Ho99o9
6th May 2023
Neck of the Woods, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
Emerging into the public eye over a decade ago, Ho99o9 (and for the record it is indeed pronounced ‘horror’) has been building a cult following that has seen them appear at some of the biggest festivals in the world.
The genre-blurring, truth-speaking, frenetic New Jersey duo of Yeti Bones (Eaddy) and TheOGM have been pushing boundaries since they first met in the NJstreetKLAN; ten years on they are still doubling down on politically driven and thought-provoking lyrics. Yeah, they may have just worked with Travis Barker on their latest album SKIN (their sophomore release follows the brilliant 2017 debut United States of Horror) but don’t expect some pop-punk sappy shit about breaking up with a girlfriend.
Arriving on stage at one of Tāmaki Makaurau’s best clubs in town, Neck of the Woods on K’rd, the crowd greeted them with every ounce of energy they had, the fact that they were even able to witness a live act of this calibre on their home ground not lost on them.
Dressed in suits (TheOGM sans shirt – but donning a grey hessian hat that covered the majority of his face) the duo was joined by their current touring drummer, the legendary Billy Rymer, formally of The Dillinger Escape Plan. Exploding like a molotov cocktail with ‘Street Power’, the room transformed into a maelstrom of bodies, flashing lights and music that grabbed patrons by the throat and shook them like ragdolls.
Influenced by legendary artists that range from N.W.A, through to Ministry, Prodigy, N.I.N and with Rob Zombie aesthetics, it is the theatrics, sheer intensity, and unpredictability of Ho99o9’s live shows that make them a must see. Wedding dresses, suits and just recently at a show in Berlin, absolutely butt naked, the duo never lock themselves down to a particular look and nor should they; their music, the epitome of challenging ideas and theories, questioning why shit is still happening in the world. As discussed in a recent interview, Ho99o9 are tired of subjects such as BLM only being talked about when they are “on trend”. Change may never fully happen, but inroads can be made when they remain at the forefront and not just mentioned when popular.
Growing in fervour, the trio soon formed a symbiotic relationship with the crowd as they fed off each other’s exuberance, a tight and intense mosh pit down front periodically invaded by Eaddy. Tracks such as ‘Protect my Bitch Pt2’ smashing up against ‘City Rejects’ and ‘Slo Bread’ as TheOGM, donned half masks and headlamps that made his teeth grillz glint, his joker style half painted face occasionally freeze framing as he manically smiled down upon the masses.
The opening drum lines of Nine Inch Nails ‘March of the Pigs’ only lit a fire under their fans as they threw themselves even harder into the chaos, Eaddy often using an old telephone handset to sing through that distorted his vocals; the ‘Pledge Allegiance’ interlude, drawing everyone back in and reminding them that there is work to be done as ‘Mega City Nine’ rained down upon them.
Samples of Crystal Waters ‘Gypsy Woman’ (that saw TheOGM sensually groove along to the beat) and Frank Sinatra’s ‘I Did it My Way’ peppered the set, Ho99o9 proving that they are almost impossible to fit into any form of box; post-punk, rap, industrial, Afropunk and horrorcore all genres of music that Ho99o9 can mould into their own unique sound.
‘Bite My Face’ one of their latest singles featuring none other than Corey Taylor of Slipknot set off yet another frenzied pit before TheOGM addressed everyone present, thanking them for being there when they could have chosen to be any where else on a Saturday night, declaring that this now made everyone family. Announcing that they were about to play their last song, their fans lamented loudly as the duo joked that the end was inevitable and that no one wanted to see them do a three-hour set. But on demand of the crowd Ho99o9 pulled out all the stops and gave one last blistering encore before taking their leave, hands on their chests, their faces genuinely conveying their gratitude.
Ho99o9 not only have something to say that transcends the usual banal bullshit fed down throats but are an act that are an absolute must see live.
As they told those present last night, always be yourself, and make no fucking apology for it.
Ho99o9
P.H.F.
Were you there at Neck of the Woods for this high energy industrial hip-hop gig? Or have you seen Ho99o9 perform somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- When Death Calls (intro)
- Street Power
- Leader of Pain
- (Kids Are United)
- Battery Not Included
- (Sandman interlude)
- Protect my bitch Pt2
- P.O.W.
- City Rejects
- Slo Bread
- March of the Pigs [Nine Inch Nails cover]
- (Pledge Allegiance interlude)
- No Witness
- (Club 999mix)
- Sub Zero
- Mega City Nine
- FireFly Family
- (Frank Sinatra)
- Dope Dealerz
- Bite My face
- Punk Police
- Dead or Asleep / Lower Than Scum
- Knuckle Up
- F.O.G.
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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