TZU

As I walked through the small but guarded front entrance I was mortifyingly asked for I.D (given probably to the fact that I may appear 16 due to my 5’4 stature) I must say walking into a room full of strangers laughing at your expense is an experience. Hanging above the bar in the dimly lit front room was a black Fender held up by unnervingly thin strings, sitting across from the resident muted fuzzy TV, was a large fluoro filled fish tank which sat atop the bar fridge, vibrating along to Tenacious D playing loudly in the background.

As I was ushered by the long haired bar staff to the band room at the back of the hotel, the crowd started to swell in anticipation of the show about to commence. The supporting act for the night was Adelaidian band Lowrider, the Carlton Draught-glugging groove makers struggled to all fit onto the tiny stage, clear from the bass player’s attempts to abstain from impregnating the lead singer’s mouth with the head of his guitar. Their tunes were Maroon 5-esque with hints of soul, pop and even gospel; the notes coming out of this band were phenomenal. I have to say these guys made a very big impression on me; there wasn’t one person whose head wasn’t bopping to the soulful sounds floating over them.

TZU then hit the stage with a robotic audio introduction, matched to their new album, Computer Love. Fronted by MCs Joelistics and Countbounce; the combination of bass, scratching and rhymes was enough to create synchronised mass head bopping and air punching. Fans got a taste of the new album featuring more pop/rock flavours than previous efforts, with new tracks such as Got To Do, Number One and Get Up. The boys had the audience in a frenzy, in particular one party man who was pulling out some moves I’ve never seen before who resembled a Twistie that’s fallen out of the packet and is bouncing around on the floor.

Joelistics really showed off his talent during a freestyle segment, very quick with the words; telling of ‘the night at the Nashie’. Countbounce did well alongside but was struggling to keep up amidst the continuous technical problems with his mic and screeching amps. The boys psyched up the crowd for their new title track Computer Love, suddenly shiny silver jackets appeared out of no where onto the group (reminiscent of the Michelin Man) and the song kicked off with crowd members shouting the words right back. The computerised voicing that accompanied the track was a little overbearing on the music itself but never the less the crowd ate it up. Nearing the end of the show TZU treated us all to some of their oldies like Summer Days and In Front of Me which was one of the highlights of the night for me.

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