Reviewed on Saturday April 2 (photo by Ashley Mar)
Days after casually dropping three massive singles simultaneously, it’s as timely as ever for the new collaborative project between Briggs and The Funkoars’ Trials – the brilliantly named A.B. Original – to make their full-scale debut. They’re onstage for all of five songs and 20 minutes – including a blistering run-through of Briggs’ ‘Bad Apples’ – but it’s more than enough to rile up early arrivals. Both are seasoned performers in their own right, their combined energy sparking a new level of pure ferocity. There should be no doubt whatsoever among the Australian hip hop community at large that we’re dealing with something gargantuan.
The duo are followed up by Irish crooner Maverick Sabre, a voice most in the audience would recognise from his double duty on the last studio album from tonight’s headliners. His brand of neo-soul is executed swiftly and confidently, albeit in a manner that grows repetitive quickly. Almost every song ends with him taking a long a capella run, leading one to believe he is the kind of singer that will gratuitously point at the notes he is hitting. It’s sharp-dressed and proficient, but even after only half an hour it leaves a fair amount to be desired.
It was ten years ago that the Hilltop Hoods achieved the first-ever number one album in the history of Australian hip hop. Tonight, they begin the first headlining arena tour by an Australian hip hop act. It says a lot that the trio are still finding new ways to break ground as both performers and as a prominent, seemingly evergreen part of the Australian music community.
The use of an orchestra has been written off in the past as trite, but the way that the Hoods and arranger Jamie Messenger add baroque flair to already fence-swinging songs like ‘Chase That Feeling’ and ‘I Love It’ is to be thoroughly commended. They unlock something genuinely moving during the suite of ‘Through The Dark’ and ‘I’m A Ghost’, illuminating it through the stir and swell of strings.
From the 30-plus people onstage to the thousands watching, everything feels as though it’s operating on a much grander scale. The Hoods handle it like the consummate professionals they are, feeding off energy given and returning it tenfold. It’s game, set and match by the time they conclude with ‘Cosby Sweater’ and ‘Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom’. It doesn’t get much bigger or better than this.
