CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

June 26th 2009, a date that will forever be remembered in music HIStory. On this day, the world said goodbye to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. His name was heard throughout the crowd that was gathering. Love him or hate him, the man was a legend and the music industry and the world as a whole has suffered a great loss.
It is freezing cold and rain is starting to fall, yet there is an awful lot of flesh getting around. Shorts, Mini-skirts and outfits straight from the 80’s seem to be the common theme. Watching all the fresh kicks getting around I decided ‘Thou shalt not covet thy fellow gig go-ers shoes’ may just need to be added to the 10 commandments.

The floor is already packed with people hoping to be in the best position for the main event…or so i thought. As Diafrix walk on stage, the room went wild, I had no idea that there was such a following in Adelaide for these boys, who supported Lowrider last time they played.

Diafrix has a fresh mix of traditional African rhythms with funk, dance, soul, reggae and hip hop. They apparently hsve a ‘no swearing’ policy, but im pretty sure they dropped a few clangers in there. Setting it off with Time Will Tell, Diafrix worked through their set bouncing around the stage and generally getting the crowd pumped. It seemed that their manager may have forgotten he wasn’t a performer, dancing and singing along with them. The room moved to Lets Go, Concrete Jungle and finally, a tribute to Micheal Jackson before heading off stage to enjoy the rest of the night. Look out for their debut album, and head down to the Crown and Sceptre on August 1 if you missed out on Hoods tickets.

Pez and 360 are next to heat up the stage. Speak Out and Aint Got Time follow in what is a less pumped performance than that of the opening act. Joining the guys for The Festival Song, vocalist Hailey Cramer is welcomed to the stage. This girl is fantastic, her voice is flawless, and Killing me Softly has never sounded better. The three end with_These Days_.

After a (very noisy) break, the screens light up with a news report from the states. Bliss n Eso stickers are appearing all over the world, What do they mean?

Bliss n Eso hit the stage in a flash of light, noise and strobes, MC’s Bliss and Esoterik and DJ Izm hitting the first track Woodstock 2008 hard and fast. The Thebby was packed to capacity, the floor was moving and the walls were shaking as the fans got what they came for. There were teenage girls in tears (while trying to hold there mini skirts in place) and older ladies dancing and singing along and puffs of smoke rising from random groups of people.

During the show, the group asked that everyone raise their phones and lighters in the darkened theatre, a view that was breathtaking from the seated area at the back and will no doubt look fantastic on the video footage taken throughout the show.

Bullet and a Target, Up Jumped the Boogie, and Eye of the Storm played as the boys worked their way through favourites from their albums Flying Colours, Flowers in the Pavement_ and _ Day of the Dog._ Paying tribute to a legend, Izm spun the Jackson 5 hit ABC to which the whole crowd sang and danced along.

At about the halfway point, DJ Izm took the spotlight to do a showcase, mixing up some old favourites including RATM’s Killing in the Name which sent a new energy through the crowd. Another highlight was Man versus Machine, a face off between Izm on the decks and Bliss with the beatbox. Eso also attempted the beat, but maybe should give that a miss; at least he was honest about his lack of skill and laughed about it.

Happy in my Hoody brought Pez and 360 back to the stage, one more song and the lights went down. For some strange reason, people started to leave, but gig veterans stayed knowing that you never EVER leave until the lights go up.

The room was filled with cheers, claps and chants as feet stomped, begging for just one more. The group bursts back onto the stage to give us Field of Dreams before heading off again. The crowd cheers and stomps again.

Finally an arctic scene lights up the screens, as The Sea is Rising plays. One more song and its really all over. Everyone heads to the doors via the merch stand, buzzing about the awesome show they had just seen.

The service station across the road braces for the massive crowd heading their way, strangers chat and laugh as everyone heads their separate ways. Over the top of the happy din, there is an annoying high pitched whine ‘WOW Crew reprezent! Who wants to rumble the WOW?’ to which people just laughed; no one wanted to ruin the buzz over a try hard group that should have been at home tucked in bed, and had obviously missed the message of the show…

Peace. Respect. Unity.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.