Saturday had been a big day for Canberra – the yearly Art Not Apart Festival had taken over New Acton, the new Westside development at Acton had its opening party and it was the night of Skyfire. But for the group of people that made up the sold-out crowd at ANU Bar, there were few concerns other than the line-up of hip-hop acts joining Seth Sentry for his Run tour.
One of the great things about hip-hop gigs is the level of crowd participation. From the first act through to the headline, the audience is engaged; arms in the air, partaking in call-and-response chants, bouncing, jumping, shouting, smiling. There’s really nothing else quite like it.
The two support acts (chosen by Seth himself) fit very well with the feel of the night. First was Coin Banks from Perth who worked the crowd well, and had everyone with their hands up. The stage room was already packed, with only a few stragglers sitting out in the bar area. It was great to see the audience support right from the beginning, and they were rewarded with a very fun support act setting up good vibes for the night ahead.
Citizen Kay, our own ‘Canberra Homie’ (his words) took to the stage as second support act. His energy was infectious, and it was impossible not to get swept up in his enthusiasm. The party really got going when he broke into his hit Raise a Glass which was definitely a crowd favourite (pity Brass Knuckle Brass Band couldn’t have made a cameo). Citizen Kay is a natural – he belongs onstage, and seemed particularly comfortable on his own turf. He even brought his little brother up to rap with him for a song, which went down well.
Seth Sentry burst onstage after a 20 minute wait, with his main man DJ Sizzle taking to the decks dressed in a fabulous sparkly jacket. My Scene was played early on, which chilled everyone out as they grooved along.
It was quite remarkable to watch Seth and Sizzle together. As opposed to the usual rapper-with-a-DJ thing, these two worked so well together to create a performance that was a lot of fun to watch.
Dear Science was one of the night’s highlights, particularly when the music stalled into ambience for a moment and DJ Sizzle, while shrouded in smoke, held up a hoverboard which was met by excited squeals from the audience – does this mean Seth finally got his hoverboard and Science is back off the hook?
For the very few fans who would’ve recognised it, there was a lovely moment in the gig where The Beatles’ Don’t Let Me Down played over the PA, and Seth made up a rap on the spot that was unique to this gig, and the audience cheered in amazement at his skills.
Another highlight came in the form of DJ Sizzle crowd surfing to the bar to get a beer and back – a party trick he has been perfecting throughout the tour.
The title track of the tour Run went down well to end the set, and was followed by chants of ‘Seth Sen-try’ to bring the two out one more time for an encore.
When they re-emerged onstage, Seth spoke sincerely to everyone saying, “I’ve never really had a sports team, but you guys are my team, and I want you to go out this season and win.” You could tell the support of everyone in the audience really meant a lot to him. He finished with Strange Lot, and the night ended on a high.
Images by Brianna Williams
