Live Review: Bliss N Eso, Yelawolf, Pez

With a three-year wait between albums, it was no real surprise the Perth show of the Bliss N Eso tour was a sell-out, or that the crowds came in early, eagerly waiting for it to begin. 

As Melbourne MC Pez walked on stage, his laidback performance style got everyone in the mood for a good night. This guy is a ball of infectious energy with upbeat songs that you just want to sing along to, and that was definitely the case during tracks like Festival Song and The Game.

Next up was Alabama rapper, Yelawolf, who is signed to Eminem's label. His set showcased the vast contrast between the different styles of Australian hip-hop and American rap, but his more aggressive style seemed to tick the boxes for much of the audience. Performing in dark sunglasses for much of the set, while his songs all sounded very similar to unfamiliar ears, Pop The Trunk and Daddy's Lambo had the crowd happily chanting along with the Southern rapper.

And then it was the moment the crowd had been waiting for. As the Bliss N Eso trio bounded on stage the crowd surged a little as they moved closer to get a better view as the group opened with something of an oldie, Woodstock 2008. From then on it was non-stop energy as the two MCs bounded across the stage, enticing the crowd to sing along. The set list was a play list of both old and new, featuring a selection of tracks from their new album, Circus In The Sky, including Act Your Age, which works quite nicely live with the sample of the Bluejuice song of the same name, as well as Next Frontier, which samples Sarah Blasko's We Won't Walk. Animal Kingdom was another newbie that got a run, as well as I Am Somebody. In amongst some beat boxing by Bliss and some nice work on the turntable by DJ Izm, the new tracks fitted in well alongside some of their most loved songs, like Family Affair, Down By The River and the eternal feel-good song, Party At My Place. It seemed like they had only stepped on stage moments before as they played House Of Dreams, signalling the end of the set. With an encore of Home Is Where The Heart Is and Addicted, the crowd was singing along, hands up in the air, right until the end, which saw DJ Izm step from behind his desk and join Bliss and Eso to run amok for the last few minutes before they finished off with a roll call of the Aussie, Aussie, Aussie chant and to the delight of those in front, a casual stage dive into the crowd.