Illy, M-Phazes, Raw City Rukus@ ANU Bar, Canberra (8/4/11)

Sun 10th Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

After spending more than a month touring the country with 2010’s The Chase, Melbourne emcee Illy took over ANU Bar for a night of Aussie hip-hop at its finest. With the tickets quickly sold out, the bar was packed out early in the evening for what was the last show of the East Coast leg of the tour.

An eclectic mix of punters and a pretty strong Jim Beam presence inside the bar meant that, upon looking around you were met with the combination of beer-drenched floors, men with red faces and bulging biceps, barely dressed young girls and hip-hop diehards. However, music is as always a uniting force, so whatever social subculture the various audience members were from, it was clear that they were all there for the same thing.

Locals Raw City Rukus provided early bird support and it was a sizable crowd they warmed up with their loud, fast and dynamic set. Their energy was pretty contagious and it wasn’t long before the crowd was dancing, jumping and screaming themselves hoarse at every track.

Hip-hop all rounder and fellow Obese labelmate M-Phazes hit the decks next, pulling out a notable list of international and national superstars. Ranging from Jay Z to Eminem to Hilltop Hoods, M-Phazes’ unique DJ and drums set guaranteed that no one was left standing still, proving that this man is an aficionado when it comes to hip-hop beats. Revving the crowd into something of a frenzy, Phazes succeeded in bringing noise levels and excitement to fever pitch, just in time for man-of-the-moment Illy to stroll out on stage.

On a roll since his discovery only a few short years ago, Illy definitely knows how to work a stage. From his opening number Guess I Could, right through to the end of the set, Illy commanded the audience with charm and likeability, qualities any good entertainer should possess. Obviously playing off the fact that the crowd consisted of a large number of beer soaked males on a testosterone overload, he encouraged crowd participation for youth anthem Generation Y, and had the hyped, slightly gender-imbalanced audience screaming “With fists to the sky, we fight,” in unison, which was a slightly frightening display of male camaraderie.

Running through a list of new and old tracks such as Diamonds, On My Way and Cigarettes, it wasn’t long before Illy reached the point everyone was waiting for.
Pictures, off 2009’s Long Story Short was all it look for the crowd to go into absolute overdrive and when he left the stage after, nobody was fooled.

Sure enough Illy returned for mega-hit It Can Wait, with the swaying crowd singing along to every word. Extensive radio play has made the track into something of an anthem and the crowd’s reaction to it only cemented this status.

A sold out show and devoted, hysterical fans are a mark of just how successful this Melbourne-bred, law student has become in the often hard-to-crack world that is Aussie hip-hop. From what we saw on Friday night, things aren’t about to let up anytime soon.