Spit Syndicate at the Hifi 2/11/13 - Live Review

My Saturday was a bit strange. I mean that in one of the best ways possible, but strange nonetheless. Some time around 4:30pm (give or take) I managed to find myself standing onstage at the Hi Fi next to Spit Syndicate and Joyride, both part of the Inner-West tribe known as the One Day Crew, watching on as hip hop’s man of the moment Allday rehearsed sound check. Then it all somehow got a hell of a lot weirder. Fast forward twenty minutes and I’m sitting on a couch in Spit Syndicate’s dressing room, eating marshmallows, and watching them crack jokes about a Cinderella poster blu-tac’d to the wall behind them. It’s a bit surreal to see guys that you’ve been listening to for years, to be suddenly seated right in front of you, making fun of each other and wearing thongs. Told you my day was strange.

Come 8:30pm, the curtains hiding the stage were drawn (by now I’d returned to my rightful place in the mosh) and Joyride’s giant frame stood centre stage, ready to get the gathering crowd moving and crooning along with him. Just a vital sidenote here: As learnt from my adventures before the gig, the Spit Syndicate boys have bestowed upon Joyride the nickname ‘Rap-Game Geoff Huegill’, and Rap-Game Geoff Huegill (as I will now forth refer to him) willingly complies and laughs at the use of this title.

Going along with the name games, Spit Syndicate’s own MC Nick Lupi doubled as Rap-Game Geoff Huegill’s soundman ‘DJ Chin Music’. Opening with Let’s Come Down Together, the crowd shifted within seconds from enjoying the joking lyrics and banter of the front man, to everyone in the place swaying in awe of Rap-Game Geoff Huegill’s unrivalled voice.

Now, you get two for the price of one when you pay to see Rap-Game Geoff Huegill live. Any gig of his turns out to be equal parts vocal performance and stand-up comedy. A classic example of such was when a chick in the audience yelled ‘Get it out’, in reference to Rap-Game Geoff Huegill’s undone fly. Consequently he went on a hilarious five-minute spiel on the importance of good manners, outlining the importance of saying ‘please’. Lesson learnt: you can convince Rap-Game Geoff Huegill to father your children if you politely say “Joyride have my babies, please.”

Bucket hats went on heads, tie-dyed shirts were revealed from under jackets, and shoulder length hair was whipped around as Steezed Out (fullay) teens either fan-girled or did their best to cooly imitate Allday Chubby Boy.

Into his cover of You & Me – the popular Flume remix of the Disclosure jam, every punter in the building became amped up for the set to come. For his own tune Girls in Jeans, the mosh was split into two sections as Allday got the crowd to chant the two separate parts of the hook. Julia Stiles – homage to the actress who screened in everybody’s favourite 90’s flick 10 Things I Hate About You - brought about a completely different vibe. Its chill downbeat tempo well replicates the style of the era Julia Stiles (the person, not the song) found herself famous in. Allday’s ability to command different types of hip hop prove exactly why Allday has found himself quickly rising to fame not only within the genre itself, but across the Australian music scene in general. His curiosity to experiment with different styles is definitely a step in the right direction, as its exactly what teens like myself have been looking out for – someone relatable yet fresh, who refuses to just regurgitate the same old shit time and time again.

Time for the headline act, and the Double S boys, Nick Lupi and Jimmy Nice, with Rap-Game Geoff Huegill on the decks jumped up on stage. They opened with Sip It Slow, a track from their popular third and most recent album Sunday Gentlemen. A few songs later, they were into a personal highlight of mine, Starry Eyed. The entire place was jumping and shouting the along to the hella fun lyrics //Come on a trip and let me take you inside a minute// There’s room enough for two but you’re welcome to ride with us//. I’ve got to admit, I can’t really remember exactly what happened for a while here, ‘cause come on; I was having way too much fun. I was in that place of ecstasy that live music and good vibes takes you. You all know it. But hey, that’s what this job is for, right?

With less than a week to go before the release of his most hyped album yet, Melbourne’s Illy joined Spit Syndicate for a rendition of Lost in Translation, a collab track from the third LP. The boys somehow managed to raise even more energetic vibes than they’d already conjured, this partnership and the audience’s enthusiasm in response to the special guest appearance, bouncing energy off everyone in the venue, and spilling out of the Hi Fi.

Changing pace completely, creating a completely different atmosphere, Spit Syndicate launched into All Summer Long Part II, their version of fellow One Day Crew’s Horrorshow’s ode to love and heartbreak. As is the case whenever this song is played live, emotions and tales of lost loves are sung loud, as strangers hug and sing to each other.

A string of recent releases followed, with the MCs launching into Amazing, Folly, and Beauty in the Bricks. As these were the album’s big singles, they went off live, to a rapturous thanks from the crowd. Inner-West representatives in the building, alongside all people proud of their home grounds, laid it down to the mega catchy yet unstated chorus //There’s beauty in the bricks in the city where I’m from// But she just wanna visit the neon lights tonight//.

After a farewell bid from the stage, and many audience shouts for an encore later, Nick Lupi, Jimmy Nice, and Rap-Game Geoff Huegill took to the stage one last time for the night, and for their Money Over Bullshit tour. Delving back into old classic Contour Lines, the final pick was dedicated to the most passionate of Spit Syndicate fans. What struck me the most from the night is that from meeting the guys in the afternoon to seeing them live in the space of a few hours, their genuine and fun-loving nature certainly resonates through their music and spreads right into the hearts of their fans.

-Reviewed by Rosie Grady

-Photos by Cameron D'Antone more photos here

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