Honestly? Smoother than a goddamn baby’s bottom.

It was a dark, hazy evening; one that gave way to none but a thick veil of downcast fog, a curious telltale blinking of lights seen in the faraway distance—a signal, almost, beckoning you to your destination. It seemed as if a palette of grey and white had been cast upon the usually thriving Sydney suburb of Newtown; the sky’s usual bright hue replaced with a gloomy shade of intermittent blue in its stead. The light pitter-patter of rain was hard to mistake, its appearance reminiscent of mischief twinkling in a young one’s eyes when they’re up to no good—the milling crowd ambled on, however, seemingly undeterred by the melancholy of mother nature.

It turned out that a brisk ten minutes soon delivered you to your destination; a large, almost yellowing building, furnished with security barriers and guards along its entrances. It didn’t take long for the muffled presence of thumping bass to reach your ears, the sound leaking out of one of the building’s many open doors. Disregarding the weather’s attempts to insist otherwise, the Enmore Theatre exuded a warm excitement that eventually extended into an unmistakable invitation. You take a tentative step into the theatre space, the refreshingly carefree atmosphere cascading upon you in waves. Tossing away all previous concerns about the weather’s bleak outlook, you take another step—determinedly, now—further into the echoing building.

It was understood that GoldLink wouldn’t grace us with his anticipated presence until 9:30pm—however, the crowd was suitably hyped up as early as 8:00pm, the palpable buzz of energy and booze reverberating in the air. It was painfully apparent that everyone in the building was ready to dance as if their lives depended on it, with opening acts Swell and Kidd Marvel eagerly playing to the crowd’s undoubtedly similar tastes.

Soon after the clock tolled half past nine, the man of the night smoothly walked—glided, almost—onto stage, the crowd’s throbbing hum of energy finally bursting into a crescendo of hollers and cheers; “I want you guys to lose your body in this goddamn motherfucker tonight,” he greets, clearly ecstatic about the reception he was receiving.

Wasting little to no time at all, GoldLink promptly surrendered himself to the groove of the night, kicking things off with Fall In Love, one of the singles from his debut album. If the frenzied dancing coming from the girl beside me was any indication—and believe me, she was going for it like a woman possessed—it was obvious that GoldLink already had the whole crowd in his hands, the mass of people reduced to nothing but bodies swaying to an infectious beat.

In a fluid transition of lyrical mastery and prowess, GoldLink—much to the crowd’s vocal delight—proceeded to segue into classic fan favourite Spectrum, effortlessly confabulating the song’s verses in what seemed like a single, easy breath.

Even as the night started to wane, the sleek performer showed no signs of slowing down—but the exact opposite, in fact, as he dynamically launched into the anthemic We Will Never Die, a fiery zeal glinting in his eyes.

However, the intense vigor he previously embodied quickly softened into something more profound and heartfelt; the DJ had temporarily halted the set to announce that Crew had gone gold in Australia, with representatives from Sony stepping onto stage to present the prestigious award to a visibly stunned GoldLink. Declaring that it truly “felt like home in this motherfucker tonight,” GoldLink leapt into performances of Herside Story, Late Night, and, of course, the long awaited Crew with a renewed enthusiasm that the pulsating crowd easily matched.

In the midst of a more than welcome encore of Crew, I discerned that if there was a single word to describe the man on stage, it would most definitely have to be ‘effortless’; from his rhythmic articulations, brimming stage presence, and commanding charisma, GoldLink checked all the boxes with an almost frustrating ease. The very same ease that propelled him into near-mainstream stardom for the first time, certainly; I know it assuredly won’t be his last.

Featured photo by Jared Leibowitz for SaveTonight.