True Live

True Live are one of the most distinct hip hop bands I have seen, their hybrid mix of classical instrumentation mixed with rock and Latin jazz. leaves most bands in the dark. The musicans themselves are virtuosos with all of them studying at Victoria College of The Arts.

There didn’t seem to be a set list as such, it was just an amazing hour and half long jam. First they would start with a smooth jazz intro then by the end of the song the whole room would be bouncing; few bands i have seen can hold a crowd in the palm of their hands like these guys do.

It’s incredibly reassuring for the Melbourne band scene that more venues are opening up and giving local unsigned acts a place to play. In the latter part of the 90’s the band scene seemed to be in dire straits, because of those bloody pokie venues popping up everywhere, but it seems that Melbourne has re-established it’s self as the rock capital of Australia a title it deserves.

There was this one part of the gig tonight that blew me away, Rhyno (lead singer/MC) would get audience members to shout out words at random and then he would freestyle with whatever they responded with, it was amazing that he could make a song about the budget, grey wallpaper, and transformers and somebodies Mama in matter of minutes and make it flow like it had been rehearsed.

Melbourne’s hip hop scene is in good hands with these guys leading the charge.

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