Gold Coast's Vinnies Dive Bar is always a unique venue to play.
Saturday night (20 April) was the tenth stop on Seth Sentry's the 'Waiter Minute' tour. With all Gold Coast tickets sold out, the capacity crowd were keen to experience Seth's unique brand of Aussie hip hop.It's been nearly 15 years since we first heard Seth tell us about soggy toast and the rubbish coffee ('The Waitress Song'). We were looking forward to some nostalgia plus whatever advancements science had brought us in the subsequent years. This would of course be blended with references to pop-culture, video games and misspent youth.
The venue lives up to its name as a dive bar. The former mobile phone store and neighbouring newsagent has been transformed into an interesting Gold Coast venue. It is rough around the edges with graffiti and gig posters adorning the walls and offers a unique experience for international and Aussie artists.
I arrived to find the dive bar already packed and DEM MOB starting their set. The Indigenous hip hop group hail from a region in Northern South Australia called the APY Lands (Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara).
DEM MOB - image © Radical Imaging
Their lyrics combine English and Pitjantjatjara languages. They are the first group to rap in the language from this region.
Their set included songs with hard-hitting lyrics and a powerful message. 'Still No Justice' confronts themes of racism, incarceration and the struggles of Indigenous Australians. They did a great job of warming up the crowd for Seth Sentry; they would later returned to the stage to rap with Seth.
When Vinnies is sold out you definitely know about it. The main stage (the former Black Cat News Agency) is packed from the front to past the bar as people jostle for a spot to enjoy the show.
DJ Sizzle is joining Seth for the tour. The crowd are excited to see him onstage setting up his gear as we stand patiently doing our best impersonations of sardines in a can.
Seth Sentry proves his gamer nerd credentials as the theme from the game 'Halo' signals the start of the set. We get a preview of a new song called 'Comfortable' and he takes us back to 2008 with 'Simple Game' off the 'Waiter Minute' EP.
"Even if you're not sure what you're on this rock for /
"You're worth more than the money in your sock drawer."
Seth Sentry - image © Radical Imaging
Tracks from 'This Was Tomorrow' (2012) and 'Strange New Past' (2015) get the crowd pumping their fists and singing the lyrics back at Seth. Tales of misspent youth and running from the police resonate with the crowd as they join in for the chorus of 'Run'.
"I'm sorry but it's not my fault /
"Something inside me that I can't let go /
"No I just can't let go... /
"And I just wanna run..."
'My Scene' from 'This Was Tomorrow' tells of the struggles to find your crowd in the relatable way which Seth does so well. Possible a throwback to the Hoodoo Gurus 1987 song 'What's My Scene', but who knows.
"What's my scene? /
"I'm still tryin' to find my scene"
It was getting warm in the venue. There was an aircon unit in the room and it was working overtime with the room packed to capacity. It definitely was not near me and certainly wasn’t near DJ Sizzle and Seth as sweat poured off them.
Seth Sentry & DJ Sizzle - image © Radical Imaging
We were asked if we were smarter than a fifth grader (and possibly the Brisbane crowd from the night before) as Seth launched into 'Dumb'.
"I think I'm dumb, I think my brain's broke /
"I found out last night watching a game show"
Science had made a lot of advancements in the last few decades, but we were reminded of one of their major failings as DJ Sizzle retrieved an item from out the back and held it above his head. It is bright pink with the words 'Hover Board' on it.
The crowd goes wild for the '80s nostalgia and the important questions that needs to be asked by Seth:
"Dear science, cheers for the iPods /
"White goods, yeah thank you for the cyborgs /
"Top work on the light bulb /
"That was quite cool /
"But where's my hoverboard?"
The awesome songs just kept coming with 2017's 'Play It Safe' followed by 'Hell Boy' and 'Float Away'. DJ Sizzle launched off the stage and crowd-surfed to the back on a sea of upheld hands. The hover board had been put away at this point, but possibly that's a challenge for a future gig.
DJ Sizzle - image © Radical Imaging
Oh yeah! 'Waiter Minute'. Are we missing something? After 15 songs we are finally treated to 'The Waitress Song' with familiar stories of soggy toast and rubbish coffee.
"There's a place I go for breakfast every afternoon /
"The coffees rubbish and the bacons always hard to chew"
Water is sprayed on the crowd, sweaty shirts are changed and Seth returns for two more songs from the 'Waiter Minute' album to wrap up the show. 'Strange Lot' and 'Train Catcher' leave us wanting more as we are farewelled with the lyrics.
"So I'm a go catch that train /
"I hope to God I never see you again"
If you are on the Gold Coast anytime soon, we definitely want to see you again Seth.
- written by Justin Gittins
More photos from the gig.
