Chali 2na @ the Amplifier Bar,Perth (08/12/11)

Mon 12th Dec, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Tough times to be a promoter it seems. First a rare act like Okkervil River can’t fill the Capitol, now the immensely popular Chali 2na can’t either? And on a Thursday night? The man could fill Metro City when Jurassic 5 were still kicking it, but in 2011 he has to downsize from Capitol to Amplifier.

And that is totally effing awesome. To put it simply: Amplifier > Capitol .

They came from all walks of life to catch the ‘verbal Herman Munster’ on his own terms. Nerds, b-boys, hipster girls, rappers, artists, pretty sure Mathas was there… and probably some accountants. So maybe 200 people all up, definitely no more than 400 anyway (capacity of Amplifier = 400, Capitol = 700 – 1200).

Chali has regularly lit up festival stages here since j5 disbanded, but never a confined space the likes of Amplifier. OHS reasons could be one explanation, with 2na at 6’8”, the Amplifier’s low roof and lighting rig was looking to be a worry for the Chicagoan’s flattop. Imagine the danger in the early 90s when flattops looked like this:

So as to be expected, the room was cramped. But gig cramped, so good cramped. It filled really suddenly. There would have been no more than 20 people who watched talented Freo rapper Slackjaw early in the night. The up and comer had a sunny sound that would ease even the most severe cases of Aussie hip hophobia. The key track was Make It Plain.

Then out of nowhere, the place was pulsing as local hip hop veteran Optamus worked the stage. The Downsyder was in cracking form, but the spotlight belonged to his offsyder Moondog. Who would have thought there’d be the vocal chords of a black American 60s soul singer inside a Michael Rapaport doppelganger from Perth? Certainly one of the better voices in town. And he can casually break into guitar solos with the jivey-ness of Tito Jackson as well.

As Ice Cube famously put in ’92 and Obama echoed in 2011 after Bin Laden’s killing – today was a good day. The room was vibes, all vibes. Good vibes… which is where j5 happened to play their final show in Perth. No doubt a fair percentage of the crowd were amongst those who filled Belvoir during that incredible set (remember the gurner falling out out of the tree?). To go from something like that to Amps’ dingy back room certainly was taking it back to the concrete streets. No Concrete Schoolyard in 2na’s j5 medley though, but Quality Control, Freedom (which he claimed to be his favourite j5 joint) and the emPHATic What’s Golden whet the rappetite regardless.

If 2na’s trademark baritone wasn’t already punchy enough, the rhythm section of backing band the House of Vibe was led by a god damn seven-string bass if you don’t mind.

Hilltop Hoods’ Suffa came out of the blue to fits of rapture from the ground floor, gracing the stage for a jam on 2na’s solo work. Turns out his verse was a taste of things to come with Suffa telling FL on Twitter:

”@squagz just jumped up for a cameo, that’s (the one they did on the night) not a track we’ve got together. There is one on the way though and Chali made it a monster.”

The Thursday set was dominated by tracks from 2na’s solo albums with Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and B52s samples mashed amongst bangers like Step Yo Game Up and Lock Shit Down.

The people’s hip hop champion was last seen being swamped by a mess of liquored-up fiends as he waded amongst them slapping (Jurassic) fives.

Classic rap shit for sure.