Bliss N Eso Live at 170 Russell, Melbourne – Flying Colours 15th Anniversary Tour @blissneso @frontiertouring
Summary: If you have never been lucky enough to see Bliss n Eso in concert, make sure that you do check out the music on YouTube, or on the streaming service of your choice. If you do get the opportunity to attend anywhere they are performing, you really owe it to yourself and to them to just see how amazing Australian rap music is.
4.9
Bliss N Awesome
Last night at 170 Russell went off! The venue, not surprisingly located at 170 Russell Street, Melbourne hosted the mighty Bliss n Eso, celebrating 15 years of their amazing album Flying Colours.
Now, they won’t remember this, but I certainly do. I actually saw Bliss n Eso when they first toured with this album 15 years ago! And I’m here to tell you younger hip-hop heads that last nights performance eclipsed even their first time around the globe performing these songs. I’m utterly stoked that I was there to watch them celebrate in such style.
The support act for the evening was a rapper from Melbourne surprisingly called MLBRN. From the very beginning, he held the audience in the palm of his hand and had heads nodding in time to his flow. His performance was very short, in fact, too short, considering how talented he was. I’d be super keen to see him perform again, or for a bit longer in the future. He was a hype beast for the main attraction.
170 Russell Street is a small intimate venue with great view of the stage from any place within the joint. The pit was full, and I had uninterrupted view of the stage from the bar at the back. After a short DJ set, the mighty Bliss n Eso took the stage and played their Flying Colours album in its entirety with the audience singing along to every single song. If you have not seen Bliss n Eso before, firstly you’re truly missing out. Secondly, they are great at bringing crowds together and preach a very special type of togetherness that had remained consistent throughout all of their albums. Peace love, and unity has been a theme through everything they have done along with friendships and good times with the people you love.
After the intro to Flying Colours, the boys totally smashed out Woodstock 2008 to the delight of punters. The soundscape at 170 is fantastic with no discernible distortion even with heavy bass. We were treated to a brilliant stage and sound show with the boys playing footage of themselves performing through videos back in the day and I’m here to tell you now that they have aged like fine wine getting better as time has passed. Toward the end of the evening MC Bliss took off his shirt, showing off a rig that was heavily cultivated. I think every day is ab day for this guy!
As a very long time fan of Bliss n Eso, (I have been a fan of theirs since their first album Flowers in the Pavement) I have seen them multiple times over the years, and giving it their all. To be honest, I found last nights performance to be the best I have attended, no offence guys, but you could tell that the boys were back in full effect with fire in their bellies, and a true desire to entertain and connect with their fan base, who has remained loyal for such a very long time. The show was another triumph for Bliss n Eso and though for the most part, at least around myself, the audience was filled with older Aussie hip-hop fans, the mosh pit had plenty of younger people that will come away as Bliss n Eso fans of the new generation.
DJ Izm smashed the set with his amazing turntable skills, taking centre stage with a brief solo set demonstrating just why he is a force to be reckoned with on the wheels of steel. Though the main focus is on Bliss n Eso as the emcees, the three boys have always been in the group and Izm is an integral part of their success.
If you have never been lucky enough to see Bliss n Eso in concert, make sure that you do check out the music on YouTube, or on the streaming service of your choice. If you do get the opportunity to attend anywhere they are performing, you really owe it to yourself and to them to just see how amazing Australian rap music is. These guys have held it down for such a long time and it was amazing to witness them yet again demonstrating how they truly deserve their place at the table of the Australian hip-hop scene.
Many thanks to 170 Russell for their amazing hospitality. This is a great venue that was a lot of fun to attend with easy to access facilities and great views of the performance no matter where in the building you were. The staff were friendly and did their best to make everyone feel so very welcome.
I cannot wait to see what Bliss n Eso have in store for us next. After seeing them last night, I’m hungry for some more banging beats. Thanks lads, you utterly tore the roof off last night!
Tory Favro
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