Live Review: ScHoolboy Q, B Wise, DJ Klasik

As we step through the door into Festival Hall, the air resembles something similar to a winter's morning, when the fog descends into an enveloping haze, making it difficult to see what's in front of you. Except instead of fog, it's a thick layer of weed smoke that continues to rise from the crowd and dissipate into the air for the entirety of the evening. DJ Klasik spins some of the latest and most loved hip hop tunes in order to pump up the slowly trickling audience. There are more demonstrations of dabbing (the dance move that looks like you’re sneezing into your elbow with the other arm raised horizontally) than expected and the majority of punters use this precious time to edit their Instagram photos of the stage, where a large picture of ScHoolboy Q’s face looms in the background.

B Wise kicks off his set by encouraging everyone to turn around and say a quick "what's up?" to the people around you. He has a super-smooth flow and is able to maintain a calm and carefree vibe throughout his set. The look of genuine enjoyment is written on his face and he takes the time to express his gratitude saying, "You haven't heard of me in your fucking life, but you gave me your time." Ending with a quick word expressing his disappointment about America's election outcome, there's plenty of screaming and booing, which is only a tiny taster of the Donald Trump bashing to come.

Lights dim and the background music stops abruptly as ScHoolboy Q's DJ jumps onto the stage. After a few tracks to get the energy level back up and an unwelcome comparison to Brisbane's audience the night before, implying that Melbourne isn't "turnt enough", the crowd erupts into boos and loudly chants, "Melbourne, Melbourne, Melbourne!" for about a minute. Determined to upstage Brisbane, the audience erupts further as ScHoolboy Q appears.

Sound quality is exceptional tonight. The wall-shaking bass sends the audience into overdrive as ScHoolboy Q launches into crowd favourites, Lord Have Mercy and By Any Means. It's only a matter of time before Donald Trump is brought up again and YG's track FDT (Fuck Donald Trump) blasts through the speakers and is met with a sea of middle fingers as far as the eye can see. The lengthy pauses between tracks are a bit of a vibe killer, however ScHoolboy Q and his DJ (who remains standing on the DJ console smoking a joint for the majority of the evening) easily manage to maintain a high level of crowd intensity throughout the night.

One hour later and it's clear that fans still haven't had enough. After a fierce performance of That Part/Man Of The Year, and after ScHoolboy Q himself requests a mosh pit, Melbourne fans finally hear what they've been waiting for all night: "This is the most turnt-up show I've done, including America, and that's why I'll always come back to Australia."