M.I.A. provides fresh take on hip-hop at Fillmore
By Jim
Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 3:12 am in Fillmore, M.I.A..
Reports of hip-hop’s demise _ most notably coming in the title of Nas’ recent album, “Hip-Hop is Dead’’ _ have been greatly exagerated.
Positive indicators of the genre’s relative good health abound. Two of them are the Kanye West CD “Graduation,’’ which topped the charts when it was released in September, and Rock the Bells, the all-star hip-hop concert that drew some 50,000 for its San Francisco date back in August.
Another good sign is M.I.A., the British rapper who is currently turning out some of the most intriguing and adventureous work in the entire music industry. Her sophomore CD, “Kala,’’ is one of the year’s most highly acclaimed discs. The critics love the 30-year-old vocalist, whose real name is Mathangi “Maya’’ Arulpragasam, and the general public is starting to catch on as well.
Plus, M.I.A. showed on Wednesday night (Nov. 7) at the Fillmore in San Francisco that, unlike most hip-hop artists, she’s just as good in concert as she is on CD. I can’t overstate how elite a crowd that puts her in. There’s only a handful of other hip-hop artists _ like Kanye and the Roots _ that have game both on the live stage and in the studio.
Bursting out of the gate with “Bamboo Banga,’’ the track that also kicks off “Kala,’’ M.I.A. was a bouncing ball of energy as she rapped and danced before the sold-out crowd. She quickly followed with two more solid offerings from the new album, “World Town’’ and “XR2,’’ before venturing back to her 2005 debut, “Arular,’’ for the politically minded anthems “Pull Up the People’’ and “Sunshowers.’’
Besides a long video screen at the back of the stage, which ran short clips of the star, dancers and pure eye candy, the set design was simple and uncluttered. M.I.A. worked in front of a DJ and alongside two accompanying rapper/vocalists. The sound was equally minimal, in terms of the number of different beats and samples, but still loud enough to rattle spines. The only drawback of the night was the overly pumped up and distorted bass, which is an unfortunate trademark of hip-hop shows.
Moving through “20 Dollar’’ and “10 Dollar’’ _ the former, as billed, being twice as good as the latter _ M.I.A showcased a musical range that most hip-hop artists can only dream about. She drew from several different genres, including world music, alt-rock, funk and electronica, and still came up with a very cohesive sound.
M.I.A. colors her music in such unusual and unexpected ways that trying to identify a more-established hip-hop artist for comparison purposes is pretty much fruitless. Missy Elliott probably comes the closest, but _ looking outside the genre _ Bjork is a much better fit.
Based on the Fillmore show, however, the best course is probably not to play the comparison game and just label M.I.A. as a true original in a genre that sorely needs one.
Set list:
“Bamboo Banga’’
“World Town’’
“XR2’’
“Pull Up the People’’
“Sunshowers’’
“20 Dollar’’
“Jimmy’’
“10 Dollar’’
“Bucky Done Gun’’
“Bird Flu’’
“Paper Planes’’
“Boyz’’
“Galang’’
Encore:
“Amazon’’
“Hussel’’
“URAQT’’
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November 8th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I was at the MIA concert last night and boy am I glad I got the tickets for free, because I thought it was terrible and so did my date. Admittedly, we were clearly in the minority based on the crowd’s enthusiasm. My complaints are the following: First, I agreed with you that the bass was a bit loud until I moved to a different spot and could hear her voice more, and I have to assume that there is some amazing studio magic because her voice was terrible, really screechy. (Is it possible the Fillmore has a lousy sound system?) Second, the graphics on the screens behind the stage were really bad, reminding me of images I saw at a Nobukazu Takemura concert a while back, and that is not a compliment. Third, her stage presence is minimal, wearing clothing that looks like it was thrown out by Salt-n-Pepa back in the 80’s. And does she lip-synch, as some folks have suggested? If so, that is weak. Fourth, the pathetic move to get the girls up on stage and dancing was a really desperate ploy by an artist who clearly is still developing.
I understand that she is still growing and learning, both in the studio and on the stage, but I certainly won’t be seeing her again until she improves.
As for your comparison of her to other hip-hop acts, if this is as good as it gets, then the genre is screwed. Also, I went to a Peeping Tom concert a couple of years ago and that performance blew me away, despite the fact that the GAMH was about 800 degrees. Perhaps Peeping Tom doesn’t count as hip-hop, I don’t know, but either way, Mike Patton et al put on a hell of a show that MIA would do well to watch.
November 8th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
MIA is a burrito of wonder. Not being too huge of a fan (She was ruined for me a couple years ago when some friends insisted on having an MIA dance party every night in the garage), I was weary to shell out $30 to see her last night. And I am SO HAPPY I did.
The Fillmore is not known for it’s awesome acoustics and the fact that the bass usually rattles through my body is what a large portion of my ticket sale is going to - that and the sweet poster you get at the end. MIA is not known for having a soothing voice, either. The bass offered a techno noise hug that you obviously desperately need. Did you see how STOKED those girls were to get up on stage, that’s a moment they will never forget. I know, I was up there once.
As for the ambiance, sure the screen was a bit much at points, but what makes you wanna dance more than watching a bunch of people dance in front of you? She was trying to include you in her world unlike most of the pretentious fucks that flounder through the city. And as for comparing her to Mike Patton….wtf???….Mike Patton is untouchable. He is in a league of his own. Don’t ever compare Mike Patton to anyone. ever. again. Or MIA, although I would have to agree with the review about Elliot and Bjork.
You really must not be from San Francisco. Burn.
November 26th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
it was fucking awesome
i love M.I.A