With a rammed bill featuring some of Australia’s best acts and the UK’s Mystro this was a show not to be missed and it seems many shared this sentiment as a sold out sign went up shortly after the 8:00pm opening time. Security informed me that roughly another 60 had been turned away by my 9pm or so arrival, Adelaide was clearly up for a good show.

Making my way upstairs to the smallish room long favoured by Adelaide hip-hop promoters I was greeted by close to a half filled venue, a rare sight in Adelaide so early in the night. It was clear the jugs of beer available were a hit with the hip-hop community as they were selling at a frightening rate, DJ Shep set the mood early with a selection of classics and newer tracks. The only production hiccup of the night occurred during Shep’s set, with the fader breaking down during his own set, a brief conference of DJ’s behind the decks saw the problem resolved and it never resurfaced.

Opening act for the night were Co4sure, a crew that has been making a little bit of noise around town of late and were launching their EP. The two emcees gave a professional and hyped performance that had many bobbing in appreciation and better yet saw them doing a successful trade of EP’s as they worked the room for the remainder of the night.

Next up was Adelaide’s number one party guy, DJ Reflux. His set complete with the odd trick gave the fader a definite workout. The crowd began to sense the arrival of the Funkoars and rammed the front row with several punters invading the stage to shake in appreciation. Between scratching and mixing, Reflux took the time out to laugh at the sometimes drunken mob.

As he wound down his set the chant of “Fuuuunk Oaaaaaarrs” filled the room, after their breakout performance that blew so many away at the Big Day Out, this was their first hometown show and it was clear many had come to watch them tear the stage up. I positioned myself centre stage three people back for the set as it was one of the most intense dance floors I have ever been a part of. The oars absolutely killed it, their performance was flawless, the crowd lapped up tracks like C.O.T.Y, The Greatest Hit & And Now For Something Completely Different, singing along every line and yelling the now trademark chant of “fuck the Funkoars” when urged. By the time they closed with The Reason, the crowd was a pumped up sweaty mess and it was clear even the Oars where shocked and appreciative of the response.

Next up was Mystro and I almost felt sorry for him having to follow such an incredible set. I moved back towards the bar to take it in as he worked through tracks from Diggi Down Under. The slightly diminished dance floor were still clearly appreciative of the tightness of the set. Having a local release has helped his following in Australia, with a lot more people singing along and bobbing for this visit than when last here in August. The icing on the cake of his tight set was the Hilltop Hoods removing themselves from the bar and rocking the stage alongside Myst Diggi for Trade Secrets, a union that again saw the room rammed to capacity.

Last performer of the night was Bias B, with right hand man and soon to be Australian scene heavyweight Bigfoot and DJ Mixa completing his stage team. Bias showed why he has long been regarded one of the scenes best, his flawless delivery of tracks like Been There Done That. Take my word for it Bigfoot will take the scene by storm in the very near future, everyone I talked to during the night was blown away by the tracks and verses he spat. Bias was far from outshone mind you and even chucked in Back In 88 much to the pleasure of his longtime fans.

Before we knew it the lights were coming on, an incredible evening of music was done and some of us – much to my liver’s disgust – were heading on to an impromptu after party of sorts. Props to Shep, and all Performers on the night a truly impressive show, except maybe for the 70’s Porn curtain backdrop, but who am I to judge fashion.