Live Review: Peking Duk, Mallrat, Ivan Ooze

It's a strange Sunday night that mirrors the same hype and excitement as a Friday or Saturday. We get inside 170 Russell and Mallrat (Grace Shaw) is already in full swing. Her music is rap, with a unique take. It's drenched in bubbly, poppy beats, whilst retaining the unhinged emotion of classic R&B. For her hit Uninvited she rallies the crowd to join in a chant ("Get me off the list / Get me off the list / I've got nothing on my wrists"), but it's an unsuccessful attempt. Although Shaw closes on a high, it's a final dance break and the crowd is begging for another song. 

There is a brief break, and then Ivan Ooze (Ben Townsend) explodes onto the stage with his signature angry, passionate rap music. If the sweat dripping off his face is any indication of the work he puts in, his music isn't as effortless as it seems. Most songs have an intense bass backing track, but you can hear the heavy rock influence in his defiant track Fire. Townsend's finish is as epic as his start, and the crowd again pleads for more. 

After a while, chants for Peking Duk ring out across the room. When the lights fall, a montage of Australian pop-culture flashes on the screen, before finally Shane Warne introduces the duo (Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles). The guys open with their hit High - it's a layered, synth-heavy track, that has this explosion of passion and colour in the lyrics and the bass hook.

Hyde and Styles have drenched the crowd in an "I don't give a fuck" vibe, a characteristic of their music, and because of this we are going along with everything they throw at us. The first 30 minutes of the set is unrelenting, the pair are sneaking in samples of their well-known hits, such as Stranger, and then taking them away for another classic drop into a heavy banger. But then they slow it down to a steady, quiet beat and coax the crowd lower and lower, before launching into their single, Mufasa. However, the highlight of the gig is the roar from the crowd when the boys introduce a special guest. Frontman of SAFIA, Ben Woolner, joins the two on stage for a live performance of Say My Name. It's a euphoric, defiant, head-banging tune and Woolner's raspy vocals are echoed from a crowd of passionate fans.

"This is fucking beautiful tonight Melbourne," Styles gushes, "and this is a self-indulgent moment, because we wouldn't be here tonight without this song." The duo tease the crowd with the opening lick to Bingo Trippin'. But then the track slows down and they get us all to fall low - at this point the hype is near-exploding - "There is no room in here so be careful." Without warning, the bass hook crashes in and the whole crowd launches into the air together. Before they go, the boys indulge the crowd in a first-ever performance of a new track, and then finally they end the night with another round of their track High. As everybody shuffles out of the doors, there is still an emotional high that we aren't coming down from.