GIG | Butterfingers + Rapaport + Sarah Connor @ Hudson Ballroom, Sydney 15/04/17
As absurd as it sounds, it was the immaturity of Butterfingers that laid the foundation for the maturation of Australian hip-hop.
With their goofball lyrics and catchy sing-along tunes, audiences were finally able to digest the genre as it shifted from having an underground cult following, to receiving widespread acceptance, including mainstream radio play and major festival appearances.
They are one of those acts spoken about in folklore with such fondness that you consider whether tales of their stature were blown out of proportion. After a ten-year hiatus as a band, fans got to find out whether their praise was deserved or whether - like re-watching that weird movie you liked as a child – you would wonder why you were ever into them in the first place.
First on-stage at the Hudson Ballroom (formerly Plan B/GoodGod) was one-time Hilltop Hoods Initiative winner Sarah Connor, who delivered a more polished set than ever. Combining her aggressive delivery with the soulful tones of new addition, Zeadala, and Mumbles behind the decks, the highlight of the set however was ‘Just Breathe’ - the touching dedication to Sydney rapper Corey Perez who passed away recently.
Next up was Big Village head honcho Rapaport, sporting a freshly trimmed beard after seemingly having grown it since the last time Butterfingers toured. Rapaport’s unassuming stature didn’t prepare the audience for the onslaught of fire and ferocity of his rhymes. He commanded attention while blasting his way through a blend of grime and garage tracks backed by DJ Migz and Finn Ryan on drums. At one point, Rapaport even pulled out the 6-string himself for ‘100 Bars’. Rapaport is sure to turn a lot of heads as he tours around the country in support of the headlining band.
With excitement in the air a decade in the making, Butterfingers nonchalantly took to the stage as if they’d never left, marching straight into the show stealing ‘Snatch and Grab’, the funk laden ‘Is It Just Me’, and the juicy ‘Mandarines’.
There wasn’t a complete lack of noise during the band’s absence, with frontman Evil Eddie releasing a solo album, of which the band played a “cover” of lead single ‘Queensland’. Eddie also spent time as guitarist of punk band Spitfireliar, returning to Butterfingers with bass player Mung in tow, and bringing a heavier overall sound resulting in a cover of their track, ‘Science’.
The group made their way through ‘Get Up Outta The Dirt’ and announced that the riff came about by not being able to afford the rights to sample Kool & The Gang’s ‘Jungle Boogie’.
The band’s first single, ‘Everytime’ was every bit as well received as the time of its release in 2007, as was sarcastic rat race number ‘I Love Work’. Meanwhile, ‘Yo Mama’ must also have aged well because she’s still on the top of Eddie’s ‘Things To Do’ list.
The band apologised for playing the new shit ‘Big Night Out’- an encounter of Eddie’s tale of falling off a building and breaking his back. But not even broken bones could keep him from jumping around the stage, particularly to finale track and narcissistic anthem ‘Figjam’.
There was no backstage, so the band merely performed a pirouette before returning for an encore, this time joined by Rapaport for head-banger ‘Hook Up’, screaming “You gotta stay connected” - something they managed to do with their fans even after spending so much time out of the game.
Though it had been a while, the crowd hadn’t forgotten Butterfingers and Butterfingers hadn’t forgotten how to rock a crowd, indicating a fully fledged comeback will be accepted with open arms (and fingers).
Thankfully, after all this time, they haven’t matured one bit.
New single ‘Big Night Out’ available now through Bewilderbeats.
Tour Dates
April 30 - The Foundry - Brisbane
May 26 - Hotel Brunswick - Brunswick Heads
June 9 - Villa Noosa - Noosaville
June 10 - Racecourse Hotel - Ipswich
Matt Johnson
Comments