Live Review: Horrorshow @ Metro Theatre, Sydney

The foot traffic outside Horrorshow's Sydney venue was diverse, with all creeds and ways of life represented. Many walked in muted colours and existed, unaware that the most pungent thing permeating wasn't scented vapour, tobacco, or daringly conspicuous back alley odours but an air of anticipation.

One hundred die-hard Horrorshow hip-hop heads knew all too well what awaited them, having secured the privilege to hear Sydney's Humble Narrator expose untold tales from a time not so long ago when a 21-year-old MC Solo released his second project with his partner in crime, producer Adit Gauchan.

Celebrating Inside Story's fifteen years in the world, Solo gave fans unprecedented insights with an eighty-minute artist talk aptly entitled The Stories Inside.

Solo was initially on the back foot, acknowledging that the doors had opened nearly thirty minutes late. Given the evening's unique format and it being the first show of Horrorshow's first full tour as an independent act following Elefant Traks’ closure, we'll chalk this up as a learning experience. Besides, as he states in the refrain of the album's second track, "the show must go on," and go on, it did.

To ensure he didn't go on too much, he timed himself, acknowledging he could "talk underwater." He shared how the last real job he held (between 2007 and 09) was a remote position that afforded him an insight into the developing way of the world, allowing him to compose the album's increasingly relevant and eerily prophetic title track.

He also offered insights into Shakespeare references, compared his writing process to solving puzzles, and contextualised the album's title and lyrics about things long wondered by fans. Do you want to know how you crash twice in one tour or the identity of the palindromic angel that inspired fan favourite and album closer, Walk You Home? Well, you're in luck—there's still a modicum of tickets for the Melbourne show.

The Stories Inside finished shortly before the beginning of Jimmy Nice's first set in years. The icon's rare appearance brought out a wealth of Sydney hip-hop icons, and the confidence that comes with experience shone throughout.

Openers often won't open with yet-to-be-released tracks, but Jimmy isn't most openers. Contrarily, he worked the crowd like a headliner, working their limbs like a puppeteer. His setup was modest, consisting of him and a microphone, a DJ deck and his DJ to work them. His experience performing also showed in his backing tracks, as he interestingly left some lines of vocals sewn within the sound bed and, having memorised which ones, he could take lines off periodically, allowing him to maintain his breath control errorlessly and effortlessly.

His set was jam-packed with numerous previews, a handful of his sensational singles, many highlights from his classic debut album, and Amazing and Beauty In The Bricks—the two opening tracks to Spit Syndicate's 2013 landmark album, Sunday Gentleman.

Given these songs were Double S songs, it made sense to bring out the other half of the dormant collective, Nick Lupi, who emerged from stage right for the first time in years. The crowd erupted and welcomed the Sydney MCs like they'd never left. Jimmy closed out his set with his most recent single, I Was Here, demonstrating why he has been regarded as one of Australia's finest for over 15 years.

Capital Zee's DJ set consisted of '90s hip-hop anthems, scratching in tracks from the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Mobb Deep, and Busta Rhymes, soundtracking the anticipation of the man everyone came to see.

Solo's band preceded his voice, and his voice preceded his body, with the wordsmith starting his set offstage with an Acknowledgement of Country (Editor's Note: Starting a set with an AoC is uncommon, but it was consistent with Solo's messaging throughout his career, looking to tracks like Own Backyard and Any Other Name.) Solo and his accompanying bandmates launched into the album, running it from front to back in full.

Inside Story's opener, In, remains evergreen, like the rest of the album, and not always for pleasant reasons, with his reference to DV perpetrated in his neighbourhood sending chills—the introspectiveness and perspective penned by the then-teenage MC remained astounding. He introduced his band members by name after his opening number, highlighting one of his many great qualities as an artist, performer and person—respect.

As he always does, he demonstrated respect for his fellow performers by treating them as individuals and not simply instrumentalists; each musician was afforded an opportunity to shine once during the night, with these moments never feeling forced or out of place. The band facilitated seamless segues between songs in a fashion no fader or A.I. could hope to replicate. They were well-practised, requiring no conducting, allowing Solo to use his free hand to gesture effectively.

For example, when performing the "We starving for oxygen" line of the Inside Story chorus, he grasped his throat and omitted the word oxygen. Though the songs were fifteen years on, they were imbued with new life, thanks to the instrumental reimaginings. Solo also tweaked a song that had been, until now, left unfinished, premiering his verse for Nothing To Be Done (Interlude) that acted as a time capsule.

The verse, finished some months after the album was turned in, referenced festivals of yesteryear and since retired monikers for Horrorshow associates of old and referenced a litter of then-Elefant Traks signees who were then in their infancy, like Hermitude.

Solo's range as a musician showed when he performed the crooning, Jane Tyrell-less version of In My Haze, where the crowd spontaneously became her stand-in. The singalong for the song about Solo's first experience with magic mushrooms was pure, like the emotional state he was in while writing the song's lyrics. Solo demonstrated the instrumental skills he developed during the COVID years by whipping out his trusty ukelele for the first half of the album's closer, fan favourite Walk You Home.

This song evoked an emotional response in the audience, with many couples seeking mutual physical touch. Boldly, Solo's encore consisted of a preview of what's to come, debuting his to-be-released single for the first time before closing out his eighty-minute set with his typical closer.

Solo's other Horrorshow half, Adit, may have retired from touring some years ago, but he's far from solo. His bandmates are branches of the Horrorshow tree, and the audience is deeply invested, like tree roots, and they look like they'll be repping Horrorshow for life.