Muph & Plutonic returned to what must be one of their most frequently visited cities, Adelaide, to launch their third album And Then Tomorrow Came. Despite little advertising and a new venue (at least for hip hop) a strong crowd came ready to party.
Jive is not a venue I had been to in years, but for a small- to medium-sized hip hop show the venue was excellent. The room is designed so you feel close to the stage regardless of where you are standing. The addition of an upstairs area with balcony also gives the venue a really good vibe when people are all slamming along in appreciation. Sadly, due to the night’s line-up, the crowd only got a couple of chances to show their appreciation.
Only two live acts were on the bill – the remainder of time a laptop played pre-programmed tracks. The music, although quality and providing a nice backing as the room filled up, really didn’t cut it when people have paid their hard-earned cash. Surely a DJ could have been booked rather than people paying money to go listen to a laptop? Having said that, a slew of drink specials seemed to have the fans happy.
The first live act to the stage was BVA, backed by his new band The Lost Evidence. The band featured live drums and keys as well as DJ Sum 1 on the turntable – yes, that’s singular. For some reason, only one turntable made it to the onstage set-up for the show’s duration. Hip hop over a live band is always tight, and BVA worked the crowd really well. I’m not sure many there knew who he was or what the Mnemonic Ascent tracks he did were, but they got into it regardless. Closing out the set, he brought out Jimblah and the duo performed a couple of tracks they have been working on together. Again the response was enthusiastic from a very solidly Triple J-loyal crowd.
Following directly on from BVA after a brief period of stage reorganisation was the night’s headliners Muph & Plutonic, accompanied by the newest member of their group the talented DJ Bonez. The crowd immediately congregated at stage front and jumped up, down and all around for the entirety of the set. With three albums of tracks to pick from, many of which have received radio play, Muph and Pluto have a wide selection of gems to form a set from. Each track seemingly excited the crowd more than the last.
With Plutonic belting it out on the live drums, Bonez laid down his cuts perfectly with a performance element that makes watching him DJ a pleasure. Walk The Tightrope, Size Of The Soul and Beautiful Ugly all saw the crowd’s energy rise higher, whilst the beginning of the three-track encore and their best-known track Heaps Good as expected drew the night’s loudest response.
With only two live acts it was a short, sharp and shiny night of music. For me personally, though, I found it really hard to get into. I guess it may be a case of Muph & Pluto overload, or just the short, sharp nature of events. There was no doubting the super-tight performance of the headliners though, nor the massive love the crowd had for them. Here’s hoping Jive also remains a venue that supports hip hop – it would become a welcome addition.
