With fans pulsing, pumping, and surrendering to the shaky floorboards, SBTRKT has filled a Melbourne venue yet again to welcome 2013 with another round of amazing live shows; with many gig goers still sporting their Lorne Falls Festival wristbands, eager for a second dose of the duo in a week.
Aaron Jerome, the man behind SBTRKT, chooses to use an alias name to promote the anonymity of his music. Assisting the mysteriousness of his uncredited identity are his modern takes of traditional native ceremonial masks (designed by A Hidden Place).
Never too far on stage from SBTRKT is his frequent collaborator and partner in crime Sampha. Announcing that it is one of their last performances as a duo, the pair didn’t cease to blow the crowd’s expectations out of the water with an engaging and exhilarating show.
While awaiting the masked magician, ticket holders filed in down the Billboard stairs, immediately stepping into the dubstep dance vibe. With DJs opening the evening, punters were free to sway on the floor or at the bar, getting their first taste of electronic vibes, ultimately making them drool in anticipation for the beginning of the show.
True to their mysterious form, the pair stepped out on stage hidden behind a teasing see-through curtain, bearing the SBTRKT logo of a mask. The crowd blew up in cheers as they could only just make out the shapes of semi-circle headpieces atop the two men’s heads behind the curtain, as they made their way to the turntables and keyboards.
Everyone was so unbelievably ready to delve straight into the music, and the pair’s tantalizing performance behind a curtain made the crowd restless, with energy building up and expecting the climax of when the curtain would fall away.
However revealing the stage didn’t go as smoothly as intended. After the first few songs, including “Go Bang”, the crowd, although enjoying every minute, became confused and began to wonder if they would properly lay eyes on the act they came to see.
Following some hushed whispers from the silhouettes, the curtain was eventually ripped down by the stage hands, erupting a huge applause from the crowd. SBTRKT shared a quick hello and apologised for the “f**k up – that has never happened with the curtain before!” before diving straight into hit track “Hold On”.
The evening consisted of enthralling acoustic drum numbers, with Sampha’s yearning vocals and dabbles of keyboard and piano throughout tracks. Not to mention of course the electronic loops of vocals and samples that brings it all together.
Cleverly designed lighting managed to both emphasise the silhouettes and masked aspect of their attire, yet shone brightly during their sweat-generated drum solos or Sampha’s get-up-and-sing bouts of energy.
Crowd favourites included “Pharaohs”, “Ready Set Loop” and “Sanctuary”. However it was hard to go past the popularity of “Wildfire”, which had even the timid slow movers scrambling to the front stage and waving arms into one another (perhaps not-so-accidentally) as they chanted along with Sampha.
“Trials of the Past” lead us into the finale, but it wouldn’t be a successful gig without a fake encore. The duo returned with SBTRKT at the mixing tables and Sampha out front with the microphone, inviting the crowd to mimic the lyrics to “Right Thing To Do”.
The crowd parroted; “such a hurricane, such a hurting pain/ trapped in my soul and I can’t explain”, while he ran about hi-fiving the lucky few at the front of the stage.
A second mishap for the evening occurred when SBTRKT threw his drumsticks into the crowd, aiming a little too high and hitting the roof. The crowd and SBTRKT shared a giggle before getting cheered offstage.
