Live Review: Bad Opera Collective ft. Billy Davis, Tentendo, The CB3, Swell, Blasko & More

There ain't no doubt that everyone here is ready to have a good time.

Beers are flowing, beats from the indoor and outdoor areas mangle together every time punters open the door to pass through, the pulsating bass bleeds through the walls, and the aircon is working overtime to keep the room at a tolerable temperature as the keen crowd creeps in to bliss out to Swell's beats. We look forward to checking out more of his stuff at the end of the evening when he's set to return to the stage to close out the night.

The CB3 are an instrumental R&B/hip hop trio that keeps us on our toes. It's an effortless funk jam — so tight, yet so relaxed on stage that they make it look easy. Every lick and switched-up tempo is an unexpected, dizzying delight, with melody lines that catch us off-guard, before flinging us head-first into a beatific, happy daze of funk-flavoured hooks and delicious bass lines.

Illuminating the dark room is a large projection onto the main stage wall, with the Bad Opera collective's logo. The logo is a face, half with a white mask — presumably a take on Phantom Of The Opera — and the other half features personalised cartoon faces of every member of the Bad Opera collective. As each of them get up on-stage to do their thing, the background visual shifts to their very own caricature. It's a super-cool visual, and adds cohesiveness to their branding.

Mellow jams to get us in our feels are provided by Tentendo, the mind behind a lot of the production side to tons of tracks heard here tonight. We're treated to a selection of beats featuring silky samples, pitched-up vocals, and reverberating bass lines with juicy little synth progressions sprinkled liberally throughout. Features from Blasko, KHIA, Janeva and Jordan Dennis are all met with incredibly positive vibes, as indicated by the fierce applause each one is treated to after singing their lungs out.

Major props to RINI's band up next, who are supremely switched on from the first note and bring the heat to support his vocals. The tempo change in the outro of the first track is damn delicious, not to mention the fresh guitar and keys fills that add just that little bit of extra sweetness. He brings out another Bad Opera member, Olivia Escuyos, to lend her rocket-fuel-powered vocals to the next track — a teaser for her upcoming set. RINI's rapping interlude is really smooth, and would do justice featured on even more tracks.

Punters take a break from the main room, for a brief breather outside to listen to Cazeaux O.S.L.O's DJ set, featuring some nostalgic old-school hip hop vibes. The crowd here tonight is a chill one. It makes for a comfortable surrounding; no sloppy and intimidating peeps a few too many beers in, no notable invasive behaviour on the D-floor, no annoying heckling and no exclusive, large cliques making others feel unwelcome. Everyone is solely here to enjoy the music, and it's evident in the positive energy of the crowd as a whole.

Olivia Escuyos steps up to showcase her controlled vocals and seriously confident stage presence. This girl totally works the stage like a pro, strutting her stuff whilst belting out some massive notes from her latest release. Mars and On My Own are both standouts, and delivered with incredible intensity, especially those climactic soaring vocals.

Jordan Dennis' flow and stage presence gets stronger every single time he gets on the mic. His live performance proficiency is on a rapid incline and it's obvious, because the crowd is going nuts for every single verse he delivers. Bringing on a mate, referred to as 'Li'l Windex', for a minute launches the energy in the room into complete and utter pandemonium, as the two seriously shred the stage, much to the pleasure of the audience. Dennis' singing is as admirable as his MC skills, as we're treated briefly to some crooning. With another vocal feature by Blasko, and beats supplied by Tentendo, we see the inner workings of the Bad Opera collective in full force. The utilisation and respect of each other's talents to better themselves and their own music, and essentially come up as a group, is commendable.

Blasko's performance is liberally laced with falsetto and vocal runs for days. He's got punters in the palm of his hand, and proves just why he's an indispensable part of Bad Opera, not only as a feature vocalist, but as a soloist too. Cazeaux O.S.L.O is invited to get up on stage for a quick killer verse, and he totally shuts it down in the brief few minutes he's up there. A standout sax solo by Samuel Winter is a smooth, honeyed dream and with the half-time drop, we're elevated to another level.

DeAndre Brackensick is otherworldly. "If you don't know me, now you know," he says calmly after the first track, and punters are left simultaneously confused and astounded by how this guy is able to produce that sound from his body. His voice has an elasticity to it that feels like it could be stretched and bent in every single direction — and he does it with such ease, it's mind-blowing. It's not often you'd ever find an artist that is able to deliver this level of quality live, but he goes above and beyond any expectation imaginable. This set is pretty much the equivalent of someone flinging an entire bucket of ice-cold water straight on your face on the hottest day in existence, when you're stranded in the desert, debilitated by heatstroke and soaked in sweat. Sweet, sweet ecstasy.

Closing out the night are none other than Billy Davis & The Good Lords. Davis takes front and centre, shredding the keys to smithereens and delivering a painstakingly polished set to ensure the evening ends in complete funk-induced hysteria. Every single solo is ridiculously refined and, by this point, it's more a party vibe than just a bunch of people staring at a stage: soulful vocals, dizzying guitar licks, heavy bass, drums tight as hell and brass and woodwind interludes to entice you just that little bit more. There's not one person in here that's not getting down and dirty, which is a total credit to these guys. Proof of their success as a band is shown when the entire crowd sings along word-for-word to No Longer Lovers, drowning out the lead vocals themselves.

After finally bringing the room back to some level of sanity, and thanking the collective again for their efforts tonight, Swell is up to provide a last little set for punters to exhaust all their pent-up energy before making a bee line for the exit. Unfortunately, time prevails and the lights blind us just after the crowd begins to vibe to I'm Sorry — the dreamiest of dreamy tracks.

Tonight is proof of just why we should keep an eye out for Bad Opera. They're a powerhouse collective that's sure to shake things up in Melbourne's soul/hip hop/R&B scene. We're just glad we got to experience the start of it, because there are undoubtedly massive things to come here. So, you've been warned. Look out.