Spring Break
Cult fave M.I.A. performs energetic set at Sonar
Issue date: 12/6/07
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M.I.A.'s set was on top of its game. She definitely knew exactly what she was doing when she chose which songs to play at this particular event. While her new album, Kala, may have some more out-there songs which are not only weird lyrically, but also hard to dance to, she only played those that were highly "dance-able" and also well-known by her fanbase. Some highlights were "Boyz," "Jimmy," and her encore of "Paper Planes." She also made sure to throw in a few of her best songs from her first album, Arular, including "Galang," "Bucky Done Gun," "U.R.A.Q.T.," and "Sunshowers."
Although her stagename may mean "Missing in Action," Maya by no means slacked on her energy and made sure to feed the crowd as much as they fed her. She constantly moved across the stage, going between jumping and dancing. She even went out into the crowd a couple times, welcoming fans' hands around her small waist as they held her up over the audience. Seeing as her new album has been described as having "sources as varied as funk carioca, Baltimore bounce and the occasional ludicrously placed sound-effect," it's no wonder that this Baltimore crowd completely ate her up, 100 percent.
M.I.A. also employed the use of children as backup dancers to great effect. The audience loved these pint-sized booty-shakers almost as much as, if not more than, M.I.A. herself.
While the show itself was supremely executed, my main complaint lies not with M.I.A. and her crew, but rather the concert-goers themselves and perhaps Sonar and the security. The majority of the audience was just way too drunk. I understand the desire to drink during or pre-game a concert which is advertised as a dance party, however it was to an extent where it was at times unsafe and out of control. What was supposed to be dancing turned into moshing. Drunk groups unable to stand up pushed up against and fell into people, annoying them to the point of starting fights. And while security kept people from messing up M.I.A., they didn't do as good of a job of keeping people from messing up other people and ruining the experience for everybody else.
All-in-all, I urge everybody to listen to both of M.I.A.'s albums, and if you are the least bit interested in either of them, or if you just like to shake your booty, I highly recommend you go see her live. And as a general plea for concert-goers everywhere: Please don't drink and dance. Please.
Although her stagename may mean "Missing in Action," Maya by no means slacked on her energy and made sure to feed the crowd as much as they fed her. She constantly moved across the stage, going between jumping and dancing. She even went out into the crowd a couple times, welcoming fans' hands around her small waist as they held her up over the audience. Seeing as her new album has been described as having "sources as varied as funk carioca, Baltimore bounce and the occasional ludicrously placed sound-effect," it's no wonder that this Baltimore crowd completely ate her up, 100 percent.
M.I.A. also employed the use of children as backup dancers to great effect. The audience loved these pint-sized booty-shakers almost as much as, if not more than, M.I.A. herself.
While the show itself was supremely executed, my main complaint lies not with M.I.A. and her crew, but rather the concert-goers themselves and perhaps Sonar and the security. The majority of the audience was just way too drunk. I understand the desire to drink during or pre-game a concert which is advertised as a dance party, however it was to an extent where it was at times unsafe and out of control. What was supposed to be dancing turned into moshing. Drunk groups unable to stand up pushed up against and fell into people, annoying them to the point of starting fights. And while security kept people from messing up M.I.A., they didn't do as good of a job of keeping people from messing up other people and ruining the experience for everybody else.
All-in-all, I urge everybody to listen to both of M.I.A.'s albums, and if you are the least bit interested in either of them, or if you just like to shake your booty, I highly recommend you go see her live. And as a general plea for concert-goers everywhere: Please don't drink and dance. Please.
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