Live Review: Watsky, Dylan Joel, Sleepwalkers

After making the audience line up in the cold for a solid hour, the support acts had quite the uphill battle ahead of them. First act RG Wings must’ve played while we were in line, so it was up to the other two bands to set things right.

Second act Sleepwalkers featured two MCs, one of them mixed low enough to be drowned out by heavy 808 bass, but both were pretty lively performers. The tone felt a little removed from Watsky’s wordy, nerdy rhymes (favouring a lot of hyping up to unmemorable dubstep-flavoured choruses), but it was at least enough to get a few fists pumping.

The crowd was already chanting the headliner’s name before Dylan Joel took the stage – not necessarily a good sign for the rising Melbourne artist, but one that didn’t seem to shake him too much. The integration of live bass and drums instantly upped the energy level, and Joel followed through with solid crowd participation and a confident, lively stage presence. The bouncy The Cool Kids delivered strong melody and upbeat, vibrant flow, while a mash-up of The Next Episode with It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop closed things on a familiar note.

San Francisco rapper George Watsky came out the gate hard with Moral Of The Story, a fast-paced tune that showcased his lyrical dexterity, as well as the agility and power of his terrific band. Live drums, keys, guitar, bass, trumpet and backing vocals complemented the rapper throughout, showcasing complex and exciting instrumentation that punctuated the verses while never becoming over-busy or intrusive.

Seizure Boy presented an opportunity for the band to play around with timing, stretching out the bridge for extra drama, while the chords of Strong As An Oak provided space for cameo choruses from Rich Girl, Hey, Asshole and the fantastic 4AM Monday. In spite of the now-infamous stage-diving incident on the Warped Tour last year, Watsky (ever the showman) clearly had no problem jumping up and around the stage and crowd-surfing. In spite of some questionable song choices (the cringe-worthy Ugly Faces is only just better live than recorded, while Cannonball was a late-set bummer), the set had plenty of memorable moments (including a particularly exciting drum solo) and finished strong with the crowd-pleasing, mile-a-minute Whoa Whoa Whoa.