This free gig at Transit Bar was the best possible way to end the week in Canberra. As the weather heats up all the hot spots in Canberra are becoming increasingly populated, and as you would expect Transit is on that list.
Unfortunately local favourites Casual Projects had to pull out of the line up at the last moment as two of their members were in New Zealand. Guitarist Julian Abrahams told FasterLouder that due to a communication breakdown between the members that they had to cancel at the last moment as he was not aware two of their members were overseas. But its not all bad news as they have an endless list of gigs in the not too distant future.
This unexpected setback was easily redeemed for by Wollongong rock/hip hop act Free Agent Crew who exploded onto the stage bringing their own unique rock/rap sound with them. They were remarkably similar to Rage Against The Machine musically and lyrically and possessed the same energy that those guys have on stage. Although when compared to Rage the Gongers were much more versatile with their instrumentation as vocalist Simon could pull out a number or two on keyboard as well as dancing around to other songs. Furthermore their music travelled through a few different genres like blues, alternative, punk and of course rock and rap.
It became increasingly difficult for those punters sitting down on the chairs and stools to have any clear vision of the stage as almost every one had shifted to the dance floor half way through their set. Age was no barrier for punters to get up and shake their booty as I spotted ladies of generation Y, X and even a baby-boomer letting loose.
The dancers were more than happy to sing along to their songs when asked, especially on Snakebite which according to Simon will appear on Neighbours next month. Will keep an ear out for that one!
After a medium lengthed intermission between bands while punters grabbed a drink and cooled off outside since it almost felt like being in an oven inside, to everyone’s delight main act Illzilla took to the stage at 11:45.
After a short jazzy instrumental to fend off all the sound and technical difficulties they had encountered while setting up Illzilla soon became a crowd favourite showcasing songs off their recently released EP Wasteland including Break Loose, Wasteland, and As We Slept. MC Mantra constantly asked the crowd, “You having a good time?” throughout the night, which the crowd replied by screaming something a bunch of poetic inaudible words like “Yeah” or “Err”. That said it was impossible not to have a good time as everyone was up on their feet bopping around until their was no space left for people to stand, sit or dance and the people playing pool had no room to do so. A girl down the front even made it on-stage to dance with the band, but was shortly carried off by security.
MC Mantra also had a couple of a capella sessions during the night to shout out his feelings on a range of issues like poverty, isolation, love and refugees.
When they were about to play Milk and Honey he joked that they were unaware that it was a restaurant in Canberra before they wrote the song, so they can be forgiven. We forgive you guys.
After a series of guitar and drum solos, Illzilla pulled out Triple J favourite Cut Feet to much acclaim and to finish off their set.
