Concert Review: M.I.A. at The 9:30 Club

Stone hosts the Couch Sessions Podcast. Check out this week’s interview with Atlanta R&B artist Anthony David.

I'm not going to lie. Prior to this concert, I was a not an M.I.A. fan. It's not that I hated M.I.A.'s music or message as much as I hated the New York hipster press and the "M.I.A. Will You Marry Me!" bloggers for pumping up some random chick just because she was "the next big thing," without a critical look at who she was or what she represented.

Fortunately or unfortunately though, M.I.A. has become an ambassador for UK hip hop in these United States, which is a task that East London superstar Dizzie Rascal or even The Streets' Mike Skinner have failed to accomplish. With this ambassadorship comes responsibility, and M.I.A.'s duty was to convince a somewhat skeptical US crowd that she could carry the torch.

I've stated from day one that I was dragged to the show against my own will. However, I was really curious to see if this chick could live up to the hype. I wasn't really impressed with Arular, M.I.A.'s critically acclaimed album, and I could care less about her mixtape with Diplo, Piracy Funds Terrorism.

I was in for a present surprise.

She started the set with "Pull Up The People," which failed to get the crowd moving. Personally, I think that the ultra-hipster crowd wasn't ready for MIA's blend of British hip hop, and it took them a couple songs to get into the groove. But once they got into said groove, this 5 foot 2 Sri Lankan got the party started.

The energy that M.I.A. brought to the stage was completely surprising. The hits, such as Galang, 10 Dollar, and Sunshowers, got the crowd moving from the first note, and DJ Control (who questionably replaced the absent Diplo) mixed in some US crunk under MIA's vocals to keep the flow moving.

Article Author: Stone

Stone is the head writer The Couch Sessions, the place for underground and alternative urban music. In addition to his writing duties, he also hosts The Couch Sessions Podcast and spends his days as a computer programmer and freelance web designer.

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