M.I.A. , Die Antwoord @ ThePalace, Melbourne (01/02/2011)

Sun 6th Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It was a scorching forty-degrees the day of Melbourne’s Big Day Out, a climate that arguably compromised the fun and frivolity of the event. Sideshows suddenly became an enticing prospect, promising an unrivalled experience for diehard fans of bands and artists. Such would be the case with M.I.A’s appearance at the Palace Theatre.

The support for the evening was Die Antwoord, a hip-hop outfit hailing from Cape Town, South Africa. As a crowd continued to build at the stage, roaring tones of a mutated didgeridoo reverberated harshly throughout the venue, announcing the group’s arrival in ominous fashion. The first track – titled, appropriately enough, Enter The Ninja – saw Ninja’s fast and furious silver-tongue working overtime, Yo-Landi Vi$$er’s cutesy Barbie-girl, muppet-esque lilt pitching in for a nice vocal interlude. The set typically consisted of pulsating dance cuts courtesy of DJ Hi-Tek, the foundations for some seriously silly fun laid early in the piece. The members of Die Antwoord possess a fantastically flamboyant presence, Ninja indulging in outrageous pelvic thrusts from the front of stage, both performers leaping and bounding the entire breadth of their platform. Their enthusiasm rubbed off on the Palace, the crowd red hot for the group as Ninja dived into the crowd time and again.

Rich Bitch saw Vi$$er emerge from the side of stage in gold attire, gratuitous booty shaking soon on offer. The crowd cheered once and then again as Vi$$er twice stood before the venue, waving her derriere. The third time saw the rapper bear skin to moon the entire venue, drawing several startled exclamations. Their hyper-sexualised shenanigans continued throughout their set, a crash course in South-African blue humour on the cards. Fish Paste in particular commanded a dirty call and response, an inflatable doll holding male genitalia soon revealing itself. That pretty much says it all: Die Antwoord excel in a wild, wacky and – at times – crude clublife, constantly pushing the boundaries. You can’t take it too seriously and nor should you. That’s the point. Die Antwoord implore you to have a sense of humour you and go crazy. When a group samples and consequently sullies Enya’s Sail Away for their own performance – crying “Sail away, motherfuckers!” – there’s no choice left but to like them.

Soon after, mist swept across the stage, a fierce strobe prompting an abrasive electronic introduction to M.I.A.’s set. Her lyrics initially proved monotone and largely inconsequential, partly due to the all-encompassing blasts of such songs as Meds And Feds, a monotonous, guitar-stabbing rocker. Born Free fared much better, a frenetic light show bathing the stage in red. It seems obvious from the outset that M.I.A. is constantly in motion, an entertainment juggernaut set to power on throughout the entire evening. That proved to be precisely the case, with the performance going from strength to strength. Much to the delight of the M.I.A. diehards, Boys prompted an open invitation for fans to grace the stage and get down with the rapper herself. Soon the entire space was jam-packed with punters surrendering to the music. As more and more clambered onto the stage, it was clear that the party had well and truly begun.

M.I.A’s set possessed a marvellous ebb and flow, a mix diverse enough to keep you on your toes. She has a multitude of bases covered, from hip-hop, to electronica, to alternative-dance, to world music. As you’d expect, however, each enclose an enthusiasm towards achieving those huge, sweaty dance anthems designed to whip any venue into a frenzy. M.I.A. succeeded in doing so this particular evening, with remarkable commitment. There was no sign of a breather, the rapper working overtime to ensure a rousing non-stop action performance, throwing herself to the crowd on many occasions.

Eventually, M.I.A. would have to take some time out. It would be with good reason however, the Brit returning with a costume change and a bag of CDs to sling to her appreciative legion of fans. Whether it was the opportunity to party with M.I.A. or the act of blatantly rewarded with free physical copies of her music, this was one gig where it really paid to be in pit. Anyone on the upper-levels must have surely felt a sense of disconnect from the fun. For the finale, M.I.A would climb upon a tower of amplifiers, commanding the venue from a make-shift throne. Paper Planes was charged with the task of bringing the night to a close and, as exhilarating a joy it was to hear it, it might just have been the worst inclusion of the set. This is mostly attributed to the way in which M.I.A. provided a god-awful vocal rendition centred around wild bleating completely devoid of tune. It was a surprising stumbling block, given the excellence of the performance that had preceded the moment. Still, it was enough to excite the crowd a little longer and send everyone home happy.

As a sideshow, this night was everything you would have wanted it to be. Both Die Antwoord and M.I.A. worked together to perpetuate a real party vibe and a sense of escapism, connecting with their fans at every opportunity to make the evening one big spectacle. A fun night in all respects.