Azealia Banks – Sydney, Metro Theatre 24/07/15

July 25, 2015

Holy moly, Azealia Banks. So. Much. Sass. Like, I can’t even. Chaos doesn’t begin to describe what happened at the Metro Theatre last night. Let’s just say there was a lot of wind machine action, magic eye light shows and at one point she definitely had a megaphone. Girl sure knows how to put on a show.

Fresh from touring with Seth Sentry, Aussie support act Ivan Ooze had the crowd sufficiently riled up and ready to go. These guys have to be some of the most athletic Aussie hip hop artists around – double fist pumping, jumping and back flipping their way through an extremely high-energy set with standout tracks including District 9 and Eroc.

Needless to say, by the time Banks strolled out with her two male back up dancers and dropped Desperado and Liquorice in quick succession, the party had well and truly started. The woman is actually a goddess. Also, can we all just take some time out to appreciate choreographed dance routines – always such a welcome addition.

There was no time for chat or any introductions. She simply powered her way through a seriously sleek set. Van Vogue got a huge response from the crowd, before she went on to slay No Problems and Ice Princess.

With all that hair, those moves and her DGAF attitude it’s impossible not to be more than a little in awe of Azealia Banks. Backed by a live drum set and DJ, the sound was huge – combined with the trippy monochrome madness lighting display and backdrop – it was hard not to get swept up in the hype.

Yung Rapunxel and Wallace went off before she wrapped up the night with a #flawless rendition of 212. It was all over way too suddenly. It was very much the festival set crammed into a neat hour with no encore. She came, she played, she conquered. Let’s be real – was she ever going to do anything else?

Azealia Banks plays The Mix Up stage at Splendour In The Grass at 8.30pm tonight, Saturday 25th July, and will headline one more sideshow at Melbourne’s Prince Bandroom tomorrow night, Sunday 26th July.

Gallery: Azealia Banks – Sydney, Metro Theatre 24/07/15 / Photos: Liam Cameron