Last Thursday night, or ‘Good Friday Eve’ has had the reputation of being one of the biggest nights in the capital for years. Venues in Civic are usually packed to capacity as everybody welcomes the long weekend in true Canberra style: drinking, dancing and spending too much money.
But for those who were in the know last Thursday, a different sort of party was happening at Zierholz, University of Canberra. Some big Aussie hip hop names were about to spit out a storm! Yes that’s right, Spit Syndicate had stopped by Canberra on the biggest night of the year to show us all how to get down!
Even though the University of Canberra was in the middle of their mid-semester break last week, there was still quite a reasonable crowd already in Zierholz when I arrived.
Canberra Favourite, Raw City Rukus appeared on stage, and commanded us all to come down to the front, and to my surprise the crowd obeyed. It’s rare to see the first supporting act gain such an enthusiastic audience.
Raw City Rukus did our city proud. The crew went through their old favorites as well as a few songs I hadn’t heard before. The bass was loud and their delivery was full of attitude. They had the full support of the crowd, which was growing slowly as more and more people trickled in to the bar.
As they ended their set, they instructed us all to head to La De Da at the end of the night, for the after-party which was apparently going to be huge.
After a brief intermission that involved many drink purchases and visits to the ATM, Jackie Onassis hit the stage and once again they were swarmed by an excited crowd.
The Sydney duo launched into their set, and though lead singer Kai Tan may not look exactly like your typical MC he certainly gave a hard-hitting performance.
It was Hip hop at its finest, including Australian pop references (such as a small burst of Flume’s Holdin On) and onstage banter. The duo dedicated various tunes to a whole range of things, like Canberra’s centenary, having best friends, and Triple J, who have been a big supporter of Jackie Onassis.
Of course by now Zierholz was loud and crowded. The beats were heavy and the bass was loud. Jackie Onassis played their final tune and most of the crowd remained where they were during the brief intermission, not willing to give up their spot.
Finally Spit Syndicate appeared and jumped right in to one of their tunes. The catchy bass and beats captivated us all. For those who recognized the well-played songs from the radio sung along loud and proud. Arms swayed to the slower tunes and people jumped and fist pumped to the rest.
Most of the songs they played were of course from their latest album Sunday Gentlemen; however they did play a few favorites from their previous albums which kept the Canberra fans happy.
Their set raced by and before I knew it they had played their final song, which was received well by the over-excited crowd who screamed and yelled their approval to the Sydney lads.
As I watched everybody file out the doors I had little doubt in my mind that everyone was headed to the after-party, to continue the biggest night in the Capital, which would most likely be followed by the biggest collective hangover in the Capital.
