Live Review: Hilltop Hoods

Watching live music on an Island floating in front of the Harbour Bridge doesn’t happen every Tuesday night – but when it does, it’s done in style.

Channel [V] officially kicked off the start of their summer music season last Tuesday night by inviting ARIA nominees Hilltop Hoods and a bunch of guests to the elusive Island on Sydney Harbour to get the party going. Once aboard the floating open-air space, punters were spoilt with drinks, food, the iconic backdrop and best of all, a performance by the Hilltop Hoods. The best (Instagram) photos managed to include all of the above details in the one image.

It was a short but sweet performance by the Aussie hip hop legends. Although the event ran for two hours, the Hoods were only given 30 minutes to do their thing – not that we’re complaining about indulging in food and wine as the sun sets against the city skyline while waiting for a band.

Suffa, MC Pressure and DJ Debris gave the audience six tracks plucked from various eras across the seven studio albums they’ve released. They were joined on the stage by a trio of jazz musicians — an unlikely combo, but the Hoods’ fluid hip hop vibe welcomed jazz and a euphoric punch of energy was injected into the music.

The band were the perfect choice to celebrate the recognition of talented Australian musicians during ARIA Week. They opened their set with Chase That Feeling, which reached the top 10 on the ARIA singles chart in 2009 and closed with their latest hit, Cosby Sweater, which has just become the group’s first ever top 5 ARIA single.

Not content with the fleeting performance, the crowd yelled for more until the nod of approval was given by the powers that be and the Hoods reappeared to close the night with Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom, an appropriate song choice for the group who “came and conquered” the Australian hip hop scene.