Thursday nights are always a tricky one. For every act that manages to draw a crowd, there’s another ten that fail to do so. With that in mind, my hat goes off to any promoter who takes the risk and brings a quality performer at their own risk. Arriving around 45 minutes after doors had opened I was shocked at just how dead the venue was. It was as if a flyer had been spreading the good word of scientologist and not a hip hop show. The crowd – and I use the term loosely – were happy to chill out with a mix CD playing over the speakers. Thankfully, people began to file in, and the first DJ of the night, Sum 1, took to the decks. People milling around and chatting, easing into their Thursday night out. Next up was DJ Snair, and his set was pretty much flawless, as you would expect. While nobody was inspired to hit the front row and dance, many heads around the room were bobbing in appreciation.

As the night’s host, TooBiz from Common Cause introduced the first live performer, Dialect, and people made the journey to the front of stage to show their support. Ripping out freestyles as well as performing tracks from his just released ‘Rugged Uncut’ album, Dialect showed why he is one of the most exciting talents Australia has. And all of this in spite of the soundman destroying the microphone level for the early part of the set! It seems going to ELH will always result in sound dramas… Later in the night the soundman managed to lose all but the fold back speakers on stage, too busy doing other things to fix it until a member of the crowd pointed it out. With the sound levels fixed, the second half of Dialect’s set received the sound it deserved, and it led perfectly into another of the scene’s brightest young talents, K21. Having just released a CD, ‘The Greenhouse’, it has given him an excellent array of tracks to choose from. At such a young age he has live stage presence to burn, and his delivery urges you to listen and pay attention. He has performance skills many twice his age would kill for. The local supports showcased the future nicely, but now the stage was set for the headline act, coming all the way from Oxnard, California.

Hitting the stage with full B-Boy swagger, the crowd had filled out to respectable numbers now to witness Wildchild. He made his way across stage before ripping into some excellent freestyle material, and the audience was transfixed. This was repeated throughout his set, he switched easily from recorded material to off-the-top-of-the-head freestyles, again showing the benefits an excellent stage presence can offer. Of particular note was his track deriding stupid interview questions – yes, at this point I did run through what I’d asked him a month ago, and thankfully none of my questions felt the wrath! – as well as his tribute to fallen influences Ol Dirty Bastard and J Dilla. Finishing his set, but clearly ready to party, Wildchild jumped from the stage creating a b-boy circle. At first he, then the remainder of the breakers in the venue, showcased their skills. Still not wanting to call it a night, he called for local emcees to hit the stage with him, and Delta and Dialect spat some freestyle heat over a Wildchild beatbox. This was followed by Simplex taking the stage and providing his own beatbox for Wildchild to rhyme over.

As the music finally wrapped up and the crowd posed for the obligatory rowdy mob shot on Wildchild’s camera, people headed off with satisfied grins. A great performance from an underrated artist, it was definitely worth the Friday morning bags under the eyes.