Live Review: Haiku Hands, Jayteehazard, Mookhi, Billie Rose

Mookhi's electronic beats break the silence of the barely occupied Lansdowne.

No matter how much artists promote the support acts, it seems that people still can't manage to arrive before 9pm. They missed not only hearing the unique and super talent DJ Mookhi, but Billie Rose enthralling and enticing the small crowd.

Starting with a spicy rap over a Rage Against The Machine riff, Billie Rose fired off a mixture of tracks, including Sour Milk, delivered from her Daily Meds days, a Dawn Laird beat, and some seriously edgy and provocative lyrics. Billie Rose used the stage and the dancefloor to exhibit her charisma and dance moves. Her strong soulful voice also had plenty of chances to shine in between her insightful raps and Mookhi's beats.

Well known for providing expert production and mixes to Urthboy, Hilltop Hoods, AB Original, Coda Conduct and Funkoars to name a few, Jayteehazard also creates original music under his name and tonight we were treated to a DJing masterclass. Moving between his originals to remixes of Urthboy, The Meeting Tree and Sietta, Jayteehazard's nimble skills are as slick and smooth as his track choices. We overheard in the crowd, "He's the best DJ in Australia" — and he might very well be.

As expected, the moment the supports finished, the crowd squeezed up against the Lansdowne stage. Speaking of the audience, selling out a 250-capacity room after only releasing one song is no mean feat.

The four members of Haiku Hands arrived to rapturous applause. Each Hand is already an established artist or musician in their own right, so there's little wonder that the collaboration works so well — they're essentially a supergroup. Claire Nakazawa, Beatrice Lewis, Mie Nakazawa and Mataya Young took to the stage and busted into their first track. Mechanical Animal commenced the show and straight up we realised we were in for a banging night. Each song saw the four-piece coordinating dance moves, rotating around the stage, taking turns at the lead lines and complementing each other's lines.

The beauty of the group is the dynamic and sheer fun. They played off each other delightfully; smiling and playfully interacting with the excitable audience. One track, Jupiter, was an early set highlight, but it's the dancier numbers that really got the crowd going. When True Vibenation hit the stage on saxes with Mookhi on trumpet for an all-together romp for Squat, the crowd really went off.

With only a limited number of songs, we were able to get the feeling that Haiku Hands are just at the start of a big run. With slicker production, moves and lights, their stage show can only get better, because the quality of the beats and the interaction are already well established, enhanced moxy, talent and a sense of humour.

Not About You expectantly went off with a bang and their last song, something about 'man bitches' called Work On It, is future single material.