Overall, Strikeback 2006 was a massive success, in spite of the last minute venue change and the stress placed on poor young Laurie and his accomplices, who must be the youngest event organisers in Newcastle. On the day, the punters showed, the bands exploded out of their strategically positioned stages. The performances of around sixty bands persuaded a good-sized Newcastle contingent of fans to brave the chilling winds swirling between Newcastle Harbour and the big blue Pacific.

The day even saw a pyramid made or two!

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Hip Hop was well represented at strike back by local and visiting crews. Two Newcastle and three visiting crews drew large crowds considering the tough competition that was breaking out of the rock stages, including Bodyjar, Karnivool and Faker.

The local crews appeared first, chronologically, with Dhopec kicking off the Hip Hop genre for the day alongside the rapid percussion stylings of Kizza (a.k.a. KronFusion) and the Repercussion drumming crew. Kai Dhopec and Repercussion played on the ‘Grove Stage' at around 4pm. After a short set of drumming and singing from solo performer, Kai, Repercussion took the stage and along with Kai, electrified the crowd with their Brazilian style drumming. Repercussion was lead by Kizza, playing stand-up drum kit, and a mix of both male and female drummers and percussionists began to pump out rhythms for the crowd to dance to. After a twenty minute set Dhopec, whose members had also performed with Repercussion began their set, retaining Repercussion and their drumming antics for their live value. Dhopec have a reputation for changing instruments, drummers, bass-players, and generally being very unpredictable at live gigs, a virtue which keeps ‘Newy' crowds coming back for more. Dhopec went on to play three more songs with only a drum kit, DJ and MC in the mix. The crowds weren't impressed to see Repercussion leave the stage but after a few seconds of Dhopec's first song, they had warmed to the free-flowing Hip Hop. Dhopec held a good crowd, considering Bodyjar had just mounted the ‘Myspace Stage' directly behind them. Overall, the Repercussion, Kai and Dhopec combined set showcased some of the talent that Newcastle has to offer.

And speaking of Newcastle Hip Hop, it was not long after the previous set ended, that LeftaCenta graced the ‘Lab Stage'. Crowds had just witnessed Afro Moses on the adjacent stage, an act which attracted one of the biggest crowds of the day. But LeftaCenta kept the mood up with their melodic hip hop, rock mixture. Two MCs a percussionist/ DJ, bass-player, violinist and a vocalist packed the small stage. As dusk fell on Nobby's beach, Strikeback was still in full-swing, despite the cold gusts coming off the Pacific. LeftaCenta finished with a climax, much as they had started- their melodic flows are catchy and original.

And you can tell by the crowd that they where lovin it!

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Crowds now milled around in anticipation. The next band on the adjacent stage was another hip hop group. The one and only Bliss N Eso, direct from Sydney, brought their trans-Pacific hip hop styles to Nobby's Beach. Just after darkness had fallen around the small foreshore park, Bliss N Eso excited the crowd into a hip hop atmosphere hindered briefly by the "minor" security issue of crowd members climbing onto the stage and diving off. Bliss N Eso didn't seem to mind inciting the crowd into a bit of gymnastics, but after a quick word from security they warned the crowd to settle down a bit or else the show would be stopped. It was interesting to hear both Australian and American accents together over the DJ's beats and cuts. They played both old and new tracks including the hit "Party at My House". Apart from the minor stage-diving issue, Bliss N Eso manipulated the crowds easily with their flowing catchy beats.

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Next on the hip hop roster were the new kids on the block, E.E.S. crew, all the way from Wagga Wagga. E.E.S. were the Triple J Strikeback competition winners and lived up to their almost headlining position at the business end of the night. E.E.S consisted of two rappers and a set of turntables. No DJ though because one of the rappers spun the wax and provided the cuts for the country hip hop delegation. Impressive as this was, the stage seemed a bit empty, until the boys from Wagga began their set. There were some minor technical difficulties, but as soon as these were sorted out the boys made their presence felt. The crowd, still reeling from the previous performance greeted the visiting crew with open arms and applause. E.E.S. crew is doing well in the hip hop charts of Triple J unearthed and we could be seeing a lot more of them in the coming years.

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Headlining the hip hop half of Strikeback were Melbourne's TZU, with their rock infected, melodic, and in some cases burlesque hip hop. If the crowds were feeling almost ready to go home, TZU got them on their feet with hits like "Sitting Right In Front of Me" and "She Gets Down". The band were missing their influential DJ Paso Bionic, and seemed to be missing the live kit element we saw at the Workers' Club in support of The Herd, a few months ago. Nevertheless, TZU blasted Newcastle fans with just two MC', a keyboardist and a beat technician/ percussionist.

Overall, the hip hop at Strikeback drew large crowds with respect to rock, emo and folk crowds. It is good to see that Australian hip hop is growing up in the underground to the point where Oz hip hop bands can sell-out venues throughout the country.

You can check out all of the details and comments from Strikeback 06 at www.myspace.com/strikeback06

Or to see more on the hip hop crews mentioned above;

Dhopec - www.dhopec.com

Lefta Centa - www.leftacenta.com

EES - www.ees-crew.com

TZU - www.tzu.com.au