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CERTIFIED INFLUENCE
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Well, by now I'm assuming
you have at least heard of the Hilltop Hoods. I mean, even my mum knows
the lyrics to some of their tracks. Hailing from Adelaide, South Australia,
the Hoods have been a driving force behind the Australian Hip-Hop scene,
and helped this fast-paced and unique genre out from the oppressive shadow
of generic American 'bling-bling' Top 40 artists, and brought to the
fore an intelligent, slick, 'real-life' element to the Australian music
scene. As of last month, Hilltop Hoods and Obese Records were celebrating the news that their 3rd album, 'The Calling', has broken the trend and reached Platinum Sales Status. Not only is this a milestone in the history of Australian Hip-Hop, but also a defining moment of its interesting influence as a genre in the music scene. With their latest album 'The Hard Road' jumping straight into the ARIA charts, Hilltop Hoods embarked on a national tour that saw most shows sold out in a matter of days, including their Melbourne show, where the Pixel team were not only lucky enough to be there, but thanks to the lovely Kveta at Obese Records we were able to get our photographer up close and personal to snatch some killer photos of the gig. The venue was Festival Hall, and being sold out meant that this was no pub crowd. People were everywhere. Filing from side streets, jumping from cars, or rolling out of parks and god knows where else, we were just part of a massive wave of people converging on the Hall. Ditching our photographer to be felt up by weapons checks at the media entrance, the rest of Melbourne Pixel rolled inside as Koolism took the stage. As a supporting act, you never really expect to see much crowd participation. But this crowd was right into it, and excusing a few underage idiots who were booing off to one side, there was toe-tapping, head-bobbing, and even a pit front and center as the experienced duo blasted some great tracks, and helped pump the crowd to a frenzy for the main act.  This is our moment to say much respect to Koolism, who handled themselves with perfection that can only come from touring hard and knowing your limits. Plus Hau, frontman and lyricist, made it off stage, through the center of the crowd, and back on stage again all in one track! This next part is a little vague, but it involved a long line, stairs, the bar, a few drinks, and then pow! We are back with Koolism, finishing up their set and exiting to a great crowd response, especially considering the number of underage fans in G-Unit tshirts… Unlike most gigs, the Hoods left a relatively small gap before hitting the stage, and hit it they did! Bounding on stage to a roaring reception from the crowd, the Hilltop Hoods did what they do best, and built the moment with a fantastic, slightly customised intro, pyrotechnics, and of course their killer style of music. Given the tour, and the crowd of 'new' fans, the Hoods did rely heavily on their new album for this show, but thankfully it is a clean and pumping release, so it certainly had no negative influence on the overall feel. And obviously the crowd loved it, shouting support for the Hoods and their Certified Wise crew regardless of whether they actually knew why.  |
 Pounding through a selection of their newer tracks such as 'Recapturing The Vibe', 'City of Light', and of course 'The Hard Road', it was a surprise to hear them launch into 'Circuit Breaker', although they pulled it off perfectly with some help from strobe lights during the sampled 'chorus'. Props go to the setup of the stage, which not only allowed for a great light show and pyrotechnics, but also gave MCs Suffa and Pressure plenty of room to move, as well as climb the speakers to each side for a better look. The crowd pleasing 'The Nosebleed Section' went off as expected, bringing together fans old and new with a track they can all shout along to, and powered the mood of the evening to an all new high. Some purposely inappropriate metal samples from DJ Debris added some humour to the set, allowing Suffa and Pressure to work the crowd with an experienced hand that puts the Hoods on a level few artists in their genre can match.  The slightly disappointing but enjoyable addition of UK MC Mystro for 'Obese Lowlifes' was a great addition to the set, and topped the night off for one of the biggest stops on the tour. All things said, the show was a massive success, with a professionalism you come to expect from artists with a lot of tour experience behind them. The whole event was well-managed, and pulled off without a hitch. The Hilltop Hoods showed once again that…well…they live this genre. They are passionate, dedicated, talented and willing to put it all out there for their fans. If you haven't caught a Hoods show, or bought one of their albums, we highly recommend you do so right now. Drop everything, hit up your local CD store and have a listen. It won't disappoint. If you reside in Melbourne, head on down to the Obese Records store in Prahran and hang out. Chat to people, listen to some vinyl, and get a feel for the scene so that the next time a tour like this hits your area, your standing in line with tickets in hand, ready for an experience you can't find anywhere else. 
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