Kid Koala casually took to his station – at The Hi-Fi Brisbane (25 February) – equipped with three turntables for his warm-up set where he not only got everyone ready for the the journey ahead, but also tuned his equipment which he admitted he had never used before.
The growing crowd watched in awe as he flipped through his records, licking his fingers between spins and scratches. He mistook the wide-eyed stillness (the claps and cheers after each pause said otherwise) and told everyone “It’s ok it’s Tuesday, so I guess it’s a work night” then realised that “oh it’s Wednesday? you guys are in the future!”. He ended with a wild manipulation of ‘Moon River’ as a tribute to his mother.
The Hi-Fi was packed in by 10pm – or the year 3030. Kid Koala returned with Dan The Automator, Del The Funky Homosapien (plus his skateboard) and their band to start the interplanetary sound journey of the legendary hip hop, sci-fi, opera album that is ‘Deltron 3030’.
Dan The Automator - Image © Jann AngaraDan the Automator, a mastermind behind that phenomenal concept band Gorillaz, unpretentiously played around with his pads and buttons, occasionally with one earphone in his ear. He danced and jammed out with Del. He took the mic to hype the crowd getting them to sing along to ‘Nobody Can’, even teasing saying that “New Zealand did it better”, which of course had everyone shouting back louder. He moved around stage, taking a seat wherever he pleased and even replugged a mixer which fell off Kid Koala’s desk mid song. He delightfully treated the stage like his own lounge-room studio as any genius could.
Del The Funky Homosapien - Image © Jann AngaraDel The Funky Homosapien took short breaths between ‘Deltron 3030’ and ‘The Event 2’ tracks (including ‘Do You Remember’, ‘Virus’ and ‘Things You Can Do’); playing narrator/ hero to the night’s intellectual battle definitely called for a breather. This gave a chance for Kid Koala to take the spotlight again with his scratch solo and it was clear that he was saving this performance for the main set.
For fans of the album and the conceptual album in general, it was a gift to experience such a unique super group perform with full sound. For newcomers, it was definitely an interesting “space-rock-alternative-hip hop” (as heard from a crowd member) live experience which would surely have them seeking out both ‘Deltron 3030’ and ‘The Event 2’ to lyrically relive the story.
Either way the cheers and long encore clearly showed the appreciation which was rewarded with ‘Clint Eastwood’. Another win for hip hop in Brisbane.
