Under Arts + entertainment
So I’ve just returned from a much needed short rest break in the Blue Mountains with my lovely significant other. We passed the time reading, drinking wine in front of log fires, wearing warm $2 slippers and having spa baths. I even rode a horse. All this busy relaxation did not preclude us from getting out and mixing it with the locals. On Thursday night we got over to The Gearin in Katoomba to catch Muph + Plutonic rip shit up Oz hip hop style.
I hadn’t seen them before, and only heard some of their stuff on the radio (Triple J has been giving Heaps Good a bit of airplay recently). So the jury was still out on these Melbourne boys – but seeing them live was good, thankfully, as the warm up acts weren’t much to write home about… The Katoomba scene seemed to rely heavily on hats and hoodies. I’d call it Hick-hop but apparently that’s for gangsta hillbillies in Kentucky. Just kidding mountain crew, don’t kill me, or worse, call me a poofter when you’re behind the mic…
But seriously, I can say that at the very least there’s a healthy distaste to “bling-hop” and fake-ass gangsta style rap generally in Aussie hip-hop so that’s a plus. So anyway, the Katoomba kids have their own scene going up there and that’s all cool.
After the local supports, Muph + Plutonic came on and were rocking straight off, and they had some major fans in the crowd it seemed. There were guys there that knew every lyric on the new album. Plutonic played the drums ridiculously tight throughout, Muph provided the emotionally charged and unpretentious lyrics and Snap was their turntablist (and hyper-upperer). They all did a great job. I met Muph after the show and he seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. I give their set 8.5 out of 10 plus bonus points for being good down-to-earth Melbourne boys. Keep cuttin’ sick.
