ickstarting back in July 2018, Hive is one of the newest events to make its way into the Perth scene.

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The brainchild of promoters Kirby Watts and Aaron Cowell, Hive presents itself as a summery-style trap event, flowing between open-aired day parties to more intimate bass events.

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Off to a strong start they've already hosted six events in their seven month existence, pulling headliners ranging from local legends Oriental Cravings to interstate artists like Johnny Third.

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This time round they secured everyone’s favourite gentleman Just A Gent, and they were kind enough to bring us along for the ride.

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Catch our breakdown of their first event of the year down below.

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The Venue   ‍

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Hosting an event the same day as Seasons was always going to be a challenge, but despite the competition Hive still saw around 350 people flow through the venue over the course of the night.

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Long wait times are a particular point of aggravation for most Perth punters, but a reasonably sized crowd thankfully meant there was no issue getting straight through the doors.

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The open-air venue was very spacious with a dance floor that catered comfortably to the size of the crowd, and wait times for bars and bathrooms alike were almost non-existent.

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Despite the excess space, everything you wanted - water, bars, tables - were positioned right where you needed them, so you had no reason to miss the show.

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The Crowd  ‍

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Filling an 800 capacity venue with 350 people naturally left Oasis looking a bit bare, but the collection of most punters in front of the stage meant the empty space had little impact on the experience.

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Perth crowds can be quite hit-and-miss, so it was good to see that despite being on the lighter side in terms of numbers the crowd Hive pulled in was full of energy, and there’s no doubt that the strong list of local supports, including Wraith and Odebear, did a great job keeping everyone immersed before the headliner.

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Just A Gent  ‍

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A formidable producer, Just A Gent is guaranteed to keep you on your toes with sets brimming with diversity, and despite a recently broken leg he came ready to deliver stacks of new tunes.

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Hobbling his way onto stage in his suit and top hat, you could feel the energy lift instantly as the crowd began to surge forwards.

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His skills were well and truly on display as his set flowed through a variety of genres, and despite the diversity his set never felt disjointed, effortlessly mixing heavier bass beats with hip-hop tracks.

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He even went so far as to make ‘Mo Bamba’ sound good with a clean trap edit, a true testament to his ability.

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Dropping the likes of Flume, NGHTMRE and all things in between, as the hour wore down he began pulling out some of his signature tracks.

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Crowd favourites ‘Limelight’ & ‘Heavy As A Heartbreak’ resonated powerfully through the audience as they all belted out the words in unison, and his new bassy tracks like ‘404’ were very well received.

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For a pop-up the stage was very nicely constructed, and while the production value could never match the seizure-inducing quality of a club, the lighting that was provided did plenty to improve the experience.

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Sadly it all seemed to be over too soon, and as he made his way off stage you could feel the disappointment flowing through the crowd as they all begrudgingly began making their way towards kickons.

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Overall   ‍

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While there’s no doubt it would have benefitted from more numbers, the Hive experience was undeniably an enjoyable one, and despite being one of the newer events in Perth they did well to compete with such fierce competition.

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Hive promises good vibes and easy-listening music, and is an event everyone needs to experience regardless of taste.

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There’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be bringing big things in the future.

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As always I hope you enjoyed the read. Keep an eye out for Hive’s next event, and until then - party safe, stay hydrated, and I’ll see you next time.