Bliss n Eso, Mackay, 1 July, 2022
For the first time back in Mackay since their ‘Circus under the Stars’ tour in 2014, Mackay was ready for Bliss (Jonathan Notley) n Eso (Max McKinnon) with DJ Izm (Tarik Ejjamai) to pump up Australia day celebrations. However, due to team members coming down with covid, the show had to be postponed. Fast forward to Friday 1 July and their second last show of the tour at Harrup Park, Mackay was ready for a great night, rain, hail or shine. Even when the rain was expected to fall, nothing was going to stop Mac towns loyal beloved fans, the young and young at heart filled up the Garden Bar at Harrup Park. You could feel the excitement and buzz the minute you walked through the doors.
The support act, Brisbane based rapper Nerve – along with rapper Smak, hit the stage, ramping up the crowd getting everyone in the mood. Nerve was blown away that so many in crowd knew the words to his songs. The stage hype of Nerve and Smak, set the tone for the night. Finishing his well-received short set by jumping into the crowd for one final burst of energy, having the crowd crunch down with him and explode up with the beat drop.
The crowd was ready. They were pumped after a short break. Bliss & Eso Hit the stage bouncing, the OG’s of Aussie hip hop got the fans erupting immediately with the opening ‘Family Affair’ followed by ‘Home is Where the Heart is’.
The excitement continued. You could feel the energy lifting after every song. Bliss n Eso continued the hype as if they were fresh from a break. You would not believe that they had 30 odd shows in the arsenal already this year with all the energy they were letting off.
DJ Izm worked his decks all night and drummer Dan Kerby added just the right sound and played tight all night.
With their stage presence involves a lot of crowd interaction, and it’s great to see the moments where the crowd sing back to the band. They always keep it fresh with mixed up beats and blended vocals. To throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care, say “Oh Yeah” to asking everyone to hold their phones up with the torch turned on to illuminate the sky like stars for Lighthouse.
Then came I would say my most favourite part of the show with Bliss beat boxing. Not many artists do this these days and if you ask teenagers, they have no idea what this is.
DJ Izm joined in rapping, with the three together were just killing it. Not once did the fans stop bouncing stop singing, stop waving their hands in the air the entire show everyone was just non-stop energic energy. The three of them back and forth across the stage shit was getting hectic.
After The Sea is Rising, finished with OG’S , it was time to say good bye. The crowd on the other hand was not ready for it all to end chanting ‘Encore’ Pleading ‘One more’ over and over. Returning to the stage with ‘My Life’ and ‘Addicted’ the crowd was filled with smiles and you could see not one person left disappointed.
You can see why Bliss n Eso are the OG’S of Australian hip hop, from the moment they bounced on stage to the final last step down the stairs, they had each and every person with them. The vibe was buzzing from their intense performance.
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