Live Review: Seth Sentry and Remi in Sydney
At the Sydney-leg of his 1969 Campaign Trail Tour, Aussie rapper Seth Sentry blew the roof off of The Enmore Theatre. Annastasia Robertson checked it out for Something You Said:
Aussie hip-hop is rife with talent at the moment, and no two are more entertaining live than Remi and Seth Sentry. The Victorian boys brought their A-Game to The Enmore Theatre last Friday night and absolutely demolished their sets.
Remi took to the stage just after 8:30pm, alongside his producer Sensible J, and from start to finish was full of gusto and passion. Proving to be one of the country’s best up-and-coming MC’s, he opened with ‘XTC Party’… and the crowd lapped it up. His set was a clean combination of hits from his debut, Raw x Infinity, like ‘Livin’ and new tracks like ‘Substance Therapy’.
Showing off his incredible talent at spitting rhymes, Remi brought out his friend Omar to freestyle rap over the top of a James Brown track.
Bringing fellow triple j Unearthed artist, Sampa The Great, on for their track ‘For Good’ was the undoubtable highlight of his set. As a support act, Remi did well to highlight his own talents as a rapper by staying true to his music and making his audience feel more like family. He was also the perfect choice as a warm-up for Sentry.
In an explosive moment, Seth Sentry had taken the stage alongside DJ Sizzle and Stevie Cat Jnr on the drums, ready to get down to business. Just like his songs, Sentry is hilariously observational and cheeky and this was certainly brought to his show. Energy was not an issue as the Victorian rolled through popular tracks like ‘Dumb’, ‘Run’ and ‘Room For Rent’. However the first rager of the night was thanks to ‘Campfire’, the opening track from This Was Tomorrow. Almost setting off fits crowd-wide, the room was steaming with the rawness of Sentry’s lyrics. It’s a credit to any artist who is able to have such light and shade in their talent-back, and Sentry brings that to the table. ‘Float Away’, a very poignant, honest song was just as well-received as the heavier tracks and impressively brought the crowd to a level of calmness that was only seen again during ‘The Waitress Song’.
Taking a quick break to perform a little antic, Sentry made it clear he wouldn’t be crowdsurfing thanks to a severe case of claustrophobia but did manage to run through the sea of people to grab a beer from his mate, and run back… with only one audience member trying to tackle him. We learnt that person was subsequently taken down.
‘Hell Boy’, ‘Fake Champagne’ and ‘Dear Science’ came and went, providing next level lighting, percussion and djing and resulting in some very sweaty humans. In saying so, it’s important to note that the sound quality at The Enmore Theatre is superb, and definitely added to the entire vibe of the evening. With Remi in the building, you can be assured that he bounced onto the stage to perform ‘Nobody Like Me’… and it was explosive and a little grimey.
As the end of the show approached, ‘1969’ and ‘How Are You’ were performed with the same, if not more, energy as the openers and proved that Sentry is an accomplished artist who wholeheartedly loves his job.
Closing with ‘Sorry’, it was clear that all who came to see the show have been and will continue to be fans of this Melburnian cheekster because of his relatable lyrics, his Aussie spirit, his ability to engage and entertain and the fact that he’s a deadset legend… who loves Pokemon Go.
Review by Annastasia Robertson.
