Apart from perhaps Calvin Harris, no one knows how to write a party starter quite like British rapper-come-singer Example. The 30-year-old is currently touring Australia as part of this year’s Groovin’ The Moo line-up on the back of his The Evolution of Man album, released in November last year.
The Palace Theatre was the venue for Example’s Melbourne sideshow, and despite appearing at a myriad of festivals over the past few years, this was also his first ever headline show in the city. The large amount of Groovin’ The Moo sideshows and other quality gigs on the evening may have had something to do with the fact the venue was not sold out, instead around two thirds full.
Hands High & PTFFP kicked things off not too long after doors opened before the main support slot Peking Duk took things up a notch. However the majority of the crowd timed their arrival for the headliner himself.
As the lights dimmed the crowd surged forward, the three live band members trundled onstage and began playing the elongated opening for ‘Kickstarts’ which prompted a building energy from around the venue.
The act everyone had come to see, Elliot Gleave a.k.a. Example, bounded onstage with his trademark infectious energy and asked the crowd how they were doing.
The opening song, from his breakthrough 2010 sophomore album Won’t Go Quietly was a great way to begin proceedings and all the people on the floor were immediately jumping around with little to no inhibitions, losing themselves in the anonymity of the lasers and strobe lights.
It’s hard to describe just how much fun an Example gig is, when going to a concert, particularly as a critic you have to judge so many aspects of it you sometimes forget that live music is meant to be, quite simply: fun, as well as creative, inspiring, loud and everything else reviews talk about. Seeing Example doing his thing live you can barely think about anything else but how much fun you’re having.
His enthusiasm is palpable and it bleeds into the audience immediately. He constantly asks questions such as, ‘Where are all the nutters at?’ and promotes getting weirder than you ever have at any show before.
It certainly works, and although his banter with the crowd between songs is brief and at times cryptic, he easily has everyone in the place in the palm of his hand. Taking the willing participants on a whirlwind journey full of thumping club beats, fast “sing-along-able” raps, dancing, sweating and general shenanigans that doesn’t let up for an hour and a half and leaves them screaming for more.
The set list was crammed full of hits and crowd favourites including ‘Skies Don’t Lie’, ‘Midnight Run’, ‘Playing In The Shadows’ with much of it coming from his 2011 album, also called Playing in the Shadows. Material off the new album such as ‘Close Enemies’, ‘Let’s Be Fucking Stupid’ and ‘Say Nothing’ were also highlights. Older jams such as ‘Hooligans’, ‘Something In The Water’ and the aforementioned ‘Kickstarts’ were thoroughly well received.
Finishing the regular set with his mega-successful collaboration with friend Calvin Harris ‘We’ll Be Coming Back’ left the audience screaming his name, shouting “one more song” and other indistinguishable chants before everyone gave up and decided plainly making an awful lot of noise would be the best way to bring about the encore everyone knew was coming.
Despite being an exhausting gig to attend if you were in the mosh pit, predictably everyone (in the words of Example) “took it up another level” for the encore as he began with ‘Perfect Replacement’.
The last song was always going to be ‘Changed The Way You Kissed Me’ and Example, a consummate performer, didn’t disappoint as he nearly took the roof off the joint. Delivering every rap and lyric with superb flow, style and grace this song and indeed the entire concert didn’t ever fail to fire.
Example is a class live act that delivers knockout punch after knockout punch, just what you’d expect from a man clearly at the top of his game.
