Kendrick Lamar Sells Out Australia

Pimp Pimp, Horray!

Those were the chants that started out Kendrick Lamar's sold out show at the Rod Laver Arena a few weeks ago. Kendrick needed no opener, and didn't have to come out for an encore, as he left it all on the stage during his show which pushed on to almost 3 hours of pure KDot. This was one of the best shows that we had seen in a while, as the whole crowd was into the music and nobody was killing the vibe. The only fight we saw was in the line for beer, which is to be expected, but even this ended with a handshake and some goodwill.

Kendrick started out with the classics, going through through the music from good kid, m.A.A.d city and Section 80 - until he reached back to some of his originals from the early 2000's - asking who had been there since day 1 to a booming response. The one thing that Kendrick did leave out for the Melbourne show was his fan led freestyle of M.A.A.D City, like he did in Houston, but given the rap talent in the room, it was probably for the best. Not saying this was a bad thing, but being in Melbourne, there was probably the most beards and longboards there has ever been at a Kendrick Lamar concert.

Angus & Julia Stone on Manly Beach at The Australian Open

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of traveling back to our old local, Manly Beach, for the Australian Open. This is an annual week long competition for skateboarding, surfing and art - drawing out the largest crowds to experience the true aussie beach lifestyle.

This year the headliner for the event was none other than the globally notorious brother and sister combo of Angus & Julia Stone - who we discovered we're locals themselves hailing from Sydney. In contrast to the DJ that followed them on stage, Angus & Julia have a very quiet and peaceful sound that calmed the beach, while the waves crashed alongside their melodic strumming. Returning from LA where they produced their latest self-titled album with the legendary Rick Rubin, this duo was a massive draw card, as they exposed us to their new and old music, finishing with Big Jet Plane (our favorite).If you ever have the opportunity to come to Australia this is the week to do it. Just stay on Manly Beach, don't plan anything, and enjoy the laid back lifestyle.