Justin Nuoffer
CONCERT PHOTOS + REVIEW
Jinjer
4/23/24 – The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
Photos + Review © Justin Nuoffer \ NuofferMedia.com
On this cool rainy evening in the bustling city of Milwaukee, WI nearly every venue in town had events going on. Tonight, however, The Rave hosted one of the most fascinating up-and-coming acts – the Ukrainian foursome, Jinjer. Fans started lining up hours before the doors opened to the historic venue and the anticipation was at a fevered pitch. With a line that built up quickly, it stretched down the street and around the parking lot. The buzz in the air was contagious. The line was filled with fans in Jinjer gear. Having played in Milwaukee a few times before, the fan base has grown quite a bit over the years which makes this rescheduled date all that much more of an impressive feat.
The doors opened and the fans were ushered through the side and down the ramp to a security check on The Rave 2 basement level. Once through security, you head up the stairs into the main foyer. Will call is off to the right and turning 360 degrees you head into the hallway with options to go up the stairs to the Eagles Ballroom or the balcony, into The Rave bar on the right, or into the craft bar on the left. Heading straight you pass through glass doors and onto The Rave’s hardwood floors and general admission area. The Rave room has a balcony that wraps entirely around the top and is considered an upgraded seat with its own private bar. On the main general admission level, the back hall had an extensive line to purchase merchandise already built up. The line never slowed down. Various tour shirts and autographed items were available for purchase. Also, the main hallways featured 2 separate bars filled with patrons. The historic venue was alive once again.
Jinjer hit the stage aggressively and launched into “Perennial”. The stage set-up was simple and relatively old school. It was empty outside of drummer Vladislav Ulisevich‘s riser standing along the back and center, guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov‘s cab on the right of it, and bassist Eugene Abdukhanov‘s rig on the opposite side. Along the front of the stage, 3 metal risers lined the front edge with the night’s setlist taped down next to it. Vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk ran onto the stage and let out a scream. In that exact moment, everyone knew Jinjer had a ton of pent-up energy to unload. After all, up until that point they hadn’t performed live in nearly seven months. Their power and strength had an instant impact that was felt throughout.
Their energy was off the charts. Tatiana commanded the stage. She ran back and forth, leg kicked, head banged and hair flipped her way through the brutal material. Everything felt amplified by tenfold. Strobes fired off from the back of the stage at a rapid rate. The technical prowess of Abdukhanov on bass may limit his movements, but every note is impactful and floor-rattling. “Teacher, Teacher” provides no other better example. The band was incredibly tight as a unit. The ferocious riffs of “Home Back” set off a wild flurry of crowd surfers and a massive circle pit. Even more impressively, this led into the song that went viral and spread their fame across the world, “Pisces”. The soft vocals on the intro built up every ounce of pent-up anger and anticipation the floor had. The mosh pit raged mercilessly with every single scream and kick drum pounding. The chaos didn’t stop until the encore break.
With the newer material being the focus of the back half of the performance, their Wallflower album delivered much more melody and singing in cadences different than previous material. “Sleep of The Righteous” isn’t normally played within the show. It was a deeper cut and a special treat followed up with “As I Boil Ice” which is a staple of their show’s closing. The mob of ravenous Jinjer fans chanted “One more song” at full volume. One of the most ferocious songs in their catalog “Sit, Stay, Roll, Over” kicked into gear. An explosion of joy radiated over the room. The atmosphere intensified and long-time fans got what they came for. Everything one would expect from a Jinjer performance was there. Amazing vocals, hard-hitting riffs, and an hour and fifteen minutes worth of release.
The setlist was tailored towards the newer material. In fact, twelve of the fifteen songs in the set were from the last three releases, Micro EP, Macro, and Wallflowers. Long-time fans even got their share mixed in. Jinjer has proven time and time again to be top-tier performers. It is guaranteed that no one left the building after that outpouring of love disappointed. The street outside remained alive and busy afterward. Their impact was complete. With new music imminent there is no doubt they will be back and filling the larger Eagles Ballroom in no time.
Check out the Jinjer concern photos gallery below:
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