Live Review: Hiatus Kaiyote, Baro Cura x Silentjay, Caseaux OSLO

Enmore Theatre was the scene for a thrilling assemblage of artists on the week before Christmas. The line-up, all members of the exploding Melbourne soul, funk, hip hop and jazz scene and all apparent friends, would showcase why this scene is looked at fondly for its class, skill and diversity.

First up, the main man from the Melbourne hip hop and R&B duo, Man Made Mountain, Cazeaux O.S.L.O., warmed the crowd up with his solo ‘beats and raps’ all from a seated position at the front of the stage. The G-funk and soul-inspired beats underneath his tight and insightful lyrics and raps, showed a man confident in his abilities. His warm discourse gave the early ‘front-rowers’ insight into the workings of an artist that deserves a listen as he traversed a range of unreleased solo tracks that will certainly see the light of day before long.

Pic by Josh Groom

Vocalist Lori, who would appear multiple times throughout the night, kept spinning some tunes between sets to keep us in the groove, but she handed over to Silentjay for the next set which would see him unite with Baro Sura for a full suite of new hip hop tracks.

“We haven’t done this for a while!” declared Silentjay, as he provided the beats, the backings and the hype for Baro, who took a little time to warm into his set, but by the end had the crowd bouncing and singing. His attempts to involve the swelling crowd were greeted with joyous call and responses of “Next time, there’s never gonna be a next time!”, amongst others.

Baro would introduce guest singers of Lori and Jace XL to cover vocal lines as he rounded out a set that just got better and better.

Pic by Josh Groom

With one of the year’s best and most critically acclaimed albums under their belt, Hiatus Kaiyote were keen to explore the workings of Mood Valiant before a live Sydney audience. “We weren’t sure if we’d be able to do this,” exclaimed a clearly relieved Nai Palm of the pandemic situation escalating around the country. The relief was palpable in the crowd as well as they loosened up to opener Rose Water.

There is little that can prepare you for the sound that Hiatus Kaiyote are able to produce. It’s not just the sublimely confident and proficient musical ability on stage, it’s the energy they exude, it’s the combination of the right sounds, the right vocals and the pinpoint timing they deliver it in. The band - despite their obvious masterful renditions - remain understated throughout, giving the space and stage to Nai Palm, a singer that can seemingly effortlessly dance her vocal between bass and falsetto faster than the pulsating staccato syncopation that is going on around her.

This band, with all of its extraordinary playing, are ultimately driven by the exact nature of a drummer that literally does not miss a beat. Perrin Moss, a self-taught drummer from the Blue Mountains, stepped it up with some louder fills a few times during the evening, much to the delight of the drummers in the audience.

The fact that the room is filled with musicians is not lost on the lead singer. The question, “How many musicians do we have in the room?” was met with a hearty cheer. This band are an aural delight for all, but particularly for budding musicians who just need to see how this music is actually performed live. That’s the clincher – the recordings of Hiatus Kaiyote are amazing and the fact that their live show represents those recordings so exactly makes their performances all the more heroic.

There was an obvious joy on the face of Nai Palm as she sang. Whether it was riffing on her incongruously rock ‘Flying V’ guitar or holding court with her stunning vocal acrobatics, she smiled at the crowd, her band and at the trio of outstanding backing vocalists on stage, including the aforementioned Silentjay, Jace XL and Lori, who’s precise delivery of harmonies gave delight to all.

Pic by Josh Groom

The band segued Get Sun smoothly into Molasses and the crowd cheered with recognition of the start of each track. Red Room, with its down-key brooding, gave the crowd a chance to sway, but ‘oldie’ Cinnamon Temple, with a huge burst of eclectic sound, including a roaring and unbelievable bass tone from Paul Bender, saw a lot more unorthodox dancing. Despite a malfunction with Simon Mavin’s keyboard set-up, the band safely navigated the finish before resolving the issue and jumping into the magical By Fire from their 2015 album, Choose Your Weapon.

The poignant lyric of set closer Stone Or Lavender was not lost on the crowd. “Please believe me when I say, someday it’ll be okay.” In that moment, with tears glazing over eyes, we all believed it.

An encore of Prince Minikid and The Lung drove us into the humid Enmore evening with an elation and feeling that, with Hiatus Kaiyote representing Australian music here and abroad, everything really will be okay.

Pic by Josh Groom