As someone who was unfamiliar and new to Tizzy T, I couldn’t help but quickly fall for his charm and love for music. I never thought I would use this term to describe a rapper, but Tizzy T cut through the stereotype and provided a high level of golden retriever energy. His Butterfly Effect World Tour at the Melbourne Pavilion blew me away.
It was not surprising that the venue was packed to the brim. Loved by many, Tizzy T took to the stage to a crowd roaring at his presence. An impactful performance of ‘How U Feel It’ set the tone to what would be a spectacular night. Not letting the crowd’s energy drop for a second, Tizzy T performed a series of interactive hits that had the Melbourne audience screaming for more. The energy was electrifying with ‘Shot (庆祝)’, ‘晒 (Go Get It Up)’ and ‘少数派报告 (Minority Report)’.
A very contrasting welcome and self-introduction helped me quickly learn about the rapper’s personality behind his enthusiastic and powerful music. Humble, quirky and fun, it was easy to feel at ease with his easy-going personality and liveliness. The social butterfly swiftly made himself known to all corners of the room.
The lighting and stage effects were a great addition creating a sense of nostalgia and warmth to ‘Youth Rebellion Handbook (青春叛逆手册)’, ‘Change (变)’ and ‘Back To The Future (回到未来)’. I couldn’t help but be pulled in by his emotions and authenticity. I absolutely adored the way he weaved the night together through storytelling. Were provided insight into his life and his feelings with each song that he performed. Stories were shared on when Tizzy T wrote the music, the sacrifices he made to get to where he is today, the friends he made along the way, and the ups and downs throughout his journey.
‘I.K.I.C (可以的)’ resonated with me as I found myself humming this unknowingly the next day as I went about my day at work. This new motivational track was quickly added to my playlist to remind myself that “I know I can”.
One of the songs of Tizzy T’s set that I was most excited to hear, performed beautifully amongst a light cloud of smoke, was ‘Nightmare (噩梦)’. Followed by clear crowd favourite track, ‘橘子 (Orange)’ that led the Melbourne audience happily singing and chanting word-for-word from start to finish.
I was very quick to fall in love with ‘Breathe (呼吸)’ and Tizzy T’s overflowing love displayed through continuous fan interactions. My love for this song was deepened when he explained the origin to this song was inspired during Covid times, when he felt that breathing became hard and life was restricted. Tizzy T shared that he hopes his music can provide people with strength and energy during the good times and the bad; and accompany you through your headphones. In a blink of an eye, we were transported to a fun and playful corner with ‘Super Tizzy’ and ‘Money Flow (现金流)’.
You can easily see Tizzy T’s pride to share who he is and where he is from. Multiple times throughout the night, he mentioned his hometown of Chaozhou, China. Not only finding others from the same hometown in the audience, but also sharing stories of his upbringing and the influences of Cantonese music that he had growing up. A remixed version of Hacken Lee’s ‘Moon Serenade (月半小夜曲)’ was a great example of his inspiration.
A quick-witted fan made their message clear as a bouquet of flowers were handed to Tizzy T the second the first note of ‘Don’t Go Back Tonight (今晚别走)’ was played. This was shortly followed by Tizzy T hugging numerous bouquets accompanied by the song ‘100’, signifying his fans wishes to be with Tizzy T until they reach 100-years-old.
The most memorable part of the night was ‘Cold War (冷战)’ as the entire venue had their phone lights up, creating a beautiful sea of stars as everyone in the Melbourne Pavilion venue sang loudly and proudly to the beloved song.
Heat J, a member of Tizzy T’s crew, was also given a chance to perform a few solo songs, keeping the crowd excited as Tizzy T went for a clothing change. ‘IMME’, ‘FLYHOMIE’ and ‘Rainy Days (下雨天)’ kept the audience hyped before Tizzy T returned with his most powerful segment of the night.
The energy reached its peak with hit after hit; ‘Eyes On The Throne (盯著王座)’, ‘City Centre (市中心)’， ‘潮汕 (Hood)’ and ‘Initial T (头文字T)’ had the Melbourne audience buzzing. Tizzy T took it upon himself to cool everyone down and splashed water into the crowd during ‘Runnin’ and showed 120% of his passion, standing at the highest point off the stage. ‘Almost Famous (几乎成名)’ and ‘顶峰 (Top)’ slowed things down, but the energy in the room was equally as powerful and emotional.
Before I realised, the night was coming to an end and with his final clothing change, Tizzy T performed ‘Party Is My Home (Party是我家)’ which had everyone jumping up and down with their arms raised in the air. The atmosphere was electrifying, and the combined voices in the room was exhilarating to witness.
Tizzy T stated that the charm of live music, with a bunch of strangers gathered, possibly just seeing each other just once in a lifetime, all brought together by music, to sing, to dance, laugh and cry together was special. Although, by the next day, we all return to our respective lives, we gain energy from each other and recharge through experiences like this. I couldn’t have agreed more with this statement! Live music to me provides a safe haven and an escape to an utopian world, so it felt so affirming hearing an artist be an advocate to what I believe in.
You know a concert is fantastic when you feel a sense of reluctance to leave and for the night to end during the final song. However, Tizzy T’s ‘Going Go’ was a perfect way to wrap the night; a big crowd singalong and a photo with the Melbourne audience had my heart feeling very full as I left the venue.
Passionate, energetic, and so much fun. The night flew by very quickly while we followed Tizzy T’s journey and life through his music. Tizzy T won me over with his openness to share his story, his genuine soul, and his deep passionate love for music. Every song performed cohesively displayed his emotions and passion. Tizzy T’s easy-going personality made it hard to resist his charm and easier to like him.
It was an absolute pleasure to see Tizzy T perform in Melbourne and I hope this won’t be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as I would love to see him perform in our city again.
The Melbourne leg of Tizzy T‘s Butterfly Effect World Tour was proudly presented by Box Live and took place on Sunday the 13th of October at Melbourne Pavilion. This concert was part of a 2-city Australian leg which also visited Sydney on October 10th at Metro Theatre. The Melbourne show was the final concert of the Australian tour.
For more information, visit:
https://www.instagram.com/tizzy_768
https://the-boxlive.com.au/f/tizzy-t
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ShC8iSQrfdxlSbtIXfCaa
Photography by Tim Lambert.
