REVIEW: NONAME - THE METRO, SYDNEY

Words by: Parry Tritsiniotis

The lights dimmed a calm red, as the crowd eagerly chanted for their hero, the stage and tone was set for an delightfully unique experience. The anticipation was extremely high within the sold out Metro Theatre, after the amazing performances from Levins and Billy Davis. As the wonderful Noname entered the stage, her wide smile and infatuating charisma swept through the crowd.

The first couple of tracks symbolised what the crowd was receiving performance wise from Noname. Off with a bang, Sunny, Rain and Diddy Bop got the crowd moving, and a general energy was set for the rest of the night. The three piece band melted perfectly with her vocal, providing a more vibrant and harder hitting edition to the already well received tracks of “Telefone”. The Guitar, drums and keys provided for a newly found atmosphere, and penetrated the room with punchy, dreamy jazz vibes. The bands world class performance was matched by Noname equally. Her breath control was flawless, pronouncing every bar on every track with finesse and style. Where Noname was quiet on her tape hook wise, live she was phenomenal. She sung proudly the hooks on tracks, “Diddy Bop”, “Reality Check”, and “Shadowman”. Not only was this extremely well received by the audience, but this element of the show provided the strong bond between artist and individual. This was the key factor that drove the show forward. 

It is with this strong foundation, that Noname is able to escalate her show to an extremely amazing overall experience. Off the back of stellar performance, she would consistently inject her bubbly personality into the set. Through her charisma and confidence, Noname was able to bring a new level of interaction with the crowd evoking her overall enjoyment to perform and to be appreciated. As the audience became comfortable with Noname’s assertive stage presence, as did their energy and sing alongs. “Reality Check”, “All I Need” and the closer, “Yesterday” all facilitated magical moments.  It is the way Noname was able to blend deeply sentimental and personal tracks with an extremely diverse audience that created an overall beautiful and intimate experience.  

It was extremely refreshing to see an artist as captivating as Noname on our shores. Her strength and presence on stage as a confident and powerful female rapper is one that is truly inspiring and amazing.