The Hydey front bar filled early with punters keen to not miss their chance to see Aussie Hip Hop-ers TZU.
Local lads Upskirt Shazaam were obviously pleased with the turn out and put in all they could to warm up the crowd. Girls up front were dancing and enjoying how close they could get to the boys due to the lack of an actual stage – the only thing separating the crowd and the band were 2 long strips of masking tape. The boys enjoyed this too with guitarist Tom Drummond and bassist Adam Germano later admiring the amount of ladies in mini-skirts braving the cold. Further back in the crowd, men too cool to dance were seen bobbing their heads to the funkadelic jamming provided by Drummond, Germano, John Leotta on keys and Clint Gatter on drums. MC Josh Hayes alternated between amping up the crowd and rocking out on the bongos. Upskirt Shazaam provided a fun start to the night with Germano describing the band as the “stiff middle finger of the Perth funk scene”. These guys provided a strong funk sound instrumentally with masses of energy and an Aussie hip hop vibe thrown in by Hayes for good measure. The crowd appreciated their efforts and were suitably prepped for TZU to come on and do their thing.
Had it not been for the synthesized intro chant, those far back in the crowd probably wouldn’t have noticed TZU come on “stage”. With the MCs Joelistic and Count Bounce up on milk crates but still barely visible, TZU kicked off their set with gusto. Joelistic and Count Bounce showed their humility by making light of the fact they were invisible to most of the crowd by asking everyone to pretend we were at a big house party. The crowd had already jammed themselves into the limited space next to the bar and fired up straight away with arms pumping along, not bothered in the slightest that they would only be hearing rather than seeing TZU.
Joelistic and Count Bounce were strong throughout the set, pumping out their lyrical rhymes with lots of heart. What provided some smooth solos on the keys throughout, which funked up a set that was otherwise predominantly vocal driven. Mid-way through we started hearing some synth sound-checking which led into TZU strolling out their single Computer Love to much joy of the crowd. TZU kept up the high energy throughout and the crowd followed suit, happy to be wedged in together out of the cold. While the “boys club” element of hip hop was on display with the number of hoodies and caps in the crowd, TZU still attracted a fair few females, perhaps due to songs like Get Up and the dance-ability of some of their tracks that have more of a groove than those by other rap outfits. They finished the night off on a high with the fun In Front of Me that seamlessly mashed in Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye. If you like Aussie hip hop that has a serious message at times and then can be nothing but fun at others, minus any sort of arrogance, then TZU are for you.
