Ashnikko at Northcote Theatre
Touring Australia for the very first time is American artist Ashnikko, who is bringing her unique blend of bubblegum/electropop/hip hop to our city. Playing two shows at the freshly re-opened Northcote Theatre, we were lucky enough to check out the matinee show, which while an all ages show, didn’t stop the artist from letting loose.
Supporting her Australian dates is Sydney electro-pop artist Donatachi, who wasted no time warming up the crowd for an energy-packed show. Playing an incredible range of remixes that spanned a couple of generations, including Benny Benassi’s Satisfaction, Charli XCX’s Vroom Vroom, and Cascada’s Everytime We Touch, Donatachi’s hyperpop had the room jumping along like crazy. Finishing on a fun take on Taylor Swift’s Love Story and Lady Gaga’s Just Dance, we had all sufficiently warmed up our singing voices by the time the opening set came to a close.
It’s not long to go before the main event, and giant inflatable trees pop up onstage, which are met with screams from the audience. A few minutes later, Ashnikko struts onto the stage, launching into 2020 single Tantrum; serving up plenty of attitude which is returned in tenfolds from the crowd, while her rap-heavy song STUPID absolutely goes off – to the point where we struggle to hear her over all the fans singing along. Taking the time to address the theatre (and take a fan’s BeReal for them), Ashnikko remembers that she’s playing an all ages show – issuing a bad word warning for all the parents, which she cheekily extends to the whole show. Telling us all to put on our cowboy hats, she leads us into Working Bitch, complete with some fun choreography, before switching up the pace for her fun Kelis-featured track Deal With It.
Introducing her next song, Ashnikko starts to talk about her sex life, censoring all the gory details for the audience, which just turns out to be the funniest thing to watch. The song in question is L8r Boi – a fun song that interpolates Avril Lavigne’s classic single from 2002. The always relevant Invitation is up next, which the artist explains is the oldest song on her setlist, and is kept on there for a reason – especially in today’s day and age. The audience gets silly for the shameless Princess Nokia featured track Slumber Party, while they scream along to every filthy lyric. Switching the mood up yet again, Ashnikko paints a picture for us of a fairy wandering through a forest, and being taken by nature – as the intro of latest single Worms starts playing. Leading us into a practice of self-love, which is now part of every show since the Demidevil tour, we’re told to give ourselves a brain hug, before the only slow song in the set is up next – Panic Attacks in Paradise.
The metal-infused Grimes collab Cry drives the crowd mad, before a mash-up of all four Halloweenie singles is dedicated to all the spooky girls. After leading the crowd into a chant of the lyrics to Manners, the pounding single Maggots is dedicated to assholes on the internet, and sees the audience jumping along to each lyrical jab. Telling the audience that she can’t scream the next song, You Make Me Sick!, due to saving her vocal chords, Ashnikko truly makes up for it by headbanging like crazy, and physically throwing her all into the song. At this point, we’re close to the end of such a strong set, so we’re not surprised when the crowd starts demanding a shoey. Giving into the peer pressure of the audience, Ashnikko grabs a fan’s boot and rips a shoey (albeit with water) – much to the audience’s delight. How could a set end on an even bigger high? Close it out with the mammoth single Daisy – which Ashnikko stops mid-verse to ask fans to give her their all. The response is the theatre going manic, with the catchy-as-anything single being the perfect end to such a high-energy set.
We personally cannot wait to see what the future holds for the artist, especially after the massive couple of years she’s had with mixtape Demidevil, which absolutely blew up her career online. Like the new haircut she’s rocking, Ashnikko’s latest singles signal a new era for the genre-bending artist, whose debut album Weedkiller is due out in June this year. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Ashnikko in the year ahead.