Downsyde

Gigs at Huon Quay tend to be a bit hit and miss. If enough people turn up and the bands are on form it is a great atmosphere. If there are not enough people, the acoustics are terrible, there is no vibe and even the best bands are going to be battling.
When I arrived at the gig it looked like it could be a fizzer. The opening act – Mdusu - struggled to get any sort of response to start with, but in the end put on a pretty good set.
As Unleash the Nugget started setting up, eager punters seemed to arrive from nowhere, staked out prime positions in front of the stage creating a good atmosphere.
Unleash the Nugget seem like a band who have got it together. They have been working in the studio and gigging regularly now and their performance reflected that. It was all pretty slick, the playing was spot on (especially the drums and the keys) and the lyrics had the crowd on side for the entire set.
Downsyde continue to gain popularity in the burgeoning Australian hip hop scene, but it has been a hard slog. It has taken them nearly ten years to get to where they are. They started as a three MCs in 1996, Optamus, dazastah and Dyna-Mikes, who are now the core of the group, and who provided most of the highlights on stage. They know how to pump up a crowd and seemed to feed off the energy from the nearly full house.
But the highlights of the night were a bit more subtle. The line-up has expanded from three to six and it is the newer members that were really impressive. DJ Armee is amazing. He held the show together and even had time to step out from behind the turntables and MC with Optamus, dazastah and Dyna-Mikes.
The live drummer, Salvatore, was solid and seemed to play with a more ‘rock and roll’ style instead of the almost obligatory jazz/funk style of so many other hip hop drummers. It gave the live sound a harder edge, which was more mesmerising than funky. I found out after the show that he was the drummer from Beaverloop, which explains a lot.
The real highlight from the night was Cheeky. Almost obscured by a wall of equipment he ran the sampler and the loops and also played bass and keyboards. It was really impressive to see him keep the groove going and work all the different sounds into each track.
Downsyde are at a peak in their career. Their latest release When the Dust Settles is by far their best and it is good to see the band follow up sold out shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with a trip to Tassie.

Share this review on Facebook