Live Review: 30/70, Cool Out Sun, MzRizk

MzRizk is on the decks setting the scene for the night, spinning a variety of old-school hip hop and funk-inspired tracks as punters enter the venue.

We make a concerted effort to avoid standing behind Corner Hotel's pole and secure ourselves an uninterrupted view as tonight's first act, Cool Out Sun, make their way on stage. The Afro-funk four-piece burst into high-energy tracks as djembe player Lamine Sonko takes off alongside the inspired lyrics of N'fa Jones. The outfit radiates with the collective power of its member's individual successes, with past projects spanning from international Afro Orchestras to local hip-hop collaborations. Opening with African Hustle, the group presents a collection of mostly new material, including their forthcoming track that manages to wrangle the obscurity of the 5/4 tempo to produce a solid groove. 30/70's Allysha Joy is spotted spreading frankincense throughout the band room, which,  although potent in the enclosed space, suits Cool Out Sun's sound. 

As we make our way back in for 30/70, the crowd has picked up significantly and, despite us having successfully dodged the pole, there seems to be a lot of large hats in the room tonight. The Melbourne-based collective take the stage playing softly and intensely on their instruments as suspense and smoke stirs among punters. Joy's vocals seamlessly follow the beats, elucidating a gripping strength from each note. The collective erupt from strolling beats into jazz-funk licks and swerves, which are characteristic of the band's album, Elevate. Joy addresses the audience: "We know that you all get down in your bedroom and we want you to do that here, we want you to feel uninhibited." By this point in the set, we don't need to be told twice. Josh Kelly's saxophone curls among the steady beats and luxurious vocals in a manner that excites punters who have forgone their reservations. Their track Steady Hazin' conjures earthy grooves as bassist Henry Hicks and drummer Ziggy Zeitgeist carve the way for Kelly's understated-yet-powerful sax kicks. Joy ditches her cowbell for an empty beer bottle halfway through, leading into Misrepresented by telling us, "I feel misrepresented by this government - [how they've put] people in Manus, people in Nauru. Nah, that's not me, and I feel mis-rep-ra-sen-TED." They then tear into the chorus.

The set seems to move by very quickly, although, feeling the exhaustion in our legs and then looking at the time, we realise we've been dancing for well over an hour. 30/70 leave the stage encouraging us to join them at kick-ons, reflecting the strong sense of community that this collective has curated in the Melbourne scene.