Live Review: Hilltop Hoods, Thundamentals, K-21

The night started earlier than scheduled, with Golden Era stable-mate, K-21, kicking off at 8pm.

Playing before the biggest crowds he has seen on this tour must be intimidating, but he deals with it well, smashing through songs from his Kid Sinatra EP of last year and warming the crowd up nicely. Old school beats round out his repertoire of traditional rap.

There was a great vibe in the venue as Sydney favourites, Thundamentals, took to the stage. Their high energy entry sparked the crowd (and more than a few buds) into action.

Paint The Town Red kicked off proceedings and what followed was a greatest hits set-list from the Blue Mountains boys. MC’s Tuka and Jeswon have graduated through progressively bigger venues to the Hordern and they totally blew the crowd away. More than a few new fans were earned tonight as they proved they were worthy to share the stage with the Hoods.

The Hilltop Hoods’ audience was diverse, from pre-teens to old hip-hop heads and everyone in between. It proves that hip-hop in Australia is more mainstream than recognised.

The production from the Adelaideans has grown large. The inclusion of a 3-piece horn section and live drums give a great live edge to the performance, allowing for greater adlibbing and flexibility in their performance, which after 15 years, is necessary.

There is no disputing the energy of Suffa and Pressure on stage. They gave it their all in a show that included a decent mix of old (The Hard Road, Nosebleed Section) and new (Art Of The Handshake, I’m A Ghost). Suffa’s acapella cypher, whilst long, was impressive and the interaction with the crowd was mostly entertaining but the traditional Hoods intensity and crowd pulse seemed to be lacking tonight. Perhaps the growing maturity of the band lends itself to a more reflective nature as Pressure’s spine-tingling performance of Through The Dark proved. Other highlights of the evening were Speaking In Tongues and Cosby Sweater, which were lapped up by the punters.

The Hilltop Hoods still sit at the top of the Oz Hip-Hop pile, but other acts are quickly catching up. Can they maintain their reign or does this tour signify a changing of the guard? In any case, soak it up and sing along while you have the chance!