The Herd, Sietta @ ANU Bar,Canberra (24/9/11)

Tue 27th Sep, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Aussie hip hop band The Herd came to the ANU Bar in Canberra on Saturday night on their Future Shade tour, to support the release of their fifth album. Bringing only one support act with them, electro duo Sietta were lucky enough to come along on the ride.

At just after 9pm, Sietta looked unassuming onstage with just a stand for a laptop and a microphone. A small crowd gathered, drinks in hand and ready to experience the night. Comprised of instrumentalist James Mangohig and singer Caiti Baker, Sietta released their debut album The Seventh Passenger earlier this year.

Baker has a beautiful voice that compliments the electro reggae/hip-hop vibe, but unfortunately the reverb was bad and turned many people off standing in front of the stage.

Roughly at around 10.30pm, the lights went down and everybody rushed over to the stage to see the headliners. A big band, with eight members onstage, The Herd is an eclectic mix of singers, rappers, guitarists and beats. And an accordionist. Any band that can make an accordion rock out is a great band in my books.

“Explain this to me little mingers, why can’t I hear you Canberra?!” asked Urthboy just before launching into the powerful set.

The appeal of Aussie political hip-hop and rap is clearly a broad one, with many people of all ages attending on Saturday night. The demographic was quite large and relatively tame for a live show.

Standout single We Can’t Hear You, from previous album The Sun Never Sets, got the crowd pumping early on. Jane Tyrell, the sole female in the band, sings with such strength and beauty that whenever she takes centre stage, the rest of the band have to try harder to be heard.

Showcasing a mix of favourites and newbies, The Herd simultaneously lifted the energy and chilled out the relatively large crowd. Finishing their set with a slight dip in intensity, the Herd gave the crowd a taste of the growing subsection of Aussie political voice in the nation’s capital, an irony not lost on many.