Daikaiju, plays Hooch and Hive in Tampa, Florida on Nov. 3, 2023. Credit: Photo by Ryan Kern

Some of the most iconic photos to come out of Hooch & Hive’s six-year run in the West River district are from the November 2023 show by masked instrumental-rock band Daikaiju.

The band literally had the place on fire, and while the show won’t happen at Hooch this time, the Alabama outfit is coming back to Tampa first thing next year.

Seeing the unhinged surf-rock quartet in person is a rite of passage for any self-respecting live music fan. Part death-defying sideshow, part-concert, a show from Daikaiju is a theatrical experience, sweaty as it is scary and sensational, as the band moves from the stage to anywhere in the venue its safe to strike a match.

With 25 years of bandom under its belt, there’s still no other touring rock act like kabuki mask-wearing Daikaiju.

Tickets to see Daikaiju play the music hall at New World Tampa (fka New World Brewery) on Thursday, Jan. 9 are on sale now for $20.

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This article appears in Dec 12-18, 2024.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...