Review: bbno$ @ Hindley Street Music Hall 04/11/25
The Note’s October cover star bbno$ took to the Hindley Street Music Hall stage at a sold-out show, to lead a night of dance bangers, screaming voices and heartfelt shared community experiences.
Words & Image Millah Hansberry
bbno$ w/jungle bobby @ hindley street music hall 04/11/25
It’s these types of moments where you go “holy shit, this is my life.” The moment I received an email from bbno$’s PR team with a “when would you like to set this interview up?”, to the moment before jumping on a Zoom call with the incredible Canadian rapper I’ve been listening to religiously since 2019, or the moment waiting at the bottom of the Hindley Street Music Hall stairs with my little brother, about to meet the face of The Note’s October magazine, to the moment he stepped out on stage with a wicked smile and a ‘give it all’ energy that sent the whole room into a frenzy.
Meeting Alex Gumuchian, better known as bbno$, in person after meeting him over Zoom (and having stared at his face in pictures for months at work) was surreal. Proving he was, in fact, a real three-dimensional person, he opened with a warm smile, a handshake, and the admission that he’d woken up not feeling well and had “popped about a hundred vitamin C’s” to combat his impending cold.
‘Oh no,’ I thought. Bbno$ shows are known for their energetic, silly touch, and surely, being under the weather, the show would take a hit somehow. He proved, quickly and confidently, the second he walked out on stage, how wrong I was.
Canadian rapper Jungle Bobby opened the show, dancing onto the stage in a silk paisley getup, fit with three neck scarves and a jacket that can only be described as a pink cloud of ruffles and magic. His mission, he declared proudly, was to be a “love crusader,” spreading joy across the world. And for at least a night, he did just that in little old Adelaide.
His first track ‘Go up right now’ set the tone, as he asked every single person in the room to hold their right hands up and touch the sky. The crowd willingly obliged, screaming and bouncing the second the beat dropped. Peace signs and hand hearts littered the room, through every song, and in between, as Jungle Bobby bounced across the stage with an energy that should be studied.
“I don’t like people, I love people,” he sang to the crowd, earning a quick echo from the thousands packed into this sold-out Tuesday night show. DJ Dan, who was running the decks for both Jungle Bobby and bbno$’s sets, added an extra layer of charisma and energy to the performance. Bouncing behind the booth, unafraid to grab the mic, he seamlessly led crowd chants that felt unforced and added texture to the already hypnotic beats.
About two tracks into Jungle Bobby’s set, and after getting the entire crowd to throw up peace signs, the words “THIS IS NOT A CULT” flashed onto the screen, earning a thunderous laugh from the packed room. Jungle Bobby conjured the ultimate experience of community, where strangers were joining hands to make hearts, and screaming the cheeky lyrics to his newest banger “I smoke dope”. The light, fun performance was an epic pump up, prepping the crowd for bbno$’s entrance.
In between sets, the energy did not dwindle – it buzzed. Looking around, the crowd radiated a clear energy of love and acceptance, a true testament to bbno$’s brand of “just be yourself”.
Next to me stood a couple, dressed in head-to-toe The Lorax and Spiderman costumes. They smiled at myself and my brother, chatty and excited for the show to come, and held the Lorax’s belly stuffed with a pillow, joking that they hoped their orange spider baby wouldn’t come out “too weird”. On my right, a group of teens held up Nintendo DSs for selfies, earning a very enthusiastic cheer from the group of girls behind them. Behind me stood a young woman sporting a DIY tee bedazzled with the words “Fuck your agenda, protect the dolls” - a line from bbno$’s latest single ‘bing bong’, meaning “protect trans women.” And on my left were two mates, dressed in identical anime costumes who had told me they’d interrupted their high school class to buy meet and greet tickets (as the show sold out in mere minutes) – and who squealed and profusely thanked me when I gave them a copy of The Note with bbno$’s face on it. The crowd was full of costumes, queer references, people of all ages (I saw a five-year-old on her forty-year-old dad’s shoulders) and a whole lot of love and acceptance. A crowd all united in excitement and adoration for a thirty-year-old Canadian man whose brand revolves around being yourself, having fun and supporting queer communities.
It's no wonder that they all went absolutely ballistic the second bbno$’s face appeared on the screen behind the stage.
Bbno$’s intro video felt like a culmination of his career and how he markets himself. A compilation of YouTube reaction videos flashed onto the screen, with all of the different attempted pronunciations of his stage name; “bee bee no dollar sign,” to “bee bee noss,” to “bonno si.” The screen cut to black and the crowd roared. Text quickly appeared, one by one. “It’s. Pronounced. Baby. No. Money.”, earning a thunderous scream from the eager crowd. Videos of silly moments from his tour and career littered the screen, with theatrical opening music booming in the background. All leading to the moment, when DJ Dan shouted “It’s baby no money!”
‘It Boy’ boomed over the speakers as bbno$ ran out onto the stage singing ‘I-T B-O-Y, B-B-N-O-dollar sign. That’s me, That’s right.” Followed by an ear shattering “I-M H-I-M, the Gen Z Eminem” from the crowd. Rocking an outfit featuring his fan-favourite Internet Explorer logo belt, classic white singlet, a handmade black jacket covered in colourful patchwork outlines of the human body, and a DIY grey tie with red flannel stars, silver eyelets and piercing studs, he was truly radiating rockstar energy.
Equal parts charm and talent, bbno$ held the entire crowd in his palm for ninety minutes.
To be completely honest, before entering the room I was sceptical on how the show would work. I’m a big fan live bands, so most of my show experiences has been a stage full of musicians armed with instruments. But in bbno$’s case, it was a DJ and one man. One man who warped the whole crowd’s sense of time, as an hour and a half flew by like the speed of light.
Bbno$’s vocals were insane. A lot of rappers cop criticism for being untalented, or having mediocre voices (hence rapping, not singing), but this isn’t true for bbno$. The quality of his voice was spectacular, sounding almost identical to his recorded music. His performance style was wickedly fun, every now and then switching up the melody or tone of voice in parts; sometimes in jest, and sometimes to show off his mad improvisational chops. His microphone was switched on, and he was proving it.
After a string of livewire energy tracks (or “ding dongs,” as he called them in our interview), bbno$ stripped it down with fan favourite ‘Meant To Be’.
Taking centre stage and clipping the microphone onto the stand for the first time, he stood still and delivered a serenade. Clutching onto the microphone like it was the remnants of his past relationship, he sent shivers of ache and realness through the room with his performance. Raving hands were replaced by swaying phone torches, as the room united to pay homage to the songwriter who stripped back the ‘silly guy’ persona to deliver an honest, raw song about a breakdown of a relationship. “I was bad to you, you were worse to me, baby we just ain’t meant to be”.
As the track wrapped up, and the room felt weighted with sombreness, bbno$ reminded the crowd that they weren’t watching a crooner – they were watching a bbno$ show. Following the track, DJ Dan played the ultra-viral rendition of Billie Eilish’s heartfelt ‘What Was I Made For?’, that replaced the vocals with cat meows. And the room loved it, clearly all chronically online individuals, as they meowed the melody while bbno$ closed his eyes and swayed his hands through the air.
His ultra-viral track ‘edamame’ followed, sending the crowd screaming and bouncing in synchrony. All united with the mission to have a great time, or to go “absolutely fucking apeshit at the bbno$ show”, as the rapper instructed the room to do.
Animation clips lit up the screen the whole show, featuring art and cartoons from small artists and fans across the globe, commissioned by the rapper in an effort to support locally and abolish the use of AI. Each artist’s social media tags flashed on screen after the clips, giving back to his community by platforming and crediting, a heartwarming and refreshing practice that is rarely seen by huge artists.
A personal highlight from the show (a holy shit moment, as aforementioned) was bbno$ performing his lead single ‘gigolo’ from his brand self-titled album. Seeing him rip this track live officially changed its status for me, from “banger” to “if I hear the opening line of this song, I’m going to tear up the dancefloor immediately.” The crowd and bbno$ traded blows during the chorus, with the track having a call and response moment. Not a body in that room was still, and not a lung in that room was empty. The energy was as palpable as it was infectious, which is such an impressive feat from the brand-new track, making its performance debut only a few shows prior in Sydney.
Bringing Jungle Bobby back on stage, somehow the already wild energy heightened. Two balls of energy bounced back and forth on the stage, guiding the audience through major hits like ‘bing bong’, ‘check’ and his viral breakout track ‘Lalala’. It was all noise, light and love.
Expressing his regret for doing a shoey at his Brisbane show the night prior (the action he attributes his incoming illness to), right at the end of the set, bbno$ brought out Australian YouTube gamers ‘The Boys’, sending the audience next to me into a feral frenzy. “The collab of the century,’ the girl next to me cried out, holding her face as tears started streaking down. The decision to execute the cameo was the work of a man who truly knows his audience, and works to give them all the most unforgettable night of their life.
He sent the night off with a wave, a thank you and a smile.
Walking off, he proclaimed, “I’m gonna go take a Panadol,” like he hadn’t just brought a sold-out room together through community, love, and joy, and played the show of his life.
