Words by Emily Hollitt
Photography by Elizabeth Sharpe | @ummagummamumma
Excitement was rife in Fortitude Valley as fans waiting patiently to see the lovechild of SoundCloud’s finest; bbno$ and Yung Gravy, for their collaborative project – Baby Gravy. The street was unusually busy for a Wednesday night, as Brisbane locals were out and about the ‘State of Origin’. This didn’t dampen the turnout, as eager ticketholders still came out for the sold out show, with the line wrapping all the way around from Brunswick St to Warner St. The Fortitude Music Hall was on top of it though, with the line to get in moving quickly, keeping everybody out of the cold as fast as possible. Within no time, the room was full and ready, just in time for Yung Gravy’s right-hand man, TIIP. Regardless of how full the room got, visibility was fantastic from all sections of the venue, allowing for the full effect of the visuals to be enjoyed no matter where you stood.
“What is this, 1p?” announced TIIP, drawing attention to the low-resolution screen grab of the ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ viral video plastered behind him on the screen; he was well-researched on Australian lore. “I’m not allowed to play copyrighted music. I have to play royalty free” he announced, before playing well known, public domain bangers like Sneaky Sitch and Carefree by Kevin McLeod. “I’m just kidding, I can play whatever the fuck I want!” he announced, transitioning straight into Hotel Room Service by Pitbull. This transitioned into Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl before switching up to The Spark by Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew, aka the Tik Tok viral bop produced by a bunch of Irish kids. “Hold up, we’re getting TOO crazy!” he announced, before bringing the vibe back down with Vance Joy’s Riptide. He closed his set with Australia’s National Anthem; Untouched by The Veronicas before welcoming lilbubblegum.
From the moment he stepped foot on stage, lilbubblegum had the room wrapped around his finger. “I make more money than your dad” he sang during Ruger Clap. “We’re gonna teach you a song” he announced, before teaching the crowd to sing “we don’t chase bitches, we only chase bands” to introduce Helmut Lang. “She said that “I like you” but I told her “I’m too busy”’. He repeated during Niki. He introduced Billie Eillish before introducing his final song. “You guys mosh here?… Let’s have one last mosh pit!”.
TIIP came back on stage, opening with John Farnham’s You’re The Voice before transitioning to Chappel Roan’s Good Luck Babe, Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, and Vanessa Carlisle’s ‘A Thousand Miles’. Next, he took us on a blast to the past to 2011 with Nyan Cat and the current, infamous Drake diss track, Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar. “We got a lot of requests for this one” announced TIIP before playing the first few seconds of Grant Macdonald’s Ram Ranch. “Shoutout to the gays!” he shouted, transitioning into Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. “I’m gonna play something I’ve never played before” he said, before playing 360 by Charli XCX before changing the vibe completely with the Bunnings Warehouse theme and Nutbush City Limits. “Alright, I want to see if you guys can recognise this song from the first second” he announces, before playing Land Down Under by Men At Work. “You wanna watch the game? Go N-S-W?” he said, reading an audience members sign, and invertedly inciting a ‘Queenslander’ chant throughout the crowd. “Is anybody here from Australia?” he joked. “We’ve got to get all the negative energy out. Everybody boo me right now! Put your middle fingers up!”. He closed his set fittingly with Darude’s Sandstorm. “Who’s ready for BABY GRAVY up in this bitch?”.
The words “Another day, another dollar” lit up the screen as part of the black and white animated opening film. Designed like a 1920’s silent movie, the film set the tone for the high level of production value we would be met with. “I like your swag, I like your groove… let’s get that bag and make these moves!”. The cartoon Yung Gravy and bbno$ linked up, before making their way up to ‘SoundCloud Heaven’. Welcome to Chilli’s opened the set as BABY GRAVY entered the stage. Quickly, they transition into Touch Grass and crowd favourite Goodness Gracious. “Who’s horny? Y’all mother fuckers need Jesus!… Can I get an amen on 3?” they announce, before the first recognisable notes of You Need Jesus play. The vibe in the room was high, as bbno$’s solo track Young Bae began to play. “At every single one of my shows since, like, 2018 I’ve been giving out a cookbook” he announces, holding up Kmart special ‘Nutella Ferrero: The 30 Best Recipes’ by Johana Amsilli and Hilary Mandleberg. The energy in the room stayed high as he played yet another fan favourite, mememe.
“Make some noise for TIIPS girlfriend in the building tonight! He loves her!” announced bbno$, before Yung Gravy’s The Boys Are Back In Town began. “Wait on the fucking shoey. Let me have dry feet for a bit” said Gravy, drawing the attention back to his track 1 Thot 2 Thot Red Thot Blue Thot. “Any blues fans out tonight?”, they said, inciting yet another ‘Queenslander chant throughout the room. “Does anyone want some water out there? Who wants a whole BOX of water?!” they announced, throwing bottles of water out into the crowd. “Hands up! I’m gonna put this in the music video” said Gravy, introducing Tampa Bay Bustdown. The country-theme continued as he sung Drugs, Money, Pussy & Beer. The recognisable Mr Sandman sample played over the speakers before fan favourite Mr Clean begun, featuring the bald icon Mr Clean himself decorating the screen behind them.
“This is one of my favourite songs we ever wrote” said Gravy, getting sentimental. “We’ve been making music for 6 or 7 years now… this is one of the first songs we ever made… We bought this beat for $25!”
“Rest in peace Young King Dave” they said, shouting out their late friend and collaborator for following track Gasoline. Whip a Tesla and Super Mario followed, which had great reception from the crowd, screaming back each and every lyric. “Everybody get your hearts up right now!” said bbno$ to introduce help herself. “We came here to have fun and if you’re not having fun then that’s not on me!” he said, before rapping bad girl and sriracha. “My favourite hot sauce in the goddamn world is sriracha baby make some noise!”. “Everybody put your middle fingers up right now we’re gonna say fuck it!… Who wants this fucking half eaten cookie?!”. The room stayed hyped up as he played nursery, who dat boi and it boy. He then graced the crowd with an unreleased track, encouraging the room to sing the song’s main hook; “I put the sex in sexy”. “You guys like that shit or what? Should I drop that shit or what!?”. Yung Gravy returned to the stage to sing Isn’t It Just Marvelous?, which they ended with 2 LIVE CREW’S We Want Some P–sy. The recognisable Player’s Baby Come Back sample played over the speakers to introduce Cheryl, which was met with great enthusiasm from the crowd. “What time is it in America? Y’all mind if I call my mother?… Make some noise for mum’s in general!” announced Yung Gravy before calling his mum on FaceTime. “Sorry for the rude awakening… We just finished the song and it was you on the screen! Everyone say hi Cindy!”.
“This is about my ex” he said to introduce Clementine. Images of 1939’s ‘The Wizard of Oz’ played on the screen behind for the duration of Magic. “Let’s do a little exercise. Make Healthy Harold proud!” he said to get the crowd moving. “Who’s wearing Air Force 1’s?” they announce before bringing lilbubblegum back to the stage to perform AF1. “Does anybody want an autographed jersey?” said Gravy. “Are you really gonna sign that with a brown marker?” replied TIIP, leading in to Forget Me Thots.
“The next song is my favourite song to perform live. The actual woman who wrote it hit me up and said she fucks with this song!”
Exclaimed Gravy excitedly as the recognisable Maxine Nightingale’s Right Back Where We Started From sample began playing to open Gravy Train. “This man drove 18 hours to see us to hear one song. We don’t even have the file so I’m going to give you the jersey!” said Gravy as he passed the jersey to a keen audience member.
The energy in the room went up instantly from the very first note of viral hit Edamame. Oops! Played next, ending with an Whoomp! (There It Is) Tag Team chant. “He’s on 2% live on Instagram… What are you doing? Life doesn’t work that way!” they announced as Yung Gravy livestreamed the show. “I’ve got a story for you… We were in the studio… it was a good day; everybody was winning everything was successful” said bbno$ before introducing Lalala. “Everybody get your fucking hands up!”. “Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 30 best recipes Nutella Forero cookbook is… The man over here in the Gravy sweater!”. “Shit, we still got to do a fucking shoey”. “RIP Betty White!” they shouted to introduce Betty (Get Money) and closing the set with Ce La Vie.
“We both love you very much. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Which really isn’t much” said bbno$, to indicate the night was ending. The room started to clear, but not before the ‘shooey’ chant started up again. Yung Gravy rose to the challenge; “Put on some shooey music bro” he said to TIIP, who blasted Kiss’s You Shook Me All Night Long. A giant image of Healthy Harold closed out the show, before they put up pictures of vegemite and marmite for the crowd to both cheer and boo. The room finally cleared out as they ended the night with final words of wisdom;
“Love your parents”.
Thanks to Positive Feedback
