Steppin' out on home turf The Hi Tops Brass Band lit up Sydney's Basement stage for a cosy mid-week gig. Stuffed with delicious tacos, compliments of the club's Mexican pop-up, La Lupita, the beginnings of an audience migrated across to the bar ready for the boys.
Warming up the crowd with a wall of brassy energy the eight-piece ensemble filled the stage comfortably. A couple of songs in with Shazza T onstage things got going with a series of covers from Michael Jackson, Aloe Blacc, Fugees and most ambitiously the Backstreet Boys. While the MC's use of Auto-Tune wasn't completely convincing, you couldn't fault the confident delivery of Aussie hip hop swag amongst the groups of raw brass.
A pretty relaxed looking crew, the Hi Tops' stage presence had a warm, upbeat vibe which really showed when they loosened up in their second set. The crowd responded with more and more people streaming in from late night shifts in the city. Judging from the hi-vis vests, pressed suits and maxi dresses their sound's got a broad appeal. Keeping pace with original tunes, the band and MC got comfortable with more of their own material, showing off hip hop originals from Shazza T and solos from the band.
Melting big brass and hip hop is such a god damn good idea, and they boys know how to do it well. Although at times their sound felt a little shambolic (and maybe it goes with the mash of genres) when the stars aligned and the brass found its harmony their sound packed a cheeky punch.
