WHO’S UP FOR A PARTY ON THE MOON?!
Aussie Hip-hop OG’s Bliss N Eso and their fans, have gone from racing across Flowers In The Pavement during the Day Of The Dog, to elevate into the atmosphere of timeless Hip-Hop anthems with Flying Colours. But they and we, didn’t leave it there, oh hell-no, those Flying Colours sent us to new heights Running On Air, higher, higher and higher, until we threw our musical arms wide, dove head-first in musical greatness, further defining the genre, twirling and weaving through that Circus In The Sky. Seemingly Off The Grid of possibility, the band and their fans have been circling The Sun, and now, it’s time to Party On The Moon… in Penrith.
Look, I’m sure you can go down the road to Kingswood and find someone who’ll sell you something that’ll seriously make you think you are in fact on the moon, but honestly, I’ll pass, these legends’ live shows themselves are like the most potent drug, and best of all, being completely clear-minded to soak up the musical party in its entirety!
I’ve been following these guys since 2009, not literally of course, that’d be rather tiring I’d imagine, plus, I don’t think blind people would make very successful stalkers. All jokes aside, there’s a very good reason or two that keeps bringing me to their shows, tonight being #14, and it’s not JUST their ever-growing catalogue of bangers.
Let me break it down for y’all…
I won’t do a song-by-song breakdown, that’d be one insanely long review, instead ima paint the canvas with those bold, free musical colours.
The canvas in which is the live shows foundation; BnE don’t just preach “Peace Love and Unity” in their lyrics, they live and breathe it at their shows. I’ve seen them in numerous venues of varying sizes and production capabilities, but the one constant at all shows, is always, and I truly mean always being connected with their audience. The show tonight starts off shakily, after being significantly late to take-off, which seemed to only build fans’ excitement and I guess, chance to buy more at the bar, shortly after BnE explode onto the stage amidst a theatrical recording, they quickly stop, as they notice a fan had fallen on the ground, toward the back of the standing area, and wasn’t getting back up. The band made sure staff sorted it out and took care of their fallen fan, telling us they’ll come back on stage to properly start when they get the thumbs up that the fan’s alright. Now, during the high-as-hell, energy of the show as it gets underway, the band connect with us by talking to us on a personal level during songs, getting us to clap, sing and chant what they want at their command, talking to us like regular happy-as-f**k Aussie music lovers, not celebs, giving us the real, plus reaching out to us, high-fiving and fist bumping. Some blind guy at the front even copped an epic signed poster from Eso between songs!
The sound/defining colours; BnE’s music along is uplifting, anthemic and you can’t help but to smile and get jiggy to, no sitting down if it can be helped! The boys amp it right up and smash that energy up through the roof at their live shows, with Bliss, Eso and DJ Izm all feeding off each other like one body, one heart and soul, with their live drummer being like a paint brush helping keep the consistency and texture of the musical paint. I have to note, at all BnE shows the sound mixer is superb, I never have any issues defining individual sound elements, with Bliss and Eso’s vocals always clearly taking centre-stage, and tonight’s no different!
Blend of musical colours/song choice; The set wasn’t cut short, despite the late start luckily, we get a smorgasbord of a packed 21-song setlist, featuring a beautiful mix of old and new fan favourites that make my eyes light up! From ‘Family Affairs’ early in the set which is always a treat at BnE shows, especially with how well they get the audience to rap-along, to feel-good mature as f**, anthem ‘Act Your Age’, to ‘OG’, my personal favourite ‘My Life’ new singles ‘Vacation’ and ‘Chemical Heart’ with Grinspoon, and classics ‘The Sea Is Rising’ and finishing up with ‘Addicted’.
Textures and tone; I must say that the boys still bring the extremely high energy performance emitting love, big smiles, inclusion as if they know or at least, want to know each and every one of us, and over-all bright musical colours! Despite a lot of hip-hop acts us crowd chants like “say oh-yeah, say f**k-yeah” and “make some f**kin’ noise!” to interact with the audience which is great of course, but often is used too liberally, often adding too much oil or too much texture where it’s not needed, ending up distracting from the big picture, the music. BnE do those crowd interactive techniques too, but they’ve had years of practicing and refining their art, so now be at the point to perfectly apply it effectively.
Final observation; Even though my musical taste generally gravitates more towards rock and metal, Bliss N Eso is, well put very simply fun! I always have an amazing time at their shows even during the more “gangster rap” style songs that I’m generally not a big fan of, I always have a smile on my face and build up a sweat from jumping and dancing!
After all, music isn’t just heard, it’s felt, it’s experienced. That’s exactly what BnE give fans, an experience that you can feel long after the show finishes!