Selling out all of the seventeen dates of The Flying Tour, 360 returned for the tour’s second show at the Hi-Fi in his hometown of Melbourne. Support acts BamBam and Hermitude warmed up the crowd, with BamBam performing tracks from his 2011 mixtape Straight Outta Bedrock such as “Where Is My Mind?” which sampled the familiar Pixies hit and saw friend, Breeze join him on stage. Hermitude followed shortly after with a forty-five minute set of what El Gusto told the audience was “100% original music”, closed by the crowd favourite “Speak of the Devil”.
The crowd was growing impatient waiting for 360’s arrival, chanting his name before Hermitude had even left the stage completely. Preceded by the sounds of an aeroplane landing, a fire alarm and the sounds of gunshots, 360 joined DJ Mat Cant on stage just after 10.30pm. “Are you ready?” he asked, before launching into “Killer” – an intense opener that saw BamBam return to the stage to help out.
Following “Killer” was an apt choice of “Just Got Started” which saw Pez running onto the stage to feature on the track, as he does on 360’s sophomore album Fear of Flying. Sporting a Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen shirt and a gold chain, 360 broke the ice by asking the crowd “Do you like my chain? It’s from Sportsgirl!” Whilst it isn’t always obvious in his lyrics, 360 has a sense of humour, and was enjoying the crowd interaction – taking wrist bands and hats and shaking hands with fans during the set. It was evident by the MC’s expression when arriving on stage that he was impressed by the packed venue, “You guys are my true Melbourne fans” he told the sold out audience.
One particular crowd favourite came half way through the set – the highly biographical and favourable radio track “Child”. It was during this song, and a crowd sing-a-long, which 360 first smiled, a rare moment during his performances. The intensity returned with “Hammerhead”, which saw BamBam show off his breakdancing skills, displayed previously during his set at the beginning of the night.
360’s choice for the final song before the encore was a predictable yet favourable choice, “Never cheat on a loved one, you’ll get crucified” he preached, as the beautiful Gossling took to the stage to help perform the three-time platinum track “Boys Like You”. Finishing the set at 11.20pm, 360 returned for two more songs, including ‘Run Alone’ and left the stage in the same fashion he entered – with gunshots and by ordering the crowd to go out and “Get fucked up and wasted.”
On stage for only an hour, once he left, it was clear that the crowd expected more from 360, who has become one of Australia’s biggest names in hip hop. However, the passionate fans found themselves in an intimate setting and clearly enjoyed every moment of the short but packed performance.
– Eva Dent
