Baro @ Goodgod Small Club

Baro is a young rapper (real young – his tour is also a prolonged celebration of his 18th birthday) from Melbourne who’s been generating a lot of heat lately, both on and off the stage. His latest EP Howgoodisgood? has filled a spot in Aussie hip hop that’s been lying wide open: lackadaisical, jazz-infused beats veneered with a tongue-in-cheek drawl. You could say he’s an Antipodean answer to Joey Bada$$. And it’s definitely worked in his favour – so far he’s provided dynamic opening sets for the likes of Freddie Gibbs, The Pharcyde and Thundamentals.

But it’s a different story when it comes to transforming this attitude to a headline national tour. It can go one of two ways, and it relies a lot on a kind of synchrony between the performer and the audience. The thing is, neither was really on their game for Baro’s Sydney leg at Goodgod. It’s a joint you really want to pack out to get any momentum going, and Baro had a scattered, if enthusiastic, crowd. Add this to an early onstage admission from Baro that he had been out the night before until 5am, and that he had already played one show that evening, and any expectations were quickly deflated.

But whatever. For all this, Baro’s delivery is now so well honed that it’s a pleasure just to see him perform. Tracks like ‘Amber’, ‘Everything’ and ‘Seasons’ leave you mesmerised with just how good a wordsmith he is, a fact that any recording can’t fully justify. His relationship with his DJ Fetsis longstanding, and the dynamic between them – a rancorous recital of banter and in-jokes – filled any holes between songs. But in the end, even this was stretched thin: there are only so many times you can be told to “make some motherfucking noise”.

Baro’s gig was a lesson in how not to plan a picnic. If everyone turns up with something bad, then the results are pretty self-evident. But the guy had fun, and it was sure fun watching him.