Pez @ Fowlers Live, Adelaide(15/08/09)

Tue 18th Aug, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Despite a nasty case of bronchitis and some initial sound issues, Pez soldiered on to deliver an energy packed performance to an enthusiastic crowd at Fowlers Live. Pez was joined on stage by MC 360, producer DJ Matik and soul singer Hailey Cramer.

Melbourne’s Seth Sentry was a worthy support act, warming up the crowd with his pleasing narrative flow and mature rapping style. His two singles currently on high rotation on Triple J, The Waitress Song and Simple Game, were clearly crowd favourites. His relaxed and outgoing style on stage nicely counterbalanced the serious edge of his lyrics. I found myself somewhat surprised by the high quality of this support act. Sentry will definitely play a part in the future of the Aussie hip hop scene.

Pez started his set with a bang, launching into an energetic and enjoyable show that was a crowd pleaser. His unique performance style was refreshing – rejecting the tough persona that MCs usually adopt and instead endlessly bouncing around the stage with a huge smile. His sense of playfulness was clearly evident at the end of the show, when Pez corralled the audience to form a moshpit so that his rapper sidekick, 360, could crowd surf. His sense of fun in no way detracted from the quality of his music, as he skilfully laid out some tasty lyrics.

Pez’s sophisticated rhythm and rhymes were on display at Fowlers, as he delivered painfully honest lyrics with great flow change-ups. Soul singer Hailey Cramer’s voice was pleasing, richly rewarding and smooth. While perhaps not destined for a solo career, Cramer featured nicely in a number of Pez’s songs. The crowd went crazy for the breakdown in the middle of the show, in which Cramer bellowed out Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly and Arrested Development’s People Everyday. MC 360 was good, but I couldn’t help but feel irritated by his attempts to steal the limelight from the main act as the two MCs battled over stage space.

The crowd shared an intimate moment with Pez when he performed Heavenly, a track from his album that thanks his parents for their positive influence in his life. His songs that received high rotation on Triple J were understandably the crowd pleasers, and it seemed that everyone was waiting to hear the summertime anthem The Festival Song.

Overall the night was a huge success and the crowd lapped up the energy oozing off the stage. The encore (a remix of Aint Got Time with Seth Sentry and 360) was a spectacular failure, but didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the past couple of hours. It was a pleasure to go to a hip hop show and leave feeling light at foot and energised. Seth Sentry and Pez are two Australian artists that must be seen live.