Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle
Thursday April 11, 2013 :
I arrived just before the evening’s entertainment was scheduled to kick off, and was happily surprised to see punters already there and in good spirit. After nourishing one of my senses with a Coopers Pale Ale and a tiger prawn chilli pasta, (compliments to the chef), I was ready to hear, see, smell and touch the many joys that only live music can deliver.
First up on stage was female artist Lomas, who started with some slower tracks before belting out a cut with Tycotic. The beat was solid and brought the set to life, with Lomas delivering a hook that would knock Danny Green to the canvas. I was extremely impressed by her singing skills, this changed the whole energy of the room and the crowd. Lomas then finished off with a few more cruisy tracks and set a nice tone for the evening.
It was nearly time for Diafrix, but before the main act we had one of Newcastle finest rappers, Nhostic and his partner is crime Dj Riley JM.
Straight from the get go, Nhostic was on point with his spit fire flow and energetic live show. He has a loyal local fan base, and they were here in numbers throwing just as much energy back as Nhostic was dishing out. This was the best show I have seen from Nhostic, from accapella drops, to rocking the crowd, he ticked all boxes. The highlight for me was the Mc and Dj really working as one unit.
Diafrix hit the stage and shook the foundations with their afro infused melodies. Momo and Azmarino are a tight unit, the dynamics between the two mc’s is magical. I really love how Momo sings the hooks and Azmarino hype’s the crowd and keeps the energy rolling through the transitions from the hook to the verses. The boys rocked the crowd and had everyone moving to the infectious rhythms.
I can only describe Diafrix’s live sound as floating on fluffy white clouds and being at peace with the world. Every facet of my record collection is infused into their production from soul, funk, golden era, boom bap, r’n’b, jungle flavours to hints of swing – it’s pure world music.
Once they performed the “Like a Version” track, it slowly brought me back to terra firma, before the J Dilla tribute had me flapping my little wings all the way back to my fluffy white cloud, ‘Simple Man’ had me doing breaststroke thru the sky before they finished the set with ‘I’m a Dreamer’…
What’s a Newcastle hip hop gig with out the crowds roaring chant of encore?
So the boys didn’t hesitate and jumped up for a nice little freestyle over a Hermitude track to finish the show. That was the highlight for me, as I really enjoy when hip hop artist throw in some freestyles into a live show.
I do believe the good old Great Northern went to bed with a big smile last Thursday night, but deep down she didn’t want the party to stop.
A big thank you goes to Diafrix for getting local artist as supports. It is extremely important for our local scene and hip hop culture, also a big thank you to all that came out, paid the cover charge and supported the touring hip hop act. A lot of acts have been skipping Newcastle. If we continue to support live touring artist then they will have no option but to make our great city a permanent stop on their tours.
Reviewer: Michael ”onemike” Williams
Photographer: Courtney Laura
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nice review mike. you have a great way with words, i really enjoyed reading this 🙂