A few months back Horrorshow announced their first ever headline tour. It would kick off with a hometown show at Sydney’s Factory Theatre. After an overwhelming response Horrorshow have had to put on a second Sydney show, taking place in April at the end of the tour to accommodate all the fans that missed out on the first one. For those of you heading to the second Sydney gig or any of the other stops on the tour…this is how round one went down.

Looking after the support slot for the length of the tour are Horrorshow’s good friends and comrades in arms under the One Day banner, Spit Syndicate. Nick Lupi and Just Enuf backed by DJ Joyride announced their arrival to the stage with a cool little intro rap before blasting into their long time set starting favourite Weapon Of Choice ...the party had started. Pick it up came next, giving Joyride a chance to show off that soulful as Motown voice of his, you could almost see the collective quiver from the ladies in the room. With a new album on the way we were always going to get some new songs from the local duo tonight. The only question was, after setting the bar so high with their first release, would they be able to do what Horrorshow have done with their second release Inside Story and not only equal but in most aspects surpass their first one? They didn’t make us wait too long to find out, playing a track I’m going to hazard a guess is called Sliding Doors. Then also giving us another taste with a track that was heavy on the drum beat and laced with some soft yet impactful instrumentals throughout, I know Adit has been working with the Double S on their new album and it wouldn’t surprise me if this beat turned out to be one of his. The verdict on the new stuff live is a very positive one from the fans, although they were not familiar with the songs they still garnered a huge reaction keeping everyone on the dance floor. Their were even more new tracks to come dotted throughout the set.

Spit Syndicate gave out some I-Dub (Inner West) love before playing Bring it home but remixing the track half way through by dropping the killer beat from Biggie’s Mo Money, Mo Problems. Lost Boys also got a bit of a work over by dropping the beat to Hilltop Hoods City of light (a track which the song samples) at the start before getting into the usual rhythm of the always dope live joint. Blue Sky High helped round out the set which really gave Joyride a chance to show us what he has vocally, if you are going to any of the upcoming shows make sure you take the time to listen to him when he is on the mic you will not be disappointed. SS gave a flawless high energy performance…as per usual.

Another strong intro rap then led into the opening song of our headliners set, meaning that In was already in full swing before Solo had even begun to spit it. The way he was already bouncing from one side of the stage to another was a clear indication he was pumped up for this one. As he closed out the track he announced “Welcome to the very first Horrorshow headline tour!” The Show and No Rides Left saw a veritable sea of arms waving from the front of the room to the back. Waiting for the 5.04 got some treatment on a remixed beat, playing a version that was a lot more laid-back than the album cut. The self mocking she got a run next before Solo was joined onstage by Jane Tyrell for In my haze, more a song than a rap tune this beautiful track always gets a great response from the crowd and also gives Solo a chance to show his diversity as an artist, and hey lets face it…the more Jane Tyrell on any track by anyone, the better! The heartfelt Days Past was up soon after, during which some talented members of the crowd managed to pull off an OH & S officers nightmare with a rather impressive triple stacked piggy back in the middle of the dance floor. Jane wasn’t to be the only guest of the night with Fame joining Solo onstage for Put it to your head “We keep playin’ till something connects!” There really is something about Truth be told, the beat has such an epic and borderline foreboding sound to it and with the lyric being so poignant, it’s one of those ones that sends shivers whether it comes on your iPod or whether it’s live. The reaction and crowd participation during Itchy Feet found Solo lost for words at the end of the track (Not something that often happens to emcees) saying he was “totally taken aback by all of this” before finding voice again just in time to drop Thoughtcrime (Doin my think). Spit Syndicate rejoined Horrorshow on stage as they and the entire crowd launched into the next track Happy Birthday, this one was for Adit who I’m sure could not have asked for a better birthday celebration. The One Dayers collective crew then gave us Choose None with Lupi delivering one of the verses of the night. They then played another new track which gave us even more reason to look forward to the SS release later this year before playing Neighbourhood Hit, the swagger on that beat is almost impossible to not nod your head too. “Hush child from the joy to the pain, it will all wash away in the rain” Horrorshow brought the storm by playing The Rain to close out the party and the set. An exhausted Solo proclaiming “I’ve given you my all, I’m fucked, it’s all good!”

The tour continues right through until April so if you are keen to see some of this countries brightest Hip Hop lights in action then get your tickets before they are gone. “And I’m out like I gots to go…”