Listen In took place on a Friday evening this year. We arrived around 7pm due to work, as it seemed like most people did. Queues were huge, to the point they turned they VIP line into a general line – so much for VIP. Hopefully it helped though. As we got in we noticed the spacing with the new layout. Last year the Atari stage was the first stage you saw, this year it was the 909 Stage . In the same area was the rides, merch, food etc. Then you trek around to the super top carpark to where the VIP area and ATARI stage was. This was the stage which I knew I would be spending most of my time.
As I arrived to the stage, Scribe was performing. He was a last minute addition to the lineup and thought the crowd didn’t seem to be vibing as much, Scribe himself was having a great time. I l always love to hear those iconic tracks like ‘Dreaming’.
The crowd seemed to be pacing themselves, knowing it was a long wait at the barriers as I assume most were holding place for 21 Savage. As I walked around I could really see that some people may not make it through the night. People had clearly pre-loaded and were adding on to that and the temperature was dropping which people were not prepared for.
.
.
Jessie Reyes was next to take the ATARI stage. She was the main artist I was there to see. I had just seen her play a Sold Out Tuning Fork show the night before, so I was intrigued to see how she does a festival set.
She took the stage with her band and two inflatable hands stood on each side of the stage. The wind was truly a part of the band as well the way it made her hair flow as she performed. I was not sure if there would be many fans here for her as I knew people had got in early and upfront for 21 Savage later, but there were pockets of people who sang their all for her.
Jessie had just performed a Sold-Out Tuning Fork the night before and I was intrigued to see how she navigated the two different sets. But she is incredible onstage, whether the crowd is for her or not. The way she engaged with the crowd was incredible. The crowd needed that because even though they were not all there for her, they were able to be included and enjoy it all the same.
I love how Jessie performs vocally. It is not exactly like a clean recording. The rawness and power is all there and it made the tracks that much more enjoyable both for me and the crowd. As her set ended, a light rain shower kicked in. I was not happy but after the Listen In a couple of years back where it was mainly a constant downpour, you could understand why I was worried.
.
.
The crowd seemed unphased and happily either held their spots once she departed the stage or made their way to the next stage over. EARTHGANG were next, who were brought on the lineup as a replacement. I had seen them at their Neck of the Woods show and I didn’t know what kind of draw they would have or what their set would be like on a bigger scale.
As they came out, the crowd went wild. I was happy for them. They had colourful visual playing out along the back with the lighting to match. They both worked the stage and vocally flowed effortlessly between each other. The energy was awesome and honestly as much as an intimate show is great, this festival set was way better. I love that more people were getting the chance to see them.
The rain had somewhat calmed down and was just drizzling here and there. This was when I realised as the sets on this stage were going up and only getting better and better. EARTHGANG truly gave the energy of a headliner and got an equal response from the crowd for it. I have to say, I am glad they were on this lineup as I think they were a better choice than what was previously billed.
SETLIST INCLUDED (Noted from the partial setlist we found): Shutter Island – Break Me Down – Mutual Friend – Only One – Coffin – Gatekeeper – Ridin’ – Forever – Imported – Jean – One Kiss – Figures
.
.
For the first time of the night, I decided to trek to the 909 stage. John Summit was taking the stage next. I had only just heard of him recently, particularly his hilarious Tik Tok thinking Vegemite looked chocolatey. I will admit, I don’t actively listen to this sort of music. But he is a vibe and I understand the hype around him now. His smile and just pure enjoyment for what he does is infectious. And the crowd truly felt the same.
I popped in to the VIP area for a bit. Not to brag. But I thought I’d check it out and it was great. The platform to see the Atari stage was so good. And there’s tables and seats, probably not enough. But I think having that space that’s not super crowded makes a difference, if you are considering it for last year.
.
.
I didn’t hang around for long because I had to make the trek back to Atari for Skepta. I feel like I’ve seen him a few times now but I also still didn’t know what to expect from his set. The pervious times I’ve seen him I felt like it was chill in that he just kind of came our dressed casually, did his performance and dipped. But that couldn’t have been more further from how it went down, MAN HAD ENERGY!
The set was visuals, pyro, C02 etc and I noticed more of that in the later sets. But the vocal delivery and vibes were immaculate. I honestly could have watched him do a repeat set. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand and I honestly felt like he was the headliner at this point. Skepta was still dressed pretty chill, not that I expect him to have outfit changes or anything, but it was also cold and had been raining so can’t dault him on that. The way he worked the stage, I felt like if he was closer to the crowd he would have been in there with them. You could feel Skepta and the crowd feeding that energy back and fourth. The setlist was pretty stacked that whether you know him or not, you would have been happy. What a set!
SETLIST (as per stage setlist): Show Out – Alpha – Gas Me Up – Skepta Interlude – That’s Not Me – Redrum – It Ain’t Safe – No Security – Pure Water – Bad Energy – Papi Chulo – Bullet From a Gun – Shut Down – Greaze Mode – Praise The Lord.
.
.
After this I decided to stay at the Atari stage and get ready for 21 Savage. The trek between stages was not for me this year. But I am glad I stayed as the crowd had got quite big by this point that I would have had a mission getting through people.
As the lights died out and visual played the crowd went wild. I knew a lot of people were here for 21 Savage. I knew people who had come to the festival just for him. I had seen videos of his performances in Australia and they felt underwhelming, so I was intrigued to see it in person to see if these videos I saw were just caught at a bad time or if that is how he performed. And I have to say, he was a lot better than the videos I saw. I felt like we got a bit more vocals and energy from him. Though the crowd seemed unphased. To them 21 Savage was here and that’s all they needed. I loved the classical art visuals. Having studied art myself, I recognised a lot of the work he used. Then his lighting paired well with the colour tone of some of the paintings.
I felt like I expected more energy from him. He was definitely just head down, occasionally moving and just rapping the words. But seeing the crowd I think he knows he doesn’t really need it. Personally I felt like I would rather watch Skepta or Earthgang again but it was still a good set.
I didn’t stay for his full set as I wanted to get out of the festival and beat the rush of people leaving, which was honestly a great decision. Some people had the same thoughts as a bunch of small groups made their ways to buses and train.
As a festival I felt like 2023 was better. I don’t know if it was the weather, the crowd or lineup but the vibe of last year just felt way better and I definitely enjoyed myself more. But I will say, I am grateful it still went ahead considering the decline in shows here. It also doesn’t help when we have a small portion of festival artists as it is and they drop off the lineup. But to experience that calibre of artists in one space is something we really shouldn’t be taking for granted.
.
