To mosh or not to mosh? That is the question I am faced with as I enter the ANU Bar for the sold out Hilltop Hoods gig. It's set up sensibly for once, meaning that there is a very appealing vantage point from the steps which lead down into the refectory. It's tempting to loiter there so I can actually see, but the mosh is already stewing in front of the stage, arms in the air and bodies writhing to hypnotic hip-hop beats.
We stay on the steps - in the nosebleed section, if you will (I see what you did there! Ed.) - to watch the openers. Canadian supporter Classified is a no-show, so Briggs performs with Vents from Funkoars. They put on a good show, but Hilltop fans are notoriously uninterested in anyone but Hilltop. The crowd is fairly unresponsive and continues to call for the headliners throughout the set.
There's a long break before Hilltop come on, punctuated by the usual cries of "hillllltop, hilllllltop." We use the time to make our way through the crowd towards the stage. Down here, the air is intoxicatingly hot and thick and sweaty. Guys crack open cans of beer and it fizzes and runs down their Southern Cross-tattooed arms. Soon I'm so god damn thirsty that I want to lick it off them. As is typical of a hip-hop gig, the fans are mostly male and people have beanies on despite it being about forty five degrees. There are also couples, middle-agers, girls in heels and freshie guys in fluoro t-shirts - a testament to Hilltop's universal appeal.
When the Hoods finally take the stage, it's worth the wait. They begin with The Return, the first track off State of the Art, and Suffa and Pressure take the stage with their usual captivating bravado. They have the audience on a string - you can't help but jump because the whole crowd lifts you as it moves and all Pressure has to do is say "put your hands up!" and a sea of limbs fills the air. I feel like a butterfly caught in a herd of rhinos. And it's fantastic.
Debris reminds us what an incredible DJ he is; scratching like a superstar and winding the beats faster and faster until the MCs are rhyming double-time to keep up. He fuses old and new Hilltop, does an awesome remix of Classic Example and even throws some Led Zeppelin into the mix. Of course, Messrs Suffa and Pressure take it all in their stride, performing with the polish and confidence that comes from twelve years in the industry. The Hard Road absolutely goes off, as does The Nosebleed Section, with the entire crowd delightedly screaming "BITCH!" at the top of their lungs.
I barely saw a thing once I left the steps, but there ain't nuthin' like a Hilltop mosh pit. It's almost an extreme sport. You're getting knocked about so much you're going to be black and blue, you're high from all the marijuana you're passively smoking, you've lost your friends, your shoes and your dignity, and on top of all that you're crying like a baby because this is your favourite god damn band in the whole entire world. You might be heartbroken. You might have lost your job. None of it matters. You're free.
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