After starting their nationwide Summerland tour with four sell-out shows in a row on the other side of the country, The Herd’s Sydney homecoming at the Metro was always going to be a big one. The hip hop heads agreed, and not surprisingly sold the show out with at least a week to spare.
Getting the night underway and further illustrating the depth of local talent in the Sydney hip hop scene at the moment were Elefant Traks latest signing Horrorshow. With their eagerly anticipated debut album The Grey Space dropping the next day, they had reason to give us a great show and did. The rhymes and beats are solid. Believe the hype you will be hearing a lot more from the pair, Solo and Adit.
Next on the bill was Queenslanders The Last Kinection. I don’t know a lot about this group, but after hearing a single of theirs featuring Urthboy on the radio the morning of the show I was looking forward to seeing them. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances (those being lengthy bar runs and overly talkative friends) I only saw the last couple of songs of their set. It sounded good and they were very energetic on stage. They are supporting The Herd on the rest of this tour, so check them out.
We found a decent spot about halfway up on one of the Metro’s tiered levels. Being a sell-out show, I wanted to be able to see how the packed crowd was reacting at the front of the stage. Before the show has even started it’s safe to say this is still the best venue in the city. There’s always room to move and the atmosphere switch is continuously stuck in the ‘on’ position. Anyone who saw The Herd at The Factory Theatre in June as they tested out the new album live would have known they were in for a treat, and as always they delivered. With eight musicians on stage would you expect any less?
A friend once told me the definition of a true gentleman is a man who can play the accordion…but doesn’t. If this is true, Herd member Traksewt is the exception to this rule, wailing on that thing in the middle of their cover of John Schumann’s I Was Only 19. It’s not every day you see a hip hop crowd bumpin’ to an accordion solo. They played everything the fans came to hear, including the new reggae-style start to 77% before bringing it home in the original style of the song with the entire crowd singing. The first single from the Herd’s latest album The King is Dead is quickly cementing itself as an anthem, getting a massive response from the crowd.
The three main vocalists for the band – Ozi Batla, Urthboy and Jane Tyrell – are a true force onstage. Urthboy and Ozi’s rhymes mix flawlessly with Jane’s beautiful and varied vocal styles. You can see they are all truly enjoying themselves throughout the show, which is always great to see and feel from the floor at any gig. They are energetic and enthusiastic and the whole venue responds the same way.
A quick poll taken in the foyer after the show says that Unpredictable from their previous album The Sun Never Sets was the song of the night, although I am not sure if I would agree. I was all pretty good, so it’s hard to decide. There are still plenty of dates left on this tour, so lots of chances left to see what has to be one of this country’s best live acts. Do yourself a favour, don’t miss out…
