Room has always been a favorite venue of mine, least of which because it is located in a decent neighborhood, it is neat and tidy and the sound system has always been good. This then, seemed like it missed on a few of the above parameters. The line was long – when I say long, it was a good 45 minute wait for those of us collecting tickets, which is inordinately long. But once at the door, the staff were friendly and courteous, apologized for the delay and we were in.

The crowd was an interesting mix of young and old. Of course the hoodlums with their baseball caps and baggy jeans were out in force – but there was also a collection of older people – those that had actually grown up with Ice-T – myself being one of those. Having decided that the mosh-pit wasn’t for me, I made my way to the back (and to the bar) where it was far more comfortable and space was available aplenty.

There were some cool supports from Aussie beat-boxer, Joel Turner and a couple of DJz who warmed the crowd before Rudy and Revelino came on. I, like most people in the room was a little unsure of why the program included emcees singing soppy love songs but I guess it added something to the diversity of the evening.

Afrika Islam said a few words about being son of Bambatta and a part of Zulu nation – and then proceeded to give us, in his words, “a lesson in hip hop”. He played some Nas and Dre and it sounded positively awful. It lacked direction and focus. He seemed asleep. I don’t know if it was sped up, played wrong or the sound engineers were simply dozing, but the crowd got more and more restless – some were even yelling and booing which is unprecedented at such a show. Marc Live from Kool Keith appeared with promises of the great Ice-T being in the house, which certainly excited the punters, but his verses too, were dry, boring and did little to rev the crowd.

Finally though, the Ice man made it to the stage and it seemed the fog had cleared to what would eventually become a sunny day. Meandering to the old and the new among us, he said “some of you might know me as Ice-T the actor – that’s bullshit!” To the sound of applause and cheering he quickly cemented himself as Ice-T the rapper and played a number of old and new classics.

I recall L.G.B.N.A.F, I’m your Pusher, Colors, New Jack Hustler, O.G and some newer stuff I hadn’t heard before. There was a little bit of talk and chatter between Ice and the audience which is always synonymous with hip hop gigs – which I thought was novel. And the nostalgia element (is this the last time he’ll perform in Australia? He’s nearly 50!) made it a worthwhile expedition out in the freezing Melbourne winter. He played for a couple of hours and on the whole, it was an entertaining show.

It’s a pity the atmosphere in the room was a little nonchalant – I bet it had a lot to do with the sound. It failed to really get the room moving – perhaps in parts it did, when most people sang along to Colors – but on the whole, it was the weakest link in the chain, and really let the gig down. Regardless, the Ice put on a decent show despite showing his age. And make no mistake, he still dope!