Bliss n Eso@ Capitol(31/10/2008)

Tue 4th Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Gallery by Stuo

Returning to town with a fresh and critically acclaimed album and a whole heap of new fans to boot, it was no surprise door-sale punters were being turned away before the doors had even opened.

Bliss n Eso have been garnering a lot of Triple J love with constant airplay and a nomination for the J Award for album of the year, not to mention an ARIA for Best Urban Release. Selling out Capitol earlier in the week, it is clear Bliss n Eso have now joined the Hilltop Hoods in the true upper echelon of Aussie hip hop, and tonight’s crowd was full of eager fans keen to get their first taste of their well-renowned live show.

By the end of Manchester MC Motley’s set, the crowd was thick, heavy and still building with a fair proportion at the front of the stage boogying to the party rhymes of the Englishman. Managing to impress in a short period of time, Motely was working the crowd well and indulged in an extended crowd surf to finish off his fun-filled set.

Rapidly rising Melbourne MC Phrase was up next and even though he was without regular partner DJ Flagrant on the wheels of steel, he got things moving, kicking off with The Presets behemoth My People. The track ran for a while before it drew out into a remix and Phrase flowed over the top of it. Followed up by a more traditional soul-sampled hip hop track, the crowd reacted better to the second track, which indicated that he should have perhaps opened with it, and then brought in the Presets.

Moving into some more MCing, this time over some Jay-Z, Phrase was on point, stalking the stage and building with the crowd before unleashing new single Clockwork, a superbly produced bomb with some nice vocal samples that could have come from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. R’n’B chanteuse Jade McCrae made a guest appearance and gave some nice balance to the sound and showed she could match vocal talents with any of her American contemporaries.

But tonight was always going to be about the headliners, evident from the numerous – œBlesso’ chants roaring around the venue during the interlude. DJ Izm was the first on stage and he got things moving, scratching up a storm to Guns N Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle and then added some local flavour with Grinspoon’s Chemical Heart which had an impressive response to the bulging crowd. When MCs Bliss and Esoterik strolled on stage the horde of fans went positively ballistic as they kicked into Up Jumped The Boogie from 2006’s Day of the Dog. A couple more tracks from the same album followed before Happy In My Hoodie from latest LP Flying Colours really kicked things up a notch.

Joined on stage by Phrase, the three MCs had the crowd in the palm of their hands, bouncing to the beat with hands in the air, hip hop was certainly in the house. DJ Izm took over once again to demonstrate his turntable skills, throwing down anthems including The Chemical Brothers’ Galvanize and Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name. Dropping it back a level, the lads eased into the Angus and Julia Stone sampling Eye of the Storm which the numerous females in the audience undoubtedly appreciated.

Bliss then showed off his impressive beat boxing skills, a novelty that never seems to grow tired, before being rejoined on stage by Motley for Party at My Place. If indoor smoking regulations had not been introduced a few years ago, spliffs would have been surely raised to Blazin’ with Izm grabbing a mic to join the two MCs out front. Woodstock 2008 was a crowd favourite with a thoroughly surprising number of the crowd singing every word.

For the encore, fans were treated to latest single Sea Is Rising which could be their strongest track to date, and definitely demonstrated why Bliss n Eso are a group at the top of their game and will have an equally strong following when they return to WA for Southbound 2009.

Gallery by Stuo