"I'm knockin on the doors of your Hummer, Hummer..."

Over the past six months, I've had many instances where I pondered how a given event would affect my health.  I've missed birthday parties, skipped important dinners and missed out on several performances all for the sake of keeping rested and as healthy as possible.  Each time I would weigh my options and try to gauge if the given activity was going to be something that set me back considerably more than my normal activities.  Unfortunately, six months into this illness I'm still rather in the dark when it comes to answering the question "how much is too much?"  Last night I decided to take a slight risk and try to live life as fully as I could by attending the M.I.A. concert at Terminal 5.

(What will the concert be like?!)

(Hopefully like "pow! pow! POW!")

When I first heard about this concert months ago, through blog reader Tania, I zipped over to the website and tried to purchase tickets.  I was defeated by an evil message telling me there were no tickets left and just trusted that I would see her perform at some point.  A few weeks later, I decided to persist with my search and found they had added an extra night, which I promptly bought tickets for.  In my mind there was no way I would still be sick by the time the concert arrived, but unfortunately I am.  There comes a point with this illness where I have to try to live my life in some ways, and even though I'm a bit fatigued today, last night really was a mind blowing concert event. 

M.I.A is the Sri Lankan/British hip-hop genius behind two of the most ground breaking albums of the last three years (her debut "Arular," and her recently released follow up "Kala.")  What makes M.I.A. such an extraordinary anomaly is that as much as her music is driven by eccentric beats that take inspiration from various world cultures, it is also driven by her intense political activism and unusual subject matter.

(So close, yet so far!)

Judging from how varied her musical influences are, it should have come as no surprise that the crowd at the cavernous, yet intimate, Terminal 5 last night was just as diverse.  Perhaps most interesting is the fact that given her beat heavy, hard hitting style, she has a tremendous amount of Indie cred, which was apparent from the skinny black jeans, hipster haircuts, and plethora of men wearing vests.  Of course that's not to say that the crowd was too cool for school, in fact it was perhaps the most energetic crowd of any concert I've ever been to.  I felt a bit like a frozen droplet in the middle of a torrential downpour, but I tried to do my best to overcome my physical limitations and enjoy the scene. 

After waiting nearly two hours for her arrival (which we waited out at a local diner) M.I.A finally took the stage with a ferocious energy that didn't wane for her entire set.  The pulsing beats of "Bamboo Banger" (which I used in my driving video) started things off and she proceeded at a deliciously relentless pace for five songs before taking a moment to breathe.  While many of the arrangements sounded just like they do on CD, she took a more continuous approach live, often merging one song into another.  For people that know M.I.A's music, which can at first sound very similar, it was a relief to see that each song stood so well on its own.

She performed songs from both of her albums during her set, which found M.I.A. and her one phenomenal backup vocalist running all across the stage like fireworks that almost exploded before they were reeled back in.  Decked out in a glittered, backless dress with a sequined jacket and shoes to match,  and a militaristic hat with a bright red feather, she perfectly embodied the eccentricities of her music. 

Overall it was an incredible concert going experience (I hesitate to say life changing but after the euphoric state it left me in, it feels apt) and I'm happy that for a few brief hours I chose happiness over health.  That's not to say there weren't moments of unhappiness standing in the packed crowd.  Jockeying for a position at a concert is as difficult as fighting someone for the last turkey in a supermarket on Thanksgiving day, but in the end, well worth the effort.

(She invited the crowd to dance with her on stage during "Bird Flu...")

(We stayed put.)

I headed out before she jumped into the last section of her set, but it was an extremely satisfying event.  BUY HER CD NOW!  I urge you to give it a chance because at first it will be overwhelming.  But if last night's concert is proof of anything, it's that M.I.A.'s music is deliciously infectious.  After six months, it was time for some delicious infection rather than debilitating infection and she delivered fully. 

 

 

Comments

[Tania]

I'm glad so glad you had a good time and that I'm indirectly responsible for it! And I'm even more glad that I am going to see this show IN THREE HOURS!!!! Gah! I'm sure I will blog about it later this weekend along with my co-blogger and equally-MIA-obsessed-fellow-concert-goer Natalie. Excitement!

[Tania]

Also, if you are interested in hearing different arrangements of her songs try to get your hands on Piracy Funds Terrorism (if you don't already have it), which is the mixtape she did with Diplo around the time that Arular came out. It's a lot of her songs from the first album plus some other ones layered on top of Diplo's mash-ups. It's AWESOME; I'm not sure if you can buy it anymore but you may be able to download it somewhere, or get it on a file-sharing service.

[Nicholas]

I'm so glad you had the energy to do this! Me and M.I.A. were totes rocking on the treadmill today.

[Miriam]

I can't express how jealous I am...

[Natalie]

Hi! We know each other indirectly through Tania, but I wanted to thank you for your version of the concert as well! It sounds like we had such a similar amazing experience--MIA really blew me away this time.
Very much enjoying your blog!