REMI x Sampa The Great- Fire Sign Tour

REMI and Sampa The Great are on a co-headline tour around Australia and tonight was the sold out Melbourne show at 170 Russell. Opening the evening was DJ Mz Rizk (who also played tunes throughout the night in between sets). We were also treated to a great mini set by soul and R&B singer Thando, which included her own songs as well as a cover of Mary J Blige's "Enough Cryin."

The Dreaming Now did a Welcome to Country ahead of Sampa The Great taking the stage with DJ Ziggy and Sensible J on drums. She started her set most appropriately with "Intro." It was fantastic to finally get a chance to see Sampa live, and she had a brilliant performance with songs such as "Class Trip," "F E M A L E" and "The Plug." She invited a friend on stage to do some African dancing with her and also did a cover of the Fugees' "Fu-Gee-La." Her set finished with a portion of "Mona Lisa."

Next up was REMI and they started their set with "Forsaken Man." The crowd was really into his whole performance, especially the higher energy tracks like "Sangria," "XTC Party" and "Tyson." I really liked that Remi did some of his more socially conscious tracks like "Lose Sleep" and "Ode To Ignorance." They finished the set with one of my favorites off Diva & Demons "Substance Therapy."

REMI and Sampa The Great then came out for a joint set together, which included Sensible J's new track "Fire Sign" and their song together off REMI's album "For Good." To finish off the night everyone on the bill came out to sing and dance along to Kendrick Lamar's "Alright." This was a fantastic show and a great showcase of some of the talent in the Melbourne hip-hop community.

Here's the video for "For Good"

REMI- Divas & Demons Tour

Last night was the last date of REMI's tour in support of their excellent new album Divas & Demons at a sold out Howler. The support act for the evening was fellow Melbourne rapper Baro, who had a mainly laid back vibe with soul based samples as well as a few harder tracks. He was joined throughout his set by a few guests on different songs, including rapper Nasty Mars, singer-songwriter Milan on guitar, and even Remi Kolawole for a verse.

In what was a first in all my years of attending gigs in Melbourne, a proper Welcome to Country was done before REMI began their set. Thankfully the majority of the audience were silent and respectful throughout.

From the moment Sensible J and Remi hit the stage the crowd went off (especially when it was announced this show was being recorded for Triple J's Live At The Wireless). They started with "D.A.D" and "Forsaken Man," the first two tracks off Divas & Demons. The new album featured prominently in the set, with highlights being "Uh Uh I'm Gone," "Lose Sleep," "Hate You" (with Baro joining in for his parts) and "For Good." Remi invited Jelena Nikcevic out to do their Triple J Like A Version cover of The Avalanches' "Since I Left You." Tracks off the 2014 Australian Music Prize winning Raw X Infinity were also played, including "XTC Party," "Sangria" and "Tyson." The final song of the night was "Substance Therapy," which closed out a very energetic and engaging show from this Melbourne duo.

Here's the video for "Substance Therapy"