Friko rock the ruins at Holliday Park
indianapolis, indiana - july 18, 2024
At Holliday Park in Indianapolis, Friko came more ready than ever to perform for the annual “Rock the Ruins” concert series. With high energy and beautiful weather, Holliday Park was the perfect venue for Friko to come crashing through and stun the audience with an impressive and authentic performance.
The band opened with “Crimson to Chrome,” instantly showing the caliber of excellence they manage to meet as a live band. Pure passion radiated from the stage from Niko Kapetan and Bailey Minzenberger, the masterminds behind Friko, and their accompanying bassist as they invited the audience into their world. Each note flowed through the musicians as they played the track, exhibiting both vulnerability and euphoria through their interconnected stage presence. The members of Friko instantly make it known that they were born to share their music with the world, making the experience that much more special.
The band upped the rock ambiance while performing “IN_OUT,” a track from their first EP, Whenever Forever. The instrumentalists really shined throughout the performance of this track, demonstrating unbelievable stamina throughout their flawless instrumental performance of the track. Between shredding guitars, going crazy on the drums, and the versatility of the vocal performance, the live performance of “IN_OUT” brought the track to full life at the ruins.
The band slowed their set down by playing “For Ella,” a melancholic and nostalgic ballad off of their most recent record. The band had no difficulty transitioning from an explosive performance to leaving bleeding hearts exposed on stage during “For Ella.” Kapetan played the keys with a delicate touch, striking each chord directly into the hearts of the audience. Raw emotions flooded from the stage during this performance, showing the skills that Friko have in terms of story-telling and universal emotional connection.
Dates for the “Where We Go From Here” Tour
Niko Kapetan continued to stun with his vocals throughout the entirety of the show, demonstrating masterful vocal acrobatics only heightened by the incredible energy of the band. In “Holdin’ On People,” all of the cards were laid on the table by Kapetan. His lower register has a satisfying grit and cry to it as he glides from darker lower tones to floating belts. He continues to go higher and higher until reaching an angelic voice at the climax of the song. In a track like “Cardinal,” the vocals reach ethereal levels of ascension, mesmerizing every single member of the audience through a beautiful performance of a beautiful song.
The band ended their performance with an outburst on the track “Get Numb To It!” While the lyrical content of the track is rather heavy, the band appeared to be having the most fun they possibly could on stage. The percussion and guitars live instantly induce headbanging from the entirety of the audience, emanating a universal sort of energy from the stage to the audience and from person to person. Instead of getting numb, the performance of “Get Numb To It!” made every at Holliday Park feel every ounce of emotion the band manages to convey through their arrangement and their interpretation of the performance. It was powerful, moving, and impressive, the perfect conclusion of their set.
Their Indianapolis show was one the first of many exciting performances Friko have coming up on their “Where We Go From Here” tour. The band kickstarts a big run of North American tour dates starting at the end of the month until the end of October as support for Royel Otis as well as a handful of headline shows in cities like Phoenix, Chicago, and Nashville. Friko will then begin their headline European tour throughout the first two weeks of November. You can purchase tickets for all of their upcoming dates here.