Local personalities TZU’s most recent show at the Northcote Social Club was lively, characteristically witty, and, as of that morning, sold-out. It was vaguely touted as the ‘last show in Melbourne for a while’ (a new album on the way, most likely) and it was certainly the best performance I’ve seen from the hip-hoppers in a while; successfully keeping the eclectic crowd riveted and the mood overwhelmingly festive.

The other stars of the show were supporters Der Fall Böse, a Pop-Funk-cum-hip-hop septet hailing from Hamburg, Germany. Touring Australia with full-band and playing unconventional yet instantly appealing tracks, they got the already bustling bandroom of the Social Club fired-up and ready for more. While certainly a hip-hop set, the band seem to take a very German aversion to the boundaries of genre, crossing effortlessly into ska, funk, and rock territory. Their tight rhymes (predominately in German), on-stage banter (predominately in English), and the musical combination of keys, drums, guitar, bass and double saxophones made for a very entertaining and polished performance.

With the stage comprehensively warmed (along with the venue, where the mercury in the packed bandroom must have topped 40 degrees), TZU fronted their ever-loyal home crowd to put on what was an electric and well-performed set, featuring heavily their most recent album Smiling at Strangers, and the re-release Snarling at Strangers.

As expected, the more well-known numbers such as ‘In Front of Me’, ‘Won’t Get Played’ and ‘Hey OK’ went down well, and showed off the diversity and creativity for which they’re recognised. The performance was also clearly lifted by the rapturous energy of the crowd, who sang and danced along to their favourite tracks, and got into some semblance of uniformed crowd participation during ‘Front to Back’, at the direction of MC seed. You could tell mid-way through the set that it was going to be a fun night, and it certainly was. Having said that, the show also reflected TZU’s more serious dimension, with with barbed criticisms of war, greed and foreign policy from the mordant, politically motivated track ‘Recoil’ adding a more sombre tone to the show – although thankfully not for long.

A clear highlight was when the headliners invited Der Fall Böse to return to the stage, where the show culminated with a rendition of ‘She Gets Up’ of almost orchestral proportions. The combination and punchiness of the sound, particularly the dimension added by two saxophones courtesy of the German guests was a real treat; and the audience and performers alike seemed to thoroughly enjoy the moment. My only negative assessment of their performance on the night is that the freestyling lacked the finesse which I’ve seen in the past, and at times the MCs seemed to stumble their way through their impromptu delivery.

As well as being great in their own right, TZU shows continue to show the light-hearted, pert, and thoughtful side of Australian hip-hop. While I’m quite partial to the hip-hop being churned out by labels such as Obese, it’s always refreshing to see outfits like TZU, the Winnie Coopers, Hermitude or Music vs. Physics taking an innovative approach to the genre and giving the boundaries a nudge. Similarly it’s great to be able to see a hip-hop show where the emphasis is more on creating a good vibe and having fun rather than worrying whether you’ve spent long enough choosing which pair of Nikes to wear. Cynicism aside, TZU continue to keep it upbeat and interesting, and this show was another tremendous example of that.