Bliss N Eso at the Domain 17/4/14 - Live Review

You don’t have to look far to see the difference between American and Australian hip hop. While our neighbours from over the Pacific are busy rocking gold teeth and stacking their money in champagne spas with scarcely-clad women, our rappers emit a glow of positivity while lyrically touching day-to-day lives of our sunburnt country. And if you were one of the 5000 people packed into Sydney’s open-air Domain on Thursday night, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about.

Arguably Australia’s finest hip-hop exports, Bliss n Eso aimed to become the Christopher Columbus of Aussie rappers with their Circus Under Stars tour. An unprecedented 16 shows across the country with an all-star line up including supports from near and far: a recipe for something absolutely massive. Move over Tupac Hologram and the Yeezus tour: if you had been standing at the top of Sydney Tower, you would’ve witnessed a bird’s eye view of the most remarkable hip-hop extravaganza in modern history.

Cold and blustery winds blew across Hyde Park, but inside the mosh it was a different story: warm and sweaty with the anticipation for the show to begin. As the sun set, Sydney locals Horrorshow strolled humbly onto stage: behind the decks stood mastermind DJ Adit and in front of him treaded MC Solo. Although not being the most groundbreaking of performers (not groundbreaking at all, in fact), Horrorshow’s appeal from its sophisticated lyrical content, with an unrivalled political and social commentary (my favourite? “Mister Abbott, could you please turn to vapour?”). The duo had just enough time to cover the hits from their three albums, as well as chucking in their recent Like A Version and a well-received cover of Sticky Fingers’ hit ‘Gold Snafu’. Creativity like this is what keeps Horrorshow afloat while others sink, and (for any A Clockwork Orange fans out there), kept everyone’s glazzies viddying the stage the whole time.

“I’m so sick of all Seth Sentry’s hoverboard bullshit,” I heard to my right between sets, from some guy whose moronic American basketball flatcap was drenched in sweat and dripping on me. “He’s not even smart or funny.”

Alright, ignorant Kerser-loving asshole, believe what you will. But from the other few thousand people present, thank you Seth Sentry. Since the release of his debut album in 2012, the Melbourne rapper (who is both smart and funny, thank you very much), has been making waves with his new brand of light-hearted hip-hop. Accompanied by his enthusiastic partner DJ Sizzle, Sentry’s set was an energetic explosion of witty lyrics and hilarious crowd interaction, complete with flurries of nerf gun bullets – everyone’s a winner. He still might not have his real hoverboard, but by the time “Dear Science”’s harmonica faded out at the end of the set, even the sweaty asshole next to me was bobbing his head.

So, what can be said for Bliss n Eso? If nothing else, simply the spectacle was massive. The crowd was proudly informed at the end of the show that the setup of the venue took three days alone – a crew of thirty, plus an impressive four-piece backing band: if that’s not massive, I don’t know what is. This is no album tour, no Enmore show; Circus Under Stars is a culmination of all the things that Bliss, Eso and DJ Izm hold dear to themselves after more than a decade of making music. From the opening rebellion of “Family Affair” to the introspective “Eye Of The Storm”, from the nostalgia of “Happy In My Hoody” to the news hits like “My Life”, the trio showed their hometown why they deserved the honour of playing in the domain. Passion dripped from Bliss’s face while sweat dripped from ours, Eso’s veins bulged with energy as the crowd jumped to every beat. DJ Izm commanded the show from his decks… no, wait; his van (yep, they resurrected an old green combi van and turned it into Izm’s cavern of luscious beats). Female backing vocals soared through the night air, as did that of Californian Ceekay Jones (who had delivered a much more forgettable performance earlier that evening), entwining beautifully for a completely acoustic version of Running On Air hit “Reflections”. Even on such a massive tour, the group conserved no energy and gave it their absolute all for the crowd, who lapped up every damn minute of it.

It’s fitting to remind ourselves of Bliss n Eso’s arguably most well-reknowned lyric: “I’m addicted to this universal feeling called life”. In this world, we are addicted to everything: alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, sex, pizza. What we forget, though, is how to be addicted to life. Everyone’s addicted to life. Bliss n Eso are just trying to get you out of rehab.

-Review by Ruben Seaton

Photo by Geneva Valek check out more here

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