360 @ The Astor Theatre
w/ Pez, Marksman Lloyd
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Whether you love Aussie hip hop or not, there is no denying its popularity with the kids. Before doors even opened, a line went around the block for 360 at the Astor on Saturday night and there was a buzz of excitement hanging over the crowd.
It was a local artist, Marksman Lloyd that opened the night with Dreamers and The Fear. He immediately had the crowd worked up with his energetic style of hip hop, especially when asking for items to freestyle with and took sunnies, an asthma puffer, glow stick and license amongst other things from the front row.
“Perth! Make some noise!” he said. “We’ve done a few shows this tour and I have to say; Perth City goes the hardest!”
He ended his set with Didn’t Know, Seven Laps and Gene Simmons and got the crowd to crouch down as low as they could before jumping up. “Peace and love to every single one of you guys!” Lloyd told everyone as he left the stage. While there were some people there that may not have seen or heard him before, with his talents, there is no doubt he made a hell of a lot of new fans.
Kyd Jay had the task of getting everyone warmed up for Pez and had the Astor singing along to various Aussie hip hop classics. By the time Pez walked out, the energy was electric and the place jumping. “Yeah that was dope!” he told the audience. “Make some noise for yourselves because that was beautiful!”
He played all his hits including The Game, The Festival Song and Heavenly. “Someone threw a watch up here! That’s dope!” Pez said. “This is called Weekender. Hope you know it. Sing that shit!” While Pez hasn’t been in the spotlight as much recently, his performance was on point and served to remind everyone there that he is still a strong force in the hip hop world. “Much love Perth! Have a great fucking night!”
After DJ Mat Cant riled up the crowd and told the audience to “sing louder, scream louder” so that ’60 could hear them, the man of the hour, 360 came out on stage in almost darkness with his hood up and cap down and to screams of adulation from everyone. From the first songs, White Lies, God Mode and Devil’s Advocate, he had everyone eating from the palm of his hands and had full control of the Astor.
At one stage, he bent down to pick something up and held out the object gingerly to the crowd. “I respect it. I respect it!” he laughed as he threw the g-string back into the audience. “Hey Perth! You mind if I play some old tracks for you?” The crowd erupted as he went on to sing Boys Like You and Money. He also played a few tracks of his latest album (Vintage Modern) – Witness, Letters and Trouble.
For Live It Up and Coup de Grace, Pez came and joined 360 on stage. “Make some fucking noise for Pez! That was fun man!” he said once Pez left. “I thought I had fucked up my career with drug addiction. I’m not going to take this shit for granted. I appreciate every one of you so much. Here’s a song called Drugs.” It marked the end of the main set.
He came out for one more song, Run Alone. “Thank you very much you mad cunts! Seriously, I thank every single one of you for coming out tonight!”
With 360 and with everything that he has been through, you can see that he means every word. You can see just how gracious, how genuine and how thrilled he is to be up on stage performing and that energy flowed straight back to the audience and contributed to being an excellent night. The only issue was the bass was occasionally too loud and drowned out his lyrics which was frustrating.
360’s honesty about his personal struggles with addiction and mental illness has helped so many people face their own issues and it’s no wonder people love him.
Words and Photos by
KAREN LOWE
