Hilltop Hoods - Ocean Rooms [The Great Escape Uncut]

Hilltop Hoods - Ocean Rooms

Posted on May 21, 2007 3:10 PM
1 comment

Hilltop Hoods - The Ocean Rooms, 19th May 2007
Review and video by Katie Spain

The mood is hot, the venue is heaving and the people are sweaty so I warm up for Australian Hip-Hop masters 'Hilltop Hoods' with a double vodka and a loo break. A call of nature is not the way to lose a prime spot in the crowd, especially when the band has travelled all the way from the 'Land Down Under'. On my way back to the basement of The Ocean Rooms, Belgian band 'Hollywood Porn Stars' catch my attention. I only catch the tail end of their set but the lads are catchy. They don't look much like porn stars but I don't mix with many so I guess I'm no pro. They do however, whip the crowd into a state of frenzy with their jagged guitars and catchy Alt Rock choruses. No need for any porn star flashing here - the music says it all.

Somehow, I manage to locate my new gig buddy Laure and convince her that her little Swiss body needs a shot of Aussie music. We're a small pair and manage to secure a spot right at the front of the stage. It's small in here... and the stage is tiny and low to the ground. This makes my short-arsed job easier but for bands such as 'Birdy Nam Nam' the story wasn't quite so sweet. They cancelled their gig here earlier - allegedly due to a lack of space...

The Hoods however, have come too far to be deterred - and manage to squeeze a string ensemble of four, DJ Debris, MC Suffa and MC Pressure on stage. The Aussie punters are out in force but a quick chat with the people around me revealed that the majority are English. We are, after all, in the UK. Their latest release The Hard Road Restrung' featured the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and they've obviously kidnapped a couple of Sydney string meisters. They look nervous - and I can't blame them; the pulsating crowd is a mere arm's reach away.

The guys are met with cheers, whoops and general adoration and launch straight into their set - they have thirty minutes to fill, and not a second more. The crowd are hungry for it... and boy do the Hoods serve up a feast.

The Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Mr Michael Harbison should give these guys a medal. Not only do they bring on a bout of homesickness (I'm an Adelaide girl too), they make the city sound cool. You don't get that on Getaway.

We're treated to Recapturing The Vibe, Clown Prince, What a Late Night and sing-along anthem The Nosebleed Section. Suffa and Pressure storm the stage - belting out lyrics at a rate of talent-packed knots. These two move as though they're one... pacing back and forth in front of us like tigers in a zoo. The crowd bounce, management smile in the background and we sing - the whole damn lot of us. It's hot but the guys don't let it show... they're usually quite animated but the low ceiling stops any jumping action.

The best thing about this gig is not the amazing tunes, the mix of management and crowd members, the priceless intimacy or the looks of adoration on upturned faces. It's not in the smug pleasure of watching first timers fall for a band that does my city proud and it's not even being so close I can smell their deodorant (thank God au-natural isn't the Aussie way). Nope, the best thing about this gig is the stage demeanour of two hugely talented guys. These men have every right for inflated egos but smiled a pair of cheeky grins the whole way through the set. Each member of the crowd felt acknowledged, appreciated and included. We were in the presence of huge national treasures but it was like being in a basement gig with the guys next door.

Earlier in the week a manager from another venue told us that festival scheduling would be as "tight as a duck's arse". The Ocean Rooms obviously took the same stance and cut the last song off before it could even start. They should have just let them sing... the roars of protest from the crowd drowned lasted longer than your typical encore anyway. Song stealing aside, this was a gig to remember; the absolute highlight of the entire festival and a musical moment in time that will be hard to beat during London's less intimate gigs.

For a glimpse of the Nosebleed Section action, see the video:

Were you there? Did the Hilltop Hoods do it for you too? We want to hear from you. We'll do our best to chat to the guys during the London leg of their tour... post your questions below.