Reviewed on Saturday October 3 (photo by Ashley Mar)
30-degree heat, short shorts, $5 water and an army of police conducting unnecessary searches to ensure this writer misses the too-early-billed Client Liaison – yep, another summer festival season is all but here, marked by the third incarnation of Listen Out. It’s a hot one, and merely getting to the festival grounds at the heart of the huge Centennial Park proves to be task of its own – entering from the secluded east side, I’m lost enough to accidentally follow a crowd of guys who turn out to be fence-jumpers.
Early to the stage is US hip hop artist ILoveMakonnen AKA Makonnen Sheran, who stands up in front of a devoted crowd. By third song ‘Whip It’, it’s grown bigger, with the devotees in attendance singing along. Sheran performs with energy, but this energy is outmatched by the hugely excited punters before him.
The movement and intensity at the more hip-hop-focused ATARI main stage is certainly different to the EDM-centric 909 stage. The latter feels like an Aussie summer festival promo video – the daytime crowd feels bigger and less intense, with everyone grooving along slowly to the smoothly crafted beats of Roland Tings in the orange summer glare.
Back to the main stage for what ends up being my festival highlight – US Southern hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd, brothers Khalif ‘Swae Lee’ and Aaquil ‘Slim Jimmy’ Brown. They’ve been killing it since they dropped debut SremmLife at the start of the year, and on their debut appearance Down Under, seem stoked at the large following they’ve amassed. Slim Jimmy films the audience, and thankfully there is otherwise a happy lack of iPhones – though one guy is holding up a pineapple. ‘Come Get Her’ goes off, as does final song ‘No Type’. Rae Sremmurd’s set is full of energy, and the crowd loves it, singing along with every word. Alison Wonderland makes an appearance onstage towards the end of the set, too.
Speaking of Wonderland, she’s great. As the first act to come on once the sun goes down, she treats the audience to a cool light display. It’s also the first time the main stage audience is substantially bigger than the other, indicating the headliners to come. Wonderland loves her fans – she thanks them for her success at every show I’ve seen her do – and knows exactly how to make them party, with her originals, some trap beats and even some Fatboy Slim and Daft Punk thrown in the mix. Every drop goes off.
Next is Joey Bada$$. He’s good, but something feels lacking. The performance itself is great; he seems more comfortable onstage than he did in Australia at the start of the year (though he was awesome then, too), and the audience digs him. No, the real issue is – mirroring similar complaints in Melbourne – the volume. Nevertheless a quality set, and he manages to get through some 1999 material, which is well received.
Headlining is Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino, who has been enjoying some controversial press around some unhappy Novocastrians or something over the last few days. The crowd doesn’t care, and despite an unfortunate clash with Golden Features, there is a huge, buzzing turnout. Glover has a cool background of solid moving shapes, and while only rarely acknowledging his fans, clearly enjoys himself onstage. The energy still seems a little lacklustre, and something that probably could have improved with more volume, too. Thankfully, after crowd-pleaser ‘Sober’, the music becomes more upbeat and hip hop, with such songs as Kauai‘s‘AssShots’ and ‘Candler Road’. Second-last song ‘3005’ pulls in an even bigger crowd for a ‘Bonfire’ finale.
