CONCERT REVIEW: 6LACK, BOOGIE & THEY

I arrived to The Powerstation not long before the first act was due to take the stage. I don’t seem to be able to pick crowds anymore. This crowd was quite mixed and definitely young. But they were packing in pretty early and I’m sure the international openers had something to do with it.

First to take the stage was Compton-born 29 year old Boogie. But first his DJ came out to kick the set off. His name escaped me sadly which is sad because he was awesome. He had so much energy and just came out dancing and jumping around to hype the crowd, in preparation for boogie. The music began to intensify and Boogie took the stage. He almost seemed to hide himself, with a hoodie covering his face. Though this was not the case as it came off later in the set. Hoodie played a good set. He made the most of the stage and interacted with the crowd a lot, even bringing 3 lucky fans on stage to get hype with him. Though the people on the stage seemed more worried about social media than being on stage with Boogie. But I would definitely say that the fans who had come early to see him, would have been impressed with what they heard.

Next up were the R&B duo from LA, They. But like Boogie, a DJ came out to get the set started and he had so much energy. Busting out some great dance moves across the stage and amping everyone up for They. The crowd had packed in even more. They. definitely showed their more than just rappers, with Drew Love taking to the keys for a couple of tracks and Dante Jones showing us how great his vocals really are. But there’s no doubt their set was very hype, with them covering a lot of the stage, standing on the speaker, jumping up and down, busting out dance moves and jumping into the pit to get close to the fans at a The front. Boogie and his DJ even joined them on stage but it was just to jump around with them and spray the crowd with water. It seemed quite crazy how much energy they had. You know it’s not every day you get 2 internationals on a bill. I sometimes wonder if the crowd realises how special it is to see these acts because you may not see them again. Boogie and They were definitely great choices for opening acts. I wasn’t really sure how big the crowd would be as he was last here opening for Migos, though his set that night was definitely the highlight for me.

But finally it was 6lack’s turn. The crowd had really packed in. It was actually quite full on the floor that I found myself practically moshing to get places. The room was hot and people were fired up. Like the others, his DJ got everyone hyped before 6lack came out all wrapped up and got straight into the track ‘Unfair’. But 6lack was accompanied by two more guys, 1 on the keys etc and a drummer. 6lack wasted no time in jumping into each song. But he would occasionally break it up to check in on everyone and remind them what they were here for. 6lack told the crowd his music is about his personal life, particularly love and that he writes it not only for himself but for everyone else. He really loves his fans, recently mentioning on an instagram caption that, “it’s not for him, it’s for the fans”. He seems like a very humble guy. The energy in the room was insane and he did hesitate in telling everyone that he can “feel the love here” and “as long as the energy is here, I’ll be back every year”. He seemed quite surprised by the fact that so many fans knew his older material as well “oh we’ve got some day-ones here”. The crowd was definitely excited to hear him play music off his previous release ‘Free 6lack’.

Throughout the night I began to really admire 6lack for how humble he was but you could see he truly felt all the words he was spitting out. The screen behind lit up with visuals during a few songs. Most of the night it was more like a backdrop however sometimes there would be visuals of 6lack writing on a typewriter with the words on the top, a framed section of screen which he tend to stand in the middle of and the firey ‘Free 6lack’. He definitely knows how to put on a show and as simple as it may have seemed, it was effective and complimented his music well. It was one hell of a show and

I definitely hope he returns to our shores again.

SETLIST:

Unfair Loaded Gun That Far Never Know Free Let Her Go EALL (East Atlanta Love Letter) Luvin You Disconnect Switch Balenciaga OTW (On The Way) Seasons Pretty Little Fears Stan Prblms

– Reviewed and Photographed by Shelley Te Haara www.instagram.com/art.by.shelley