Despite the annual Good Vibrations Adelaide bypass, the good people at Jam and Onion didn’t want to see us miss out altogether on this year’s stellar line-up. Snug nicely in between the Melbourne and Sydney leg of the festival, Cypress Hill and Pharoahe Monch detoured to pay lil ol’ Adelaide a welcome visit.

It may have been St Valentine’s Day, but love wasn’t the only thing in the air. The pungent smell of another bustling show at Adelaide’s new home of live hip hop, HQ, was strong as I approached the venue only to be greeted by a long queue of eager punters. And by the end of the night, the air would be thick with hands amidst a haze of our finest stinky green. With doors swinging open at an early 8pm, DJ Staen 1 warmed the crowd up with his signature turntablism expertise. Right at home centre stage, Staen, the DMC Australian Champ for 2006 and 2007, is always guaranteed to deliver an impressive set. Digging up some classic party-starters as well as wowing the crowd with some jaw-dropping tricks, he is a seasoned showman and without doubt, one of the world’s best at his craft.

HQ was filling up nicely as the anticipation for Mr Monch’s Adelaide debut steadily mounted. DJ Boogie Blind of The X-Ecutioners assumed his position behind the decks and the excitement peaked with the dance floor almost instantaneously reaching capacity. He dropped the reeling beat for Welcome to the Terrordome and the energy in the room turned electric. Monch then exploded into sight, looking extra Monchhichi-like with a ballooning afro sprouting from his head. He simply slaughtered this killer joint, murdering the microphone and bludgeoning the beat as he casually swaggered across the stage.

Opening his set in style, it was clear that what was to follow would be one of the most memorable shows to date. Monch mixed up a tantalizing concoction of his latest offering Desire, tunes from his Organized Konfusion days and other assorted solo snippets. From blazing title track Desire and sing song Fuck You to the synth-driven Agent Orange and Nate Dogg collaboration Oh No, and then some, Monch proved just how remarkable his back catalogue really is. He then paid homage to the four elements, our fine city and gave well-earned reverence to Staen. Boogie Blind took the reins giving Monch a quick breather as he proceeded to cut up a storm – The X-Men’s specialty.

Monch returned to honor fallen soldiers no longer with us: James Brown, Biggie Smalls, Jam Master Jay, ODB, and the only and one Dilla as he followed on into their tender collaboration Love. Back up singers Showtyme and MeLa Machinko really gave Monch’s set an edge. Despite his small stature, Showtyme broke it down captivating the crowd once he warmed up and really began to hit the high notes. The two of them stretched their vocals chords beyond human limits belting out The Life, Push and Desire before the toe-tapping Body Baby got the whole place rocking. In a set that I didn’t want to see end, Monch thanked the audience for their enthusiastic reception and made a beeline backstage only to return and blow the roof off HQ. The menacing Godzilla sample of Simon Says sheathed the arena sending shivers down my spine. On his every command, hands shot up in the air and Monch left the crowd simply begging for more.

Staen resumed his stance behind the 1s and 2s to spin all the block rocking beats he could before Cypress Hill graced us with their presence. Dre, Biggie, Flash, House of Pain and even The Hoods for some homegrown flavour kept patrons happy as they waited patiently for the Latin hip hop sensation to appear. And then without warning, B-Real and Sen Dog took to the stage backed by Another Body Drops as they chanted “bang bang!” and totted their hands in the air like guns. A mini-mosh pit formed as all the die-hard Cypress Hill fans swelled towards the front. Sen Dog remained a mystery behind his dark shades and bell moustache while B-Real lumbered across the stage in all his glory. A DJ Muggs fill-in and drummer Eric Bobo provided all the musical backing with the percussionist set up adding an outstanding timbre of live instrumentation.

With a back catalogue twelve albums deep to get through, Cypress remained on stage for what seemed like an eternity. Hand on the Pump resonated with the crowd who dotingly chanted back “la la la la la la la laaaaa!” while the hits How I Could Just Kill a Man, Latin Lingo, Insane in the Brain, Dr Greenthumb, I Ain’t Going Out Like That and all the rest struck more than just a chord with the Cypress aficionados. Sen Dog playfully dissed a member of the front row declaring that without money “you ain’t getting no pussy!” B-Real then tried his hand on the drum kit while Eric pounded it out on the congas. Crowd pleaser I Want to Get High preceded into Hits from the Bong as did the joints to the Stoned Raiders’ lips. Sen Dog personalized the show with the proverbial chant “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, oi, oi!” suitably pronouncing it with an Aussie accent and all. What Cypress show is complete with out crowd surfing? Even Sen Dog got into the spirit of things. Cypress topped their performance off with encore and closing track Rock Superstar in a set that seemed like it was never going to end.

With both acts bringing an enormous amount of energy with them, the night was an electrifying display of hip hop at its finest. Despite their multi-platinum commercial success, Monch managed to outshine Cypress Hill. Not to knock their gangster lean but Monch’s funk-fueled set came out on top. An unprecedented success, Adelaide more than lived up to its reputation as having one of the strongest hip hop scenes in the country. Who knows? Maybe next year we’ll be blessed with the entire Good Vibes kit and caboodle…