Live Review: Listen Out Perth

Tucked away in an arena at least 24km north away from the nearest city, the sold-out Listen Out 2017 warmed up a soggy weekend as 10,000-plus festival punters were spoilt for choice with this killer line-up. The wind and rain on the day meant nothing to diehard fans who stood strong to experience one hell of a party.

In the mid-afternoon, Palais kicked off his set with Instant Crush as the festival area began to boom with hot dubs. Crowds formed around each stage, revellers getting comfortable in the mosh and eager to see their favourite artists. A great choice for opening act, Palais attracted a hundred-or-so people who started dancing around the pit, his trap-inspired, evocative electronica blasting to the point where conversations turned into shouting matches. Palais' DJ skills were on full display as he dropped an eclectic mix of his own tunes as well as tracks by other artists such as Stormzy and Sam Gellaitry. Palais finished off by booming, "WHO'S KEEN FOR FUTURE?" At this point, it still felt as if people were beginning to ease into the day and things were just getting started.

When Mac Miller stepped out on stage, people were already pushing in the mosh and at this point the festival was in full swing. A few seconds into performing Insomniak, Miller cut the song and the stage went silent. "I can't hear you, Australia! Let's try this one more time!" he screamed, before rewinding the song and starting it over again. This time the crowd chanted along so loudly that his vocals could barely be heard over the booming bass.

Pnau brought the crazy visuals and their performance of Chameleon was unsurpassed; an immersive display that made the crowd swoon even while being drenched by rain.

A few hours later, Bryson Tiller brought the crowd to a frenzy and day-one fans were crying as he performed songs from his album True To Self. He laid his truthfulness and honesty out on the stage, opening up about his struggles. "It's my first time out here, Australia," he said, as the crowd cheered and whistled. "It's been hard," he continued, "with all this success and fame. People claiming you owe them a part of your success. Please promise me one thing, Australia, and that's to be true to yourself!" Tiller clasped his hands and looked out into the distance, taking a second to soak up the sounds of the screaming fans.

As the sun drifted behind the drizzling open space of trees and fields, Future came out on stage half an hour late. Nevertheless, the relentless crowd did not seem to care and gave in to his unfiltered, emotional, rapid-fire hip hop. "It's cold out here, but I wanna see this crowd come out strong!" he screamed. The mosh was, at this point, a frantic sea of punters swaying left to right. Future set the night off and made us feel a wide range of emotions. 

"You know what I came for, sure... To take my MASK OFF!" We were then treated to Mask Off and a high-energy performance laced with the occasional, "If you ready, put your middle finger up!" This then turned into, "PUT TWO MIDDLE FINGERS UP!" We were momentarily ignited by Future's signature, fluid, mumbling-yet-melodic vocal style. As he finished off with, "WE LOVE YOU, AUSTRALIA!" we felt the rain and cold. People huddled by the side fences and desperately tried to find shelter. Those who stuck it out in these weather conditions clearly love music. It was a day we'll never forget.