Ninajirachi Turned the Forum Melbourne Into a Very Loud Windows XP Screensaver

Ninajirachi played two sold-out nights at the Forum Melbourne, and if you got a ticket, well done, because plenty of Melbourne did not. The first of the two shows landed on 16 July 2026, ninety minutes of sound so loud it seemed to reach every cell in the building, and I mean that as a compliment. If you missed out, this is the recap, plus the honest bit about how to actually be in the room next time she comes through.

Ninajirachi, photographed on the tour by tiff.williams. This recap draws on Dante Griffith's review for scenestr.

When, where and who

The facts, up top:

• Who: Ninajirachi, with Lucy Bedroque supporting.
• Where: the Forum Melbourne.
• When: the first of two sold-out nights was 16 July 2026.
• Tickets: both nights sold out. There is no on-sale to point you at, which is rather the point of the last section.

Ninety minutes, no quiet bits

By the review's account it was ninety minutes of non-stop sound loud enough to rearrange your organs, and she opened with 'London Song', declaring she had "never been to Melbourne" to match the lyric. A fun trick, given the room was packed to the walls to see her do exactly that.

The production did the heavy lifting alongside the music. Glowing tubes fell across the stage, the visuals morphed with each track, and there was a proper hit of Windows XP-era nostalgia, right down to 3D renders of cats wearing headphones. If you have ever right-clicked a desktop to change the screensaver, part of your brain was home. Setlist highlights included 'iPod Touch' and 'F My Computer', which, as titles go, tell you exactly what world you are standing in.

The one gripe in the review was nothing to do with the stage: a lack of physical awareness from a chunk of the crowd. Which, fair enough. A sold-out room at full tilt is a contact sport, and not everyone trains for it.

Missed out? Here's the honest bit

Both Forum shows sold out, so the useful thing I can offer isn't a ticket link, it's a plan for next time, because artists like this come back and the good ones sell out fast.

Two rules of thumb. First, be in the queue when tickets go live, not scrolling at 9:05 wondering why the good sections are gone. The fair way to run a high-demand on-sale is a proper waiting list that holds your spot in order, not a refresh-race that rewards whoever has the fastest thumb. I wrote up how fair queuing actually works if you want the mechanics. Second, and I will die on this hill: do not pay a scalper triple face value. A resale listing at $280 for a $90 ticket isn't a market, it's a tax on wanting to go, and the money goes to someone who was never going to the show anyway.

In the meantime, if you are chasing the next loud night out in town, the Melbourne what's on hub and Ticketted's discover page are both a better use of a Tuesday than watching a resale page like it's the cricket score.

The takeaway

Ninajirachi came, saw, and turned a heritage theatre into a screensaver that could hurt you. Two nights, both gone, one very happy (if slightly bruised) crowd. If she announces another Australian run, the move is simple: sort your tickets on the on-sale, keep your elbows to yourself in the pit, and let the cats in headphones do the rest. I will be the one at the back mouthing every word to 'iPod Touch' and pretending my knees are fine.