Azealia Banks, The Enmore Theatre – 06/03/2013

If I had to describe rapper Azealia Banks in four words I’d have to go with “tiny stature, big attitude”. That’s not to say that Azealia Banks has attitude in a bad way, although if you’ve read anything about her in the press, you’re more than aware of her knack for rubbing people the wrong way by speaking her mind. I mean more so in the sense that she makes her enormous presence felt despite her compact sizing. This was obvious on Wednesday, 6th March in Sydney as Banks took to the stage at The Enmore Theatre wearing little more than a fabulously long weave, short shorts and a crop top highlighted by flashing lights.

The backdrop projection of a galaxy certainly felt like a perfect fit for Banks’s out-of-this-world persona and energy as she arrived on stage with her two dancers and had the crowd in a frenzy. Her flow was tight when she rapped and she easily captivated with her self-assured character and sass. As she ran through crowd-pleasing hit after hit, from Liquorice to the infamous Harlem Shake, she had me sure that she was some unreal, foreign being from a far-off planet – and I loved that about her.

However, one aspect of the show that let Banks down was when she attempted to sing. Everyone has a weakness, and this was surely hers. Not that the crowd noticed or cared – they were here for a good time and Banks was here to deliver just that to them. This was a show that you came to experience for the pure fun of it. The tone of the night was like you when were given a giant rainbow lollipop and free reign of the playground as a child: dance as much as you can dance and try your best to keep up with Banks’s frenzied pace.

Just as swiftly as the show had begun and captured us, it was over – Banks ended the night on 212 and then she was gone. The show was like a hurricane that had come into our lives, taken us for a crazy spin in its all-encompassing whirlwind and then left us to put the pieces of ourselves back together again afterward.

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