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Splendour Spotlight: Reflecting on OutKast at Splendour In The Grass

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It has been a little over a week since Atlanta luminaries OutKast descended upon Australia and to give a rare performance as the headliners of Splendour In The Grass, bringing with them that air of exclusivity that had led me to believe that I'd never actually get the chance to see them live. Before their reunion was announced, I would have thought that if seeing them live was actually possible, then it would probably be an embittering and disappointing affair, given the legends of hip hop usually indulge themselves in a quick, vapid medley performance of their hits. I feel stupid for ever doubting them.

Many people who mostly know the legendary ATLiens from "Ms Jackson", "Roses" and "Hey Ya" were left wondering why their reunion was such a big deal, especially in Australia, where the aforementioned songs are among just a tiny handful of hits for the long-forgotten duo. Then you have the fans; the ones who, at some point in their life, dove headfirst into the genre-bending back catalogue of Andre 3000 and Big Boi, emerging with a greater understanding how versatile hip hop can be. The latter made up the first few rows at their Splendour performance, making for not just an environment that was incredibly fun to be in, but one which seemed to encourage both emcees to give us more energy than we could have possibly expected.

OutKast's full live show was left behind, meaning that there was no gigantic cube for the rappers to duck in and out of. But we still got everything else: the giant Stankonia flag reflected behind; DJ Cutmaster Swiff and other members of the Dungeon Family in the background, working OutKast's classic cuts into the open-air arena environment with original beats super-charged by the talented band; and of course, that career-spanning set list that perfectly balanced all their major albums, with little to no trace of medley-driven laziness and a real sense of the range and depth of OutKast.

Exploding into the ridiculously energetic "B.O.B" wasn't quite enough; they barely gave us a second to get over the frenetic introduction before jumping into the incensed "Gasoline Dreams"; what is one of the weaker cuts on Stankonia is now one of their strongest live. If any long-time fans thought they were going to be put off with a heavy focus on the global hits, then their worries were obliterated from the get-go, with "ATLiens", "Aquemini, "Rosa Parks", and "Spottieottiedopaliscious" all ticked off the list before mega-hit "Ms Jackson" appeared.


OutKast perform Aquemini with precision

A small, tongue-in-cheek use of Andre's costume design came into play here, with him originally sporting a large, white tag hanging from his jumpsuit's right pocket; a picture of a dollar sign on one side. He flipped it over after "Ms Jackson" to reveal a plain red background with white lettering reading "SOLD OUT", signalling the pitfalls they fell into after the phenomenal success of the single.

For "Spottieottie...", OutKast introduced their only vocal guest of the evening: long-time collaborator and hook-slayer Sleepy Brown, whose silky smooth vocals have not aged one bit from his early days; although he did sound a bit flat singing the hook for the funky horn-driven jam, which was the song most trimmed down to fit the set. For those that weren't all too familiar with ATLiens and Aquemini, OutKast selected the album's most accessible cuts, filling out the anthemic "Rosa Parks" with more bass than the Mix-Up tent would have been able to handle, showing off their tightness as a duo with "Aquemini", and recreating the soulful sounds of "Da Art of Storytelling (Part 1)".


"Da Art of Storytelling (Part 1)" was an early highlight


Ms Jackson caused a seismic shift in the crowd

Dividng the set list into segments, Outkast let a full - and wholly satisfying - performance of "Ms Jackson" pave the way for the iconic Speakerboxxx/The Love Below section, kicked off by a solo Big Boi and his Purple Ribbon All-Stars hit "Kryptonite (I'm On It)". The chaotic bass and aggressive bars of "GhettoMusick" were balanced out by the playful dance moves of finger-snapping "The Way You Move" - with Sleepy Brown in top form - making for a solo greatest hits before Andre 3000 came back in a white bathrobe and fluffy wig with the best songs from his experimental trip The Love Below. This was of course, capped with several girls from the audience on stage, jumping excitedly while Andre strutted around singing ubiquitous hit "Hey Ya".


Andre giving us some death metal before jumping into "Hey Ya"


What's cooler than being cool?


Lend the man some sugar!

Andre seemed to be having the most fun up on stage, a stark contrast to the bemusement of their highly criticised Coachella set. A deflated crowd at their first reunion performance (Coachella weekend 1) seems to be a distant memory now; both emcees are making the most of it, busting out free-spirited moves and spraying cool all over the adoring crowd, begging the hope that the reception of this tour might very well be enough to get Andre 3000 and Big Boi back to that recording dungeon in Lakewood, to give hip-hop something that it has missed for a very long time.

Perhaps most surprising was how much attention OutKast gave their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, nodding to their "true" fans with a full performance of "Hootie Hoo", "Crumblin Erb", the album's funky title track, and first single "Player's Ball". Understandably, medley was used here, but they still gave us enough of the classic cuts to whet the appetites of their hardcore fanbase. "Player's Ball" stole the show, with Andre's opening verse sounding every bit as great as on record. This was followed with a quick dive back into ATLiens with "Elevators (Me & You)" before the closing four hits escalated the energy levels to fever pitch. First it was a playful version of "Roses", then it was a ridiculously fun "So Fresh, So Clean", a quick nod to UGK with both Dre's and Big Boi's verses from "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You"), and the set-closing hand-clapper that is "The Whole World".


Andre wasn't the only one in high spirits


Southside walk it out


As animated as you would expect

By the end of the funk-washed sing-a-long, I was left stunned; not only did OutKast put together a set-list to completely satisfy all of their fans, they made sure that not one track was half-assed; everything was completely representative of two emcees who are still very much in their prime. They truly are the coolest motherfuckers on the planet.

OutKast Setlist

B.O.B.
Gasoline Dreams
ATLiens
Skew It on the Bar-B
Rosa Parks
Da Art of Storytellin', Part 1
Aquemini
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
Ms. Jackson

Kryptonite (I'm on It) (Big Boi's Verse)
GhettoMusick
The Way You Move

She Lives in My Lap
Prototype
Hey Ya!

Hootie Hoo
Crumblin' Erb
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
Player's Ball

Elevators (Me & You)
Roses
So Fresh, So Clean
Int'l Player's Anthem (I Choose You)
The Whole World

Look back at all our social media coverage of Splendour In The Grass 2014 by following us on Twitter and Instagram and using the hashtag #AUxSITG

All our Splendour In The Grass editorial, including interviews, reviews, photo gallerys, and feature articles, can be found at our SITG hub HERE

Headline image captured by Ian Laidlaw for the AU review. Social media videos captures on iPhone 5 by Chris Singh


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