Ryan Hemsworth + Kaytranada @ Brown Alley

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Ryan Hemsworth + Kaytranada @ Brown Alley

My interactions with Ryan Hemsworth, while only but a few, have been kind of funny each time. It was only logical that I head down to the show and check him out. Of course – that wasn’t my only motivation to go to the show. When The Operatives have their toes dipped in your weekend (your weekend is a pool in this analogy if you’re not following) you know it’s going to be a lot of fun.

I arrived at Brown Alley in a white wine haze, the finest drop for a 20-something and when you’re getting 7 drinks for $5, it’s a deal I wouldn’t pass up. The line was around the corner even without any confused Rats shoot-offs. I walked in and the venue was quite full and to my genuine surprise there was a good vibe. See, a month prior to the gig, Ryan hit me up on Fb chat and asked me what the deal with Brown Alley was, and I told him that the crowd usually sucked despite who was playing and there was usually a weird feel that made it sometimes impossible to enjoy whoever was playing.

So for the first time, in a long time I had been proven wrong and I didn’t mind at all.

I clambered through the crowd to the front of the stage, where else is a 5’1 fan gal going to stand? The thing I had been in denial about up until this point is inevitable fact that Heemsy was going to be playing songs I didn’t like; rap, hip hop and rnb aren’t really my thing… oh and pop. However despite feeling awkward and no quite sure how to dance, I was having a bit of a sick time. Playing a lot of his own remixes with Grimes’s Genesis and Disclosure’s F For You he mixed things up with Jacques Greene’s remix of Body Party and a yet to be identified remix of Hold My Liquor by Kanye. My personal highlight would have been him playing Gesaffelstein’s Pursuit which made me feel at home in unfamiliar territory.

Closing with Flume was a bit unexpected and what was even stranger was Kaytranada opening with a glitchy remix of another Flume track. I’m not sure if interntional touring artists have somehow gotten the impression playing Flume is the equivalent of dropping a sick re-edit of the national anthem or akin to yelling out to the crowd “HOW YOU FEELING MELBURN” but guys, it’s not necessary.

Enjoying Kaytranada’s set was cut short by a girl standing in the front row with me who I will forever refer to now as The Girl With The Féliné Beanie, as she grinded on me in an interesting attempt to move me out of the way.

Besides The Girl With The Féliné Beanie and my general disdain for the venue, most of my qualms with the night were solved by 4am – I even got to tell Ryan how much I hate rap and Flume. I had an amazing time and The Operatives definitely have a new loyal fan.

✮✮✮✮☆

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