It was a not so quiet Thursday night at ANU Bar this week, judging from the kilometre long line up outside, it’s quite possible that the Downsyde and Drapht show was one of the most anticipated tours on the ANU Bar calendar so far this year. Already at capacity even before the music started, gig-goers keen for a night of beats and Aussie larrikinism were pouring in from all corners of Canberra.

First on the line up for the night was current festival favourite Pez. This being the biggest tour he’s done to date, he was amazed at the enthusiasm oozing from the crowd and even more surprised at the amount of people that had filled the room. A perfect choice by Downsyde and Drapht as a support act, Pez didn’t waste any time getting the crowd warmed up for the Aussie hip-hop royalty who were to take the stage later in the night.

Treating the crowd to some brilliant freestyling and sharing a story through a track called Lost which is about some of the players in the music game not being true to themselves. Obviously stoked with the size of the crowd before him (Pez made sure he took some happy snaps of himself with the sizeable crowd in the background) it was time for some crowd participation. He took us back to the early 90’s to the days of clip pants, Mario kart on 64 and the golden age of roller blades with I Wanna Go, which is sure to be a great hit for him when released. Last but definitely not least, he gave the crowd what they had been hanging out for. Earning 7th place in the Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown this year, The Festival Song was a clear favourite with the audience. Playing the part of Hailey Cramer the crowd got right into the fun of summer days.

One of the best things about a hip-hop show is the short amount of time it takes for a set change. In no time at all, not giving the crowd a chance to cool down, let alone get a drink from the bar, Perth hip-hop kings Downsyde took the stage with Drapht. In Canberra for the City Brothers Tour, this is the largest tour either act has done for a number of years. These guys spent weeks rehearsing a combined set that heavily featured tracks from both of their catalogues. Although the two acts have worked closely together in the past, the rehearsals worked like a charm as they produced an amazingly tight set.

Cinching favourite Anyone Can Do It the boys had the room thumping, crowd jumping and arms in the air. Tracks Save the Day and We Won’t Stop had the room bouncing to the brain-rattling bass. After a short time off stage allowing Downsyde to be in the spotlight, Drapht returned to the stage to bust out his own tracks Boom Boom Boom and Falling.

After killing a rendition of Killing in the Name Of that would have had RATM turning in their graves, finally the boys delivered the goods that everyone in the room had been holding out for. All up on stage Drapht introduced us to Jimmy Recard for a final curtain call that had the audience in a frenzy. This was surely the crowd pleaser of the night, the boys had the entire audience singing and dancing. With such an awesome stage presence and a captivating way of geeing up the already animated crowd these boys showed Canberra the way an Aussie hip-hop show should be.