Live Review: Dizzee Rascal

Being one of the first shows to sell out when the 2018 Perth Festival program went on sale, the hype and energy before the stage was even lit was intense. From the second Dizzee Rascal appeared things turned ridiculous and didn't waver for a second.

The pop-grime banger machine has been no stranger to Australian shores over the years but Perth Festival managed to secure a significant set from Dylan Mills, and the appreciation showed in the Chevron Gardens crowd. Set to a backdrop of a constantly changing LED screen and an impressive lighting rig, Rascal and MC Big Man Scope launched at the crowd with Space and Ghost to initiate anyone unfamiliar with his recent release Raskit. Spitting venomous rhymes at breakneck speeds, Dizzee Rascal's live performance has been untouchable since Boy In Da Corner, a fact he proved by shifting into I Luv U. Though the record is 15 years old now, it hasn't aged a day and rocked the crowd from the first bass line.

There's been a six-album stretch since his 2003 breakthrough, however, so there was always going to some missing fan favourites. The most unfortunate absence was his 2007 Mercury Prize-nominated Maths + English, not that many minded in the end. Mixing through Stop Dat, Jezebel, Bassline Junkie, and Fix Up, Look Sharp, the pair couldn't stand still for a second and it created pandemonium in the crowd. The lucky ones who had secured tickets were treated to an incredibly intimate party, a visibly ecstatic Rascal doing his best to perform almost in the crowd most of the time. If that wasn't enough for them, the near destruction of the stage as the collective audience jumped to Bonkers as the set closed should make for a memorable enough moment.