Beck’s Festival Bar feat. Ugly Duckling @ Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (10/01/07)

After seeing the fun performance of Ugly Duckling at Field Day, I headed on down to the Beck’s Festival Bar at Hyde Park Barracks to witness their side show as part of the Sydney Festival. Hyde Park Barracks was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway, and was initially used as a place to home criminals and a center for enforcing punishment. It later became an Immigration Depot for young girls, and then a Government Asylum for women. But tonight the atmosphere couldn’t be further from the venue’s notorious historical heritage – hip hop was on the cards, with local acts Foreign Heights, DJ Diaz and the Tongue all playing in support of Long Beach’s finest.

Foreign Heights were the first to take the stage. MC Trey and Maya Jupiter have toiled away in the scene for a good number of years, and their recent teaming up with leading Sydney DJ Nick Toth has brought together three of Sydney’s finest hip hop talents. Nick Toth spun a good mix of hip hop with an old-skool flavour. As what seems to be customary at hip hop gigs these days, the trio laid tribute to the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Road testing some new material from their forthcoming new album, Trey and Maya waxed lyrical together, the combination of the two MCs working well over Nick’s beats. At times switching between smooth hip hop to some reggae and even sounds on a funk-soul tip, the group showed their versatility. Nick’s scratching got the crowd hyped up, while Maya and Trey’s enthusiasm couldn’t be faulted.

Midway through their set, Maya put the call out for any MC’s in the crowd to have a go at taking the mic, and in a surprise to the crowd, up onto the stage jumped upcoming UK MC Yungun for an impromptu performance. Yungun’s skills are dope, and he showed why he is one of the hottest talents on the scene. Spitting effortlessly, the crowd really got into it, and as unfair as it is to compare, Yungun showed how much more skilled he is than the female MC’s onstage beside him. MC Trey and Maya then tried out their hand at angry hip hop, and while it didn’t quite work, it was more an effort to hype the crowd up, and in this they were successful.

The Tongue and DJ Diaz were up next, and by this stage, the venue was packed with a very eager crowd. Diaz spun the beats while the Tongue showed why he is one of Elefant Traks’ most promising artists. His lyrical talent is evident, effortlessly working the stage. Aussie hip hop seems to be in a good state at the moment, with a lot of artists breaking through. A year or two ago it was all about the Hilltop Hoods, but lately other artists from all over Australia have been flying the flag. With funky chilled beats, the energy from Tongue and Diaz was entertaining. Tongue displayed politically conscious lyrics, rapping about a whole lot more than just drugs, money and bitches. Tongue even tried his hand at comedy with a joke, but messed up the punch line. Diaz showed off some of his skills on the decks, and also chipped in on the mic at times.

Special guest Tuck Snatch joined the guys on stage for a bit of freestyling. In a very Theatre Sports moment, they asked the crowd for some topics, and ended up spitting a rhyme about peanut butter, jelly and camel toe. Closing up with their single Bad Education, by this stage the crowd was suitably warmed up for the main act.

Ironically, Ugly Duckling have a song on their sophomore album Taste the Secret called Opening Act, where they poke fun of their own experiences as a warm-up act. Tonight however, there was no doubt who the crowd was there to see. By this stage the Barracks were packed out, and Young Einstein came on stage for a bit of solo DJ action to warm up the crowd – not that they needed it. Andy C and Dizzy Dustin followed suit with the party joint Let It Out, before throwing the mic around on stage in a little gimmick as they performed another party favourite Pass It On.

What I’ve always liked about Ugly Duckling is how they never take themselves too seriously. They’ve never really hit the heights that other hip hop groups have, but they’ve also never let this get them down, using it as inspiration for some of their tracks. As they’ve done in previous shows, the group slowed down as they introduced their fourth member. Young Einstein’s phat gold chain made its grand entrance before the track Eye on the Gold Chain. More party favourites went down, including A Little Samba, which saw the crowd jumping wildly. Like their Field Day performance, a willing female participant was brought up onstage while Andy and Dizzy spouted out cheesy pick up lines. This, sure enough, led into the track Pick-up Lines. While I’m all for groups putting on a show for the crowd, this sort of lead in was lacking in originality. But what they lack in originality, they make up for in sheer fun. There’s no denying the crowd was there for a party, and ugly Duckling were rocking it when they busted out the crowd favourite Turn It Up.

Beck’s Festival Bar is definitely a great summer venue. With Ugly Duckling’s infectious beats, the atmosphere was fun and the crowd had a great time. And this Long Beach crew took us back to a time when shoelaces were fat, and Michael Jackson was black.

You need to be logged in to add comments... Login Now

There are 0 user comments