L-FRESH The LION Concert Review
by Daniel Jaramillo
Over the years
I’ve been to many of L-FRESH The LIONs
a.k.a.
Sukhdeep Singh
concerts and his shows are
always uplifting and packed with people ready to have a good time. The music is
hip-hop that you can dance to but it also contains a message of growing up in
Australia and resisting the labels that are put onto you. Living in Australia
can be a privilege but also for many people there is an ongoing struggle to be
treated as equals and to feel included rather than discriminated because of
differences in cultural heritage, economic opportunities or religious beliefs.
These are some of the issues in L-FRESHs music however he is also a guy who knows how to rock a crowd and
entertain you with his skills on the mic and his back up band is always keeping
a tight groove behind him with a highly energized hype MC in Mirrah. I attended L-FRESH The LIONs sold out show at the Newtown Social Club and this
was my take on it.
The supporting acts
of the show started with Sukhjit a Sikh
poet/story teller
who made the audience laugh on several occasions as she told us several
anecdotes from dealing with men who perceive her in a certain way to growing up
in white Australia. As she was the only non musical act it was a good warm up
to start exercising some dialogue with the audience and make everyone feel
right at home which is exactly what she did.
The next act to
arrive on the stage was renowned poet/hip hop artist Omar Musa. Musa’s performances
are always passionate and come from a place of sticking up for the underdog and
revealing uncomfortable truths. His set list mainly comprised of songs from his
recent Dead Centre E.P which I found
had some of Musa’s most cleverly
thought out poetry to date, an example is on the song The Razers Edge where Musa
says“They stroked Surveillance cameras
between their legs”. Joining him on stage was Australian veteran MC Hau who performed alongside Musa on the last song of his set.
It was time for L-FRESH The LION to step on stage and Mirrah got the crowd all pumped and
ready to party. L-FRESH was joined
by his live band and performed new and old songs. There were some songs which L-FRESH had never performed before
which revealed a more personal and vulnerable side to his songwriting. His performances are always about making
people feel hopeful and encouraged to make change in their personal lives and
in the world at large. However it wasn’t all-serious as he also played songs
which got me and the wrest of the crowd jumping and clapping their hands like Get Mine and 1 in a 100,000 always give the crowd something to get their bodies
moving to. L-FRESH also gave tribute
to his ancestors on the song Never Alone
and gave special praise to his mother. He thanked the audience for their
support and brought back Omar Musa and
Sukhjit to the stage again with Hau and they all performed together
before saying farewell.