With two packed out shows at Adelaide Unibar, Zimbabwean-born local Tkay Maidza has proven she is one of the hottest prospects in South Australian music. With a huge line up of music, Sydney duo Porsches got the night underway early with a scattering of revellers dancing up the front whilst the venue gradually filled. Porsches featured breathy falsetto vocals over roughly textured beats. The music had less of a Timberlake vibe with the heavy rhythm pushed along with thumpy drums, rather than grooves. The audience response was mixed, with punters waiting for a crowd to grow. Tink is a young upcoming DJ with a solid grasp of crossover beat and dance music. The Hudson Mohawke mix was particularly good. Overall it wasn’t spectacular as far as DJ sets go, as it was hard to work out where the songs started and the remixes took hold, which is never a great sign.
Uncle and niece duo, Willow Beats performed as a duo this time around, unlike their show at Rocket last year. The worldly elements to the vocals and the multi textured beats made very interesting listening. The vocals were reasonably strong, however a touch more effects would have allowed them to sit in the mix better. As always Willow Beats put on a great show with the beautiful singer’s confident stage presence enhanced by flowing dance moves. L.K. McKay is a large part of the reason why Tkay is as huge as she is and as a DJ is someone who clearly deserves recognition. The highly percussive TLC No Scrubs mix went down a treat. McKay’s mixes were full and upbeat with constant crowd interest, and presented a great lead in for Maidza’s set.
The giant blow up props created a festive on stage vibe for Tkay who got a huge reaction when she danced her way on stage. To begin with, Tkay’s vocals were too low at the start, however her positive stage energy was able to distract from this. When hit single Uhuh dropped the sold out crowd went to another level with the whole room virtually shaking. The reliance on pre-recorded backing vocals, at the expense of some live vocals was disappointing but understandable, although perhaps a hype girl- co singer could be an interesting addition.
Breakthrough hit Brontosaurus got the audience revved up with the room literally warming up due to the collective body heat of the pumped up crowd. However, the best reaction was for Switch Lanes which really resonated with the crowd who sang along at will, although Money Over Bitches was also very well received.
Tkay exudes such positive stage energy that it’s hard not to get swept away. To add to it, McKay’s enthusiastic presence really adds to the live show meaning the overall audience experience is fantastic. At times the vocals could be louder, but no matter, Tkay is the full package and deserves as much recognition as she can get.
Watch this act blossom into South Australia’s best live talent.
Reviewed by Gavin De Almeida
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