k-os Concert Review
November 25th, 2011 | By Shiraz شیراز Myl
When I found out k-os was coming to Victoria a few weeks back, I set my mind ongoing to see the show with an unwavering resolve uncommon in me. I guess you can
say I’ve become a bit of a k-os fanboy in the last year or so. I mean I liked k-os before,
but now I think he’s one of the most talented people in the hip hop music industry.
Then, the day was upon us. So my MYLR co-host Darrin Boscorellie, myself and a bunch of our friends and relations mobbed down to 9one9. It was interesting to see people of all ages- some maybe in their 50s-60s and others just 19- standing in line for the show and buzzing with excitement despite the chilling rain pouring down. It’s certainly not a requirement, but it is certainly nice to see an artist who can connect with a broad spectrum of people.
The opening band, The Dirty Mags, were weird. I think my brother described it best when he said, “If these guys were super messed up on drugs, they’d be kind of cool, but if they aren’t, then this is lame.” I did not dig it, but maybe I’m not hip to what grunge music is all about, or maybe they just weren’t good.
Any doubts that may have arisen were washed away when k-os took the stage. He was draped in a poncho with what looked like a Rosie-the-riveter style bandana wrapped around his locks and rocking a pair of mirror aviators. Maybe that doesn’t sound like it looked cool, but believe me, it did. It probably helped that he was standing in front of a DJ, a drummer and another percussionist, with a guitar player to his right and a synth, sampler, bass and other odds and ends player to his left, and in front of a crowd that was going apeshit.
And then it started. K-os hit after k-os hit interspersed with mashed up versions of his songs over his band’s driving renditions of classic rock and hip hop tunes like “Stairway to Heaven,” “Yesterday,” “Forgot about Dre,” and others. The show was well rehearsed, it had the requisite energy peaks and troughs and everyone got what they wanted. There were points where a stout man wearing a dark sunglasses and diamond (cubic zirconium? Probably.) encrusted praying-hands medallion who looked to be in his mid-forties, a kid who looked quite a bit like Tyler the Creator, and I were arm in arm, singing along at the top of our lungs. And there were others where Darrin Bosco and I rapped along to all the songs that have been in constant rotation on our radio show since the albums Yes!, The Anchorman Mixtape, and Live! have dropped. And even though there were people from all different age-groups and walks of life, there was a general understanding that we were all there for the same reason (it only seemed to be lost on a few pushy morons).
I interviewed k-os before the show and we chatted about how the new album, BLack on BLonde was going to be the dissertation of his ten year project of drawing together hip hop and rock and roll. That conversation kept coming back to me throughout the show, because if BLack on BLonde is the thesis, then this tour is the defense. The show was all about mixing the genres, and doing it well. It was all about showing the purest forms of both rock and roll and hip hop sharing the stage and an audience. It was all about the idea that a West-Indian Canadian kid from the suburbs can be a rapper and a rockstar without there being a contradiction in terms. And it worked. I was convinced and I think everyone else was too. A+.
So what can I say? Go to the show. It’s coming to a town near you, this was only the second date on a long tour. I promise you won’t be disappointed, in fact, I think you’ll love it.
The only problem is that I’m even more hopelessly addicted to k-os’ music now.
(The interview I did with k-os will be airing on Made You Look Radio on Monday the 28th of November, and will be uploaded here after)
