Live Review: GoldLink, Maribelle

Melbourne based singer-songwriter and producer Maribelle rocked up on stage in what was essentially a pink and black lace nightie with a Playboy bunny kimono draped over the top. She did well as a support act and brought with her an admirable energy and stage presence, singing Tamia's 1998 R&B classic So Into You. All the onstage equipment was draped in synthetic roses behind her and the pink and red stage lights did well to complement her performance.

GoldLink emerged not long afterwards, ripping off his denim jacket and revealing a white tank emblazoned with "Black Flag". The crowd had already started to go a little bit nuts in what felt like a pretty rough and violent mosh pit, before he played NERD's Everyone Nose. The DJ behind him then proceeded to follow through, oddly enough, with Justin Bieber's Sorry, with GoldLink screaming, "I'm wearing a Black Flag shirt; I don't know what that shit means to you but it means everything to me!" Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit was more than enough to get everyone aggressively moshing again before GoldLink started playing air guitar with the mic stand and finally decided to perform his own material again.

Wassup live sounded almost better than on record, the self-described "future bounce" sound rebounding off the walls for his collaboration with Soulection producer Sango. Effortlessly combining hip hop and house music, GoldLink has created a slick, genre-crossing sound that is extremely danceable and engaging in a live set. When I Die had everyone up in arms again, before he performed the Missy Elliot-sampled crowd favourite Spectrum. Despite the odd little breakdown of pop, punk and R&B tunes halfway through his set, each track flowed organically and with an impressive amount of confidence and ease for a newcomer.