Live Review: Flatbush Zombies, Captain Franco, Dutch

Captain Franco from Halfway Crooks spun an unadorned DJ set to start off the night. His mix of mainstream and underground hip hop tunes had the mostly male audience pumped and shouting along to a few jams from Kendrick Lamar's catalogue interspersed with some Young Jeezy, T.I. and Yelawolf.

The crowd gave Sydney rapper Dutch the cold shoulder. His call and response and braggadocio fell flat but the turntablism from DJ Robbie Vago was smooth and Dutch's upbeat flow on tracks like recent single, Hank Moody, were worth more than the feeble applause they received.   

Franco returned for another round and managed to get the crowd back on their feet with the official remix of Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe feat. Jay-Z.

Zombie Juice, one third of Brooklyn's hip hop trio Flatbush Zombies, opened proceedings with dramatic flair introducing fellow rappers Meechy Darko in a fluoro tee and Erick Arc Elliot, who strode on stage and pumped out one of their latest hits, the psychedelic MRAZ.

The crew fought hard to showcase their intense and energetic stage presence, spitting rapid-fire verses and trading lines between each member with dynamics and fluidity. A wide-eyed Meechy Darko commanded the venue with hype and stage-dove into the mosh on the second song in. The audience settled into the vibe, waving lighters (not iPhones) in the air as Flatbush previewed a handful of unreleased tracks alongside crowd favourites like the ASAP Mob collab, Bath Salt, and viral YouTube hit, Thug Waffle. 

The highlight of the show was a remix rendition of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, where Meechy flung his shirt off and ran through the mosh and then the entire venue, struggling against the pull of crazed fans.

Their set was under an hour long and there was an uneasy vibe of disappointment from the stage but Flatbush Zombies returned for an encore and left the crowd with a simple and emphatic mantra: open your minds.