Plini – Double Whammy, 15 August 2026: Review & Photo Gallery

15th August 2026

Plini returned to New Zealand on 14 August with his latest album, An Unnameable Desire, with UK math-rock band Delta Sleep as the opening act.

Delta Sleep

They were generous enough to play a full one-hour set, which is definitely more than most support bands would normally get. Math-rock is known for its rich and complicated rhythms, and Delta Sleep’s drummer was seriously impressive. I noticed the long-haired metalhead next to me was aggressively nodding his head along to the rhythm, while the guy in front of me was nodding to a completely different rhythm. That was probably one of the most interesting things to watch.

The singer joked that he was worried nobody here would know who they were. That was clearly not the case. There were plenty of songs where you could hear the crowd singing along loudly. The band was obviously much more popular here than expected.

Plini

Plini finally entered the stage, after a lot of anticipation. The whole venue was extremely dark, with dry ice filling the stage. The dry ice was so heavy that it was sometimes almost impossible to see the musicians on stage.

What followed was some seriously technical prog-fusion rock. They built memorable melodies inside complex rhythms, constantly building up the atmosphere and pushing each section towards a climax.

During one of Plini’s solos, someone in the crowd screamed right at the most exciting part. He was so right about the timing.

The lighting was also worth mentioning. There were moments when the lights matched the rapid drum fills perfectly, making the whole performance feel even more intense. But for me, being a photographer, the constant flashing was definitely not my favourite part, especially combined with that ridiculously heavy amount of dry ice.

At the end, after a very enthusiastic call from the crowd, Plini played an encore of two songs and brought the night to a perfect close. It was a very technically dense show, with so much going on rhythmically, melodically and visually that it feels like the kind of performance you need to sit with for a while before you can fully digest it. Definitely one that will stay in my head for a long time.