Listen Out 2016 kicked off on Saturday in Melbourne, followed by the Perth leg the day after, and we headed along to check out a lineup packed with some huge names in hip hop and dance – as well as a few surprises.

With the last minute cancellation of big name Stormzy, and complaints last year about some sound issues, we were keen to get down to St Kilda’s Catani Gardens to see how this year was looking to shake out.

So, was the day a hit, or just a bit shit? Here’s out verdict.

Hit: Tash Sultana

There’s no getting around it: early on in the day, Tash Sultana had possibly the set of the festival. The crowd were already screaming her name to her as she set up, and the former busker smiled broadly as she tested her gear.

“It’s really strange playing a festival you used to come to, and now you’re on the stage,” she said, before launching into a brilliantly eclectic set that saw her jump between the guitar and mandolin, switch over to beat pads, and even show off some pan flute beat-boxing and rapid-fire vocal delivery.

“She’s everything I want to be!” exclaimed one punter as Tash got stuck into her last song, ‘Blackbird’. “Me too!” said another. As Tash shredded an acoustic guitar and let loose with her raucous vox, it was easy to see why.

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Tash showed that she can rock out on just about anything

Hit: Louder Speakers

After complaints in previous years of quiet stages, the claimed doubling of the sound limit at St. Kilda’s Catani Gardens this year was definitely noticeable, and later acts like U.S. producer Jauz definitely pushed the upgraded soundsystem to its limits with the dirtiest, heaviest and loudest bangers of the night over shark-themed visuals.

All of that extra oomph was immediately noticeable during a quieter moment towards the end of the set, as he thanked the crowd over his spin on Calvin Harris’ ‘Summer’, before cranking back massively into the drop as insane Mario-themed imagery flashed behind.

Hit: Anderson .Paak

“It’s good to be back in this bitch, feels like I’m home and shit,” said .Paak, taking to the stage a little later than intended, due to a last-minute Stormzy-related reshuffle. If anyone had a right to feel at home onstage, it was .Paak, as he received a huge response from the crowd.

Put simply, .Paak and his live band the Free Nationals are incredible, and having that band onstage with him adds the sort of energy to a festival set that tips it over the edge into ‘set of the day’ territory. Having seen a very recent surge of interest thanks to solid airplay for tracks like ‘Dang!’ with Mac Miller, .Paak absolutely fed on the energy, and gave it back in spades.

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Anderson .Paak sending props to his band

Shit: Douchebags

Possibly a result of punters pre-loading before the festival to avoid drink prices or sniffer dogs, there were a few idiots out there from the very beginning who couldn’t handle themselves, and felt the need to shout hoarsely at the early (and predominantly female) acts. Thumbs firmly down.

Hit: Travis Scott

Chase B introduced himself to the crowd and started warming them up – before realising he was already being autotuned. Quickly switching it off, he started pumping the likes of Kendrick to get the crowd going ahead of Travis Scott’s first Australian gig.

When he finally took to the stage in his long white overcoat, Travis blew everyone away with a string of hits, and when he commanded the crowd to throw two fingers in the air, they obliged.. “Rage or go home” was the motto, as he invited people up onstage only to command them to throw themselves back into the heaving crowd.

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Travis Scott’s motto was “rage or go home”

Shit: Stormzy

Disappointingly for many, UK grime sensation Stormzy dropped out at the last minute, a mere day before the first leg of the festival was scheduled to kick off. While he was deeply apologetic online, and swore to reschedule his solo dates, that didn’t help the punters who had geared themselves up to be told to ‘Shut Up!’ repeatedly.

stormzy

Hit: One Day

Organisers promised they’d try to find a suitable alternative after the Stormzy cancellation, and they managed to pull something out of the bag by locking in Aussie hip hop supergroup One Day.

Featuring members of Horrorshow, Spit Syndicate and Jackie Onassis, as well as our main man Joyried, the crew came on board with a moment’s notice, treating the gig as a warm up for their Block Party Tour, which is about to kick off in October.

While the more old-school skip-hop flavours sat a little at odds with the grime and trap-infused sound that was the order of the day, they still rocked a great set. Tracks like recent collaboration ‘Love Me Less’ got a good reaction, and managed to stave of the disappointment of a crowd that included basketballer and renowned festival head Liz Cambage.

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One Day were a great last-minute replacement for Stormzy

Shit: Yung Lean Delays

Not the act themselves, mind you, who had the crowd whipped into a frenzy during their set. No, the issue here was a delayed start to proceedings in Melbourne, as techs puzzled over the gear and swapped mixers in and out.

The crowd, having caught a glimpse of the Swedish rapper backstage, began to chant his name loudly after a ten minute delay, which continued for a while longer. When Lean & Co. arrived onstage, all was well, but the set felt a bit short as a result.

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Yung Lean had the crowd chanting before even taking the stage

Hit: Alice Ivy

“I’m obviously peaking early, I haven’t even had a beer yet,” Alice Ivy told the crowd between songs. She wasn’t wrong, as the triple j Unearthed pick bounced around the stage throughout her entire set, switching recklessly between guitar and pads, and throwing out soul samples with bombast.

The tempo didn’t even slow when she accidentally knocked out on of her guitar pedals during the infectious ‘Touch’, as her guitarist Louie rushed over to save the day, before picking up axe duties for the remainder and launching into their nifty cover of ‘Sweet Dreams’.

Guest spots from the likes of Melbourne hip hop crew RaRa were a nice touch, but Alice’s stage presence was big enough to fill the stage on her own. Definitely one to watch.

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Alice Ivy’s energy didn’t let up for a second

Hit: Baauer vs Gorgon City

Despite it being ‘only’ a DJ set from Gorgon City, the English duo had the most arms in the air yet, even as clouds began to deliver the first drops of rain.

“Fuck, now that is good!” said one punter as she found herself drawn to the heaving mass, and she wasn’t wrong. Listen Out has the word ‘Dance’ plastered everywhere it’ll fit, but with Gorgon City at the helm, people didn’t need a reminder.

Meanwhile on the opposite stage, Baauer was dropping the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne in amongst his massive hits, drawing some of the loudest roars yet – if not the bigger crowd. In the battle of Baauer and Gorgon, the trap producer may have lost the battle of numbers, but everyone won in the end.

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Losing it to Yung Lean

Shit: The Weather

This one’s definitely Melbourne-specific, but we’d love to see the dates pushed back a little, as the current date places the festie in a precarious time as far as the weather goes. While the day started out perfectly, with clear skies and sunshine, Melbourne’s skies soon turned dour.

Cosmos Midnight were holding things down with their blissed-out electronica and ‘Say My Name’ keeping the energy high as the sun began to disappear behind the clouds, and from there the afternoon was pretty damn gloomy, not to mention punctuated with patches of thankfully light rain. A couple of weeks later, and we’d probably have had a bit more luck.

Hit: This Guy’s Jumper

There was the usual assortment of bonkers festival clothing around, but the grand prize had to go to this Nintendo mashup depicting Mario soaring through the skies a Charizard while carrying the sword from the legend of Zelda. This was the only glimpse of clear blue sky we saw after about 4pm.

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Now that’s a jumper

Shit: ASAP Ferg’s Chatter

ASAP Ferg announced his arrival with a chant and pounding drums, and everything got off to a great start, with the crowd seeming into it. Unfortunately things fell a little flat every time he tried to get a crowd response.

“I fucked your bitch,” he yelled to the crowd, receiving a lukewarm echo. “She sucked my dick,” he said, clearly not one to give up – but it didn’t do much better.

“Get the fuck out my motherfucking face!” started to warm things up a bit, and he seemed to get his best reactions asking “Where my fine ladies at?”, with the ladies in the crowd offering the biggest scream of the set, matched only by a chant of “I got hella hoes”.

“I flew 25 hours to see you motherfuckers,” Ferg told the crowd, imploring “I better see some crowd surfing… I better see some titties!” No word on how he went with that.

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Travis Scott had a sea of fingers in the air

Hit: The Staff

All over the festival, the staff and volunteers were absolute legends, from the bar staff who had a chat to you us as we grabbed our drinks, to the dancing cleaners and security, who boogied as they picked people out of trees and other precarious spots.

S/Hit: Willow Beats

Not a bad set by any stretch, but after a bit of time off the duo did look a little rusty in parts.

“We got a little bit bored so we changed everything, and it’s a lot more fun now,” frontwoman Kalyani told the crowd, who were a little bit puzzled by the altered versions of well-worn tracks like ‘Merewif’, which sounded completely different in their new form. None of this stopped a pretty big crowd from dancing as they always do, but it did make the sing-alongs a bit tougher.

New single ‘Divorka’ drew a clap-along, but the set ended on a bit of a down note, with the duo seeming unhappy with the sound towards the end. The crowd were appreciative though, and overall it was good to have them back – just not the knockout it could have been.

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Willow Beats had their crowd dancing as much as they were

Hit: Owning It

To the guy who decorated his bald patch with gold glitter, that was a damn good effort.

Shit: Missing The Afterparty

We’ve very recently jumped on board with the talented Melbourne crew Billy Davis, and having seen this footage of their set at Anderson .Paak’s afterparty, we’re sad we missed it. Following a name like that is no easy feat, but they rocked it.


Billy Davis killed it with their ‘jam session’

Shit: Fence Jumpers

Perth was swarmed by hundreds of fence-jumpers who surged into the venue through a broken fence, resulting in three arrests. There were also a few people hopping the fences at Melbourne, but nothing like this. Seriously guys, if you’re that desperate to go to the festival, maybe just buy a ticket. You can check the footage out over on Channel 9.

Hit: Claptone

The masked, gloved, and top-hatted Claptone entered the stage demurely, clapping the audience and bowing – a more demure stage presence than the likes of ASAP Ferg. Drawing everyone in early with the metronomic hit ‘Puppet Theatre’, the Berlin producer provided a smooth alternative to the fierce trap pumping from the opposite stage.

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Claptone gave people a few moments of chill

Shit: Discarded Merch

As the heaviest beats of the night pumped from the nearby stage, it was sad to see the torn Grateful Dead singlet that had been cast aside and left crumpled on the ground. Time marches ever onwards.

Hit: Ara Koufax/Airwolf

The smaller New Bloods stage drew a pretty solid crowd all day, and by the final changeover between Airwolf and Ara Koufax, there was a club’s worth of people dancing away as if there weren’t two stages’ worth of international acts playing mere metres away.

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Airwolf and Ara Koufax mucking around on the decks

Shit: Constant Bumps

Apparently looking where you’re going, or even walking forwards rather than backwards, is very overrated for some. Walking around the grounds without having being hip and shouldered every ten seconds was like trying to dodge hail.

Hit: RÜFÜS

After a long day of choons, some people had begun to flop on the grass, but the vast majority turned out for the Aussie headliners.

“Let’s see how you guys can sing this, it’s pretty easy,” they told the crowd after an atmospheric start, before launching into the strains of ‘Be With You’.

They dedicated ‘Brighter’ to the skies, which, while gloomy, had held out remarkably well. The remainder of the set was classic RÜFÜS, the band proving why they’ve become one of the country’s best bands on a festival stage.

Praying as he entered, French house producer Tchami held down a decent crowd of dedicated fans at the other stage, who prayed in return. While the international kept the crowd enthralled, even throwing ‘Push It’ into the mix at one point, there’s no doubt that most of the Listen Out punters had swarmed across to see the Aussies close out the show.

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The priest-collared Tchami appropriately bathed in holy light

The Verdict?

With a lineup that covered all the bases, and managing to weather the storm of a last-minute cancellation with ease, Listen Out 2016 hit a winner.

Anderson .Paak and Travis Scott stole the show on the hip hop front, while rising superstar Tash Sultana had the early crowd in the palm of her hand. The sound was loud – and clear – and the complaints of previous years were completely washed away.

The dreary weather on the Melbourne leg was probably the only major downer, but for the other cities who have better luck with the skies – you’re in for a treat.

Hit: Listen Out 2016

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