Live Review: David Dallas, PNC

To launch his new album Falling Into Place, New Zealand hip-hopper David Dallas brought over the slick DJ Secretwpn who kicked things off with some king-hit mixes like the first motif from Kanye's Power mixed with Backseat Freestyle and m.A.A.d City by Kendrick Lamar.

The unannounced second support act PNC emerged in a pineapple tee and announced that he hasn't been out here in about five years. He launched into Who Better Than This, spat the perfect local take on the classic line, “if you got beef you can take it to the barbie” and went on pumping out short snippets of songs like taste testers one after another, no messing around.

David Dallas did a roll call as soon as he hit the stage to find out how many New Zealanders were in the house. A huge majority of people flung their hands in the air. Discarding his heavy hoodie in the heat, he started in with My Mentality, which ended with a clearly articulated and smooth a capella verse, simple and effective. One of the best aspects of the set was simply that you could actually understand his lyrics. He threw out a lot of old tracks for the hardcore fans, which seemed like almost everyone, and the ballad/ode to home Southside hit hard, tinged with sadness.

His set was only short and he explained that they had to be off stage by 11:30 but the crowd was in party mode, sometimes distracted, never complaining. He finished off with newest single from the new album, Runnin', with an amazing beat produced by hype man/producer Jordache from Fire & Ice that samples the southern soul of Sister Gertrude Morgan's I've Got the New World in My View. Dallas asked the crowd to join in with a soul clap but warned them, with a laugh, not to fuck it up.

David Dallas put on a sturdy set of clear and concise hip-hop with soulful beats and a humble, if hyped demeanor. He definitely holds his own and the crowd went crazy for him.