the Ogden Theatre, 8/6/12
- Die Antwoord take us deeper down the zef rabbithole
- Freaky Friday: "Enter the Ninja" - Die Antwoord

Eric Gruneisen

Die Antwoord last night at the Ogden Theatre. Slide show: Die Antwoord on the Sonar Tour

The fact that by the time Die Antwoord hit the stage the show had already been going for nearly four hours, which in terms of shows isn't really that long, people were starting to get a little antsy (I'm looking at you, guy yelling "DIE ANTWOORD" during Azari & III's set.) When the lights did finally drop, an ode to Leon Botha, the act's DJ who passed away in 2011, welcomed the South African group to the stage. A filmed portrait of Botha sat on the stage spanning LED panel while the Hi-Tek eased his way behind the tables and opened into the performance.

Eric Gruneisen

Yo-Landi Vi$$er of Die Antwoord last night at the Ogden Theatre. Slide show: Die Antwoord on the Sonar Tour

Yo-Landi Vi$$er, the squealing vocalist whose pitch makes you scratch your head in confusion as to whether or not she's actually singing, came out on stage first sporting the same orange sweat suit she was wearing when her group last appeared in Denver. Ninja followed suit, and they got started with "Hey Sexy," which saw Vi$$er stripping off the sweat suit revealing pink spandex shorts and a belly shirt. When the hook, "shake what your momma gave ya," came ringing through, she did just that, and drew quite the reaction from everyone in the front row.

Eric Gruneisen

Yo-Landi Vi$$er of Die Antwoord last night at the Ogden Theatre. Slide show: Die Antwoord on the Sonar Tour

Whether you think Die Antwoord is for shock value or we're just conditioned to question new things, it's hard to argue that this act's energy is through the roof. They ooze juggalo while radiating gangster, and whether you like them for their record catalog or that one song about a butterfly and a samurai ("Enter the Ninja"), it's impossible to deny the talent that is there. While last's night energy came in waves during the set, there were those awkward moments where everyone was simply staring at the trio do its thing rather than dancing or trying to groove along. This didn't really take away from the act, but this is high energy music, so the electricity that's in the air from the performance really has no conductor to attach itself to.

Eric Gruneisen

Die Antwoord last night at the Ogden Theatre. Slide show: Die Antwoord on the Sonar Tour

After Ninja declared that he had, in fact, been doing this for "twenty fokken years," A large white inflatable Shmoo-like character with an enormous penis came to life at stage right. Not to take away from Ninja, who was down to his underwear (Dark Side of the Moon boxers to be exact), but the inflatable thing was (I think they call it Evil Boy) distracting. The very end of the set saw Vi$$er returning to the stage in a hoodie and those sexy pink shorts singing the hook to "Enter the Ninja," and while it would almost have been better to not hear this song, it's what everyone wanted to hear and it was probably what they'd been waiting for all night.

Eric Gruneisen

Enter the Ninja: Die Antwoord at the Ogden Theatre last night. Slide show: Die Antwoord on the Sonar Tour

Location Info

Venue

Map

Ogden Theatre

935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO

Category: Music

9 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare