To celebrate the release of their fifth album Circus In The Sky, Bliss N Eso hit the stage of Brisbane’s Eatons Hills Hotel in a flurry of high energy and dancey tunes. Supported by Pez, and Alabama’s own hip- hop powerhouse Yelawolf, Bliss N Eso showed Brisbane fans what being the kings of Australian hip-hop really meant.
Taking the stage with the incredibly talented Hayley Cramer, Pez started the night off laidback. A little downplayed, with a more surfy hip-hop edge, the MC had the crowd bouncing along to his groovy tunes.
A definite hit was “Festival Song” complete with Cramer’s amazing vocals. With a little crowd participation and free styling over Arrested Development’s “People Everyday”, Pez eased the punters into was about to become an exceedingly powerful and enthralling night of hip-hop.
Yelawolf took the stage with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Larger than life and bursting off stage with energy, he brought a completely new level of enthusiasm to Eatons Hills Hotel.
With incredibly intense and impactful lyricism, it was clear to see why Yelawolf was picked up by Shady Records. Tatted up to the nines, and not afraid to show it, he shared his forceful and unbelievably fast rapping skills.
Harder, more brutal and much, much louder than his predecessor on stage, the American rapper almost stunned the crowd with the intensity of his speed and abilities. Moving seamlessly from song to song, rhyme to rhyme, he busted out hits like “Marijuana”, “Pop the Trunk” and “Daddy’s Lambo”, all the while ensuring punters were matching his energy with every beat. As one of the world’s most exciting hip-hop artists to see live in concert, this country boy definitely bought something new and incredible to the venue’s stage.
Beginning with a music video, Bliss N Eso hit the stage in a blur of mind-warping bass and penetrating energy. While the intensity didn’t feel the same as it did when Yelawolf was on stage, Bliss N Eso brought their own unique brand of live hip-hop and aptitude to the stage.
Most talented and probably most underappreciated member of the trio, DJ IZM had the crowd moving the second he was behind the decks. Bliss N Eso both moved around with the energy of ADD-addled kids and blasted the audience with hits like “Woodstock”, “Family Affair” and new song “Act Your Age”.
The set was made more exciting and interesting due to the screen set up behind DJ IZM. Flashing words so punters could sing along, images of family members to go along with “Family Affair”, and footage of the crowd added something special and made the show visually interesting.
Coupled with the manic energy of the two rappers, and plenty of crown participation, the audience maintained an unconceivable level of energy and excitement through the entire show.
Somewhere around the middle of their set, Bliss N Eso took a break and DJ IZM had his moment in the spotlight on the decks. Anyone with even the smallest amount of DJ knowledge could see the raw talent he managed to display. His fingers a blur across the decks, he kept the energy of the crowd up to its highest point, before rounding out his set with a rousing sing along to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Bliss and Eso came back out on stage to hit the crowd with hits “Down By The River”, “Running on Air”, and “The Sea Is Rising”, before rounding out the main set with “House Of Dreams’.
Treating the punters to an encore of “Addicted” and “Home is Where the Heart Is”, both Bliss and Eso crowd surfed across the exhausted, sweaty audience, and started a cheer of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie”. A night full of patriotism, and a little slice of Americana, Brisbane hip-hop fans were treated to something truly different, and truly special.
