L-FRESH: National Tour Diary Part 2
Nov 25, 2009 Web Blog
Tour Diary Part 2 of 2
Melbourne Show – Enter The Palace
The reality of the situation very rarely sinks in. For me, it all feels like a dream. Today we rehearsed for a bit in the morning then spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel, trying to get ourselves mentally prepared for the show. As a group, we felt as though Melbourne would be the toughest crowd, since it is commonly regarded as the centre of art, music and culture in Australia.
Surprisingly though, I felt the most comfortable I’ve ever been before a show. The nerves have dropped and I feel calm and relaxed. Mr. Klash, in particular, is buzzing though. He met Chali 2na today in the elevator of our hotel. He walked back into our room and blurted out what happened. This tour means a hell of a lot to all of us.
The show got a good response. We had a slight hiccup and technical difficulties. We couldn’t run our set as we rehearsed but being MCs, we adapted pretty well. After the show I met my first fans outside of the state, like people who actually know some of my music. It’s crazy feeling having people talk to you about your own shit, yo!
Melbourne – Another Day Off
I slept in again. I had to. The excitement from last nights show was exhausting. I had no plans for the day other than to chill out and relax, hit up some cafés, maybe make some beats on the laptop but that’s about it. During the day I got an invite to have dinner with Chali 2na, his wife, two members of his touring party and the tour promoter who brought us all out.
[singlepic id=13 w=320 h=240 float=right]We hit up a Japanese restaurant called Ichi Ni and a real laid back dinner. I was admittedly quite nervous and shy to say the least, having dinner with an MC I really look up to. But everybody there made it real easy for me to fit in, a good bunch of people to be around. It was a humbling experience. After dinner I got back to the hotel and crashed early.
Brisbane Show – Sinking In
We almost missed the flight! We were outside the hotel waiting for a taxi and bumped into Chali 2na and Supernatural. Supernat was flying out to Brisbane today too and we thought he told us to wait for him as he went and got his bag, thinking he was gonna ride with us to the airport. We waited for a bit then Mr. Klash and myself ran into the hotel to find him. We found out that he was going to ride with Qbert later on in the day, so we ran back and our taxi rushed us off to the airport.
I was still fairly tired. By this point, tiredness was a usual; it was just a matter of dealing with it and managing it around building energy for the show. I slept the whole flight to try and build up my energy again.
We hit up soundchecks late afternoon and met Qbert for the first time. I didn’t realize how short he was in real life. I noticed on stage, he stands on a box or two behind the decks. We didn’t get to talk to him much but I got a real good vibe off him. After sound check we got to chill with Supernat for a bit back at the hotel. We met up with our boy Critik, who’s been staying up in Brisbane for a little while. He’s a member of the Street University team and it was dope to have him with us at this point. He brought a revitalizing burst of energy to our group.
For us the Brisbane show was the best. When we got on, the place was almost full. We did our set and got an amazing response. We hung out with the crowd afterwards and met some kick arse people in the audience just loving the entire night.
Voke bumped into Nas backstage, an inspirational experience for him. He came back and told us about it. Nas’s set was amazing. The entire idea of touring was finally starting to sink in for me. And I was trying to picture myself on stage, to some extent in Nas’s shoes, with the crowd vibing off every movement and every word. That’s the dream, yo. All that remained for us now is Sydney.
Sydney Show – Back Home
Voke2 completely lost his voice this morning. He couldn’t speak a single word. Being the lead hype man, it was a bit of a worry. We hit up a chemist on the way to the airport in Brisbane and got him whatever quick fix we could to try and get him speaking again. We got back in Sydney and headed straight to the Enmore Theatre. We crashed for a bit at the Enmore before getting ready for the show.
I watched all the sound checks: Nas’s band, Chali 2na and Qbert setting up for himself and Supernat. The tour was coming to an end and it was starting to hit me that it would be over after tonight. I walked outside and saw my peoples: Matt & Naomi from the Street Uni & my ZZZILLAZ fam. I’d only been away from the Street Uni for a week but it felt like ages. It was good to see them again.
[singlepic id=14 w=320 h=240 float=left]Voke wasn’t able to perform. His voice was gone. Sie-1 & Mr. Klash did the hype parts together and we did our set. We were performing as soon as the doors opened at the Enmore, hoping our sound was fueling everybody with energy as they awaited for the amazing show that followed.
After the set I spent a lot of time hanging out with Qbert, Supernat, Chali 2na and his band, brother and wife, Nas’s band: Mullato. Much props to the promoters who brought together such an amazing group of people. I learnt a lot talking to them all back stage and I finally got to meet Nas for a brief moment.
Afterwards, I hit up the afterparty with the ZZZILLAZ and hung out some more with the touring party then headed back home. The tour has inspired me massively and has motivated me to rise up to the next level. Now I know what I want exactly and I feel like there’s nothing out there that can stop me from getting there, not even myself. The future all but awaits and I’m now ready to jump into its reach with a mic gripped firmly in my hand.
You can catch L-FRESH on most days between Tuesday – Saturday at The Street University @ 1 Speed Street, Liverpool. Visit www.streetuniversity.com.au for opening hours and more details.