Live Review: Kendrick Lamar

If Tuka's set did anything, it was to highlight how lightweight Australian hip hop hooks are comparative to their American contemporaries. He didn't stand a chance with the crowd shouting Kendrick's name most of his set, though a brief female vocal cameo on the final song was a saving grace.

Kendrick Lamar emerged to cries of his own name, a sea of hands in the air and stomping feet. Looking over the sold out theatre he announced: “tonight isn't a concert, it's a fucking party!” and proceeded to unfurl heavy bass and an effervescent stage presence that sent the predominantly male audience into a jumping, hand slamming frenzy. The reaction to each song was genuinely extraordinary, with as much love shown for Section.80 tunes as the newer good kid, m. A. A. d. city material and his verse from A$AP Rocky's recent Fuckin Problems. The opening hook of Backseat Freestyle caused the floor to violently vibrate; there was no need for Lamar to utter a word as baritone yells of 'Martin had a dream, Kendrick have a dream!' overwhelmed. He performed with incredible dexterity, seemingly never stopping for air, both gifted at off the cuff freestyling and pulling out the double speed verses from Swimming Pools (Drank), a song some in the audience still seem to assume is a party anthem rather than a damning insight into Lamar's struggles with sobriety.

The brief encore of Cartoons And Cereal wasn't enough for the audience and Lamar himself, as he returned again to perform two more songs, replete with a crowd catch cry of 'fuck you Dave', the unfortunate tour manager who was trying to wrap it up. As the sweat settled, Lamar looked out and declared, “no matter how big this gets, I'll always come back here”. The responding shouts clearly meant that we really hope so too.