I got to dance with Saul Williams

[KrazeeStacee]

If you get a chance to see him on the tour, DO IT. It was an amazing show...Niggy Tardust sounded great live, his costumes and stage show was so great. We got to see him at this tiny little bar and he came down and danced with me, Mark and these 3 girls around us. Then it turned into this whole big dance party for a few minutes...his feathers and his gold and blue makeup right in our faces. He has an amazing stage presence.

[wHATcOLOR]

i don't think i've ever heard of a more ideal situation for a grenade

[KnowingSheWould]

saul williams is the worst poet

[spidrr]

no.

[dzhezus]

Does he have a band with him?

[KrazeeStacee]

He has a guitarist that is pretty good, a dude that does all the drum pad stuff and then he's got a keyboard player. The guitarist was wearing feathers glued to his arms, the drum pad guy was in a spiderman costume, and the keyboard guy was wearing a green mask with feathers and fuzzy stuff on him. They threw newspaper confetti all over the crowd during the last few songs.

They were really, really good. All the songs sounded great and blended together really well...and all his spoken word stuff was just amazing.

[KrazeeStacee]

I can't watch this right now but I doubt it's very good as most camera videos aren't... Plus the mic cut out while he was singing a Bjork cover.



The Ritual

[Irridescent Fairysex]

fucking seminal.

[Irridescent Fairysex]

why does he look like he's a bukkake victim from the blue man group?

[KrazeeStacee]

Because he's fuckin' Niggy Tardust, man!

[davin]

yea, show totally fucking delivered. the new songs really translate well live. 1 of my complaints about the 2nd album was how it didn't "fuse" together well (to me it just sounded like saul on top of trent)...but live it was kick ass, and really sounded great. i can't wait to revisit the album again.

the live sound has totally changed from last year, especially the dominance of the guitar. this is the 2nd time i have seen saul (first was sxsw last year) and overall this show was much more intense. he just "owned" the show more this time...and the music seemed more powerful . martyrs really has great sound for a small room, and its one of the few places in chi-town that will "sell out" but not be over-sold.

my fav performance of the night was definitely black stacey...but ritual, list of demands, and that surprisingly rockin Sunday Bloody Sunday cover were cool standouts too.

Stacee's right. go see him if you have the chance.

[Irridescent Fairysex]

I can't help but think this whole profound concept was a silly thought conceived with the help of cocaine, hookers and bad taste overall. they probably woke up bowie with this "awesome" idea. Niggy Tardust? really, come on. Oh it's fusion? it ties rock and hip hop with the wise words of a drunken poet? COME ON!

[davin]

Originally Posted by KrazeeStacee

He has a guitarist that is pretty good, a dude that does all the drum pad stuff and then he's got a keyboard player. The guitarist was wearing feathers glued to his arms, the drum pad guy was in a spiderman costume, and the keyboard guy was wearing a green mask with feathers and fuzzy stuff on him. They threw newspaper confetti all over the crowd during the last few songs.

They were really, really good. All the songs sounded great and blended together really well...and all his spoken word stuff was just amazing.

the keyboardist also busted out the bass a couple times. like on black stacey. also, from my angle i swore i thought i saw spiderman messing with some turntables at some point, but then again maybe it was just some aspect of the drum pads.

we were towards the front on the left side (house left, stage right) sorta near the merch booth and the girl we all sang happy birthday for. funny thing is i remembered you were supposed to be going to this show.....after striking up a conversation with a girl in the crowd who had gone to bonnaroo last year. but her name was jackie.

[davin]

Originally Posted by Irridescent Fairysex

I can't help but think this whole profound concept was a silly thought conceived with the help of cocaine, hookers and bad taste overall. they probably woke up bowie with this "awesome" idea. Niggy Tardust? really, come on. Oh it's fusion? it ties rock and hip hop with the wise words of a drunken poet? COME ON!

i never said it was fusion or profound. i just said it gel'd better live than it does on the album.

and its definitely more "industrial" than rock. i hate labels, but i'm just trying to differentiate this is not another beastie boys, rage or early chilli peppers rip off. you can tell by the songs he covers (U2, Bjork, etc.) and the Bowie reference that this guy had a pretty diverse musical interests for a spoken-word/hip-hop guy, which i think makes his brand of music fairly unique.

plus the man can fucking flow. i swear he never breathes. its pretty amazing that he can get that worked up and still perform at that level without a 2nd mc to give him breath breaks.

[Irridescent Fairysex]

Originally Posted by davin

i never said it was fusion or profound. i just said it gel'd better live than it does on the album.

did I fucking quote you, you yellow colored abomination?

[wpc33]

Yeah he was awesome in Vancouver. Everything about the show was tight and intense. Saul Williams kicks ass.

[davin]

Originally Posted by Irridescent Fairysex

did I fucking quote you, you yellow colored abomination?

no, i guess you didn't. but it seemed to be in context, especially with the fusion comment.

my bad. but you still don't know shit about saul williams.

[KrazeeStacee]

Its one of the few shows I've danced at but I was really gettin' into it before he even came out in the crowd and danced with us. I really enjoy a lot of concerts I attend but its very rare that one will inspire me to be a better artist like this show has. He actually looks his fans in the eyes and speaks so directly to them. The music itself blended very well, I never expected such a good show honestly. I really enjoy the album and didn't think they would do it justice but it actually translated even better. I saw him at Bonnaroo a few years ago and it was very good as well but this was a differently thing entirely.

/mark

[Kahlo]

I need to hear your artistic output Mark. Can you pm me a link to some examples?

[KrazeeStacee]

Originally Posted by Irridescent Fairysex

I can't help but think this whole profound concept was a silly thought conceived with the help of cocaine, hookers and bad taste overall. they probably woke up bowie with this "awesome" idea. Niggy Tardust? really, come on. Oh it's fusion? it ties rock and hip hop with the wise words of a drunken poet? COME ON!

Actually if you were at all interested, you could easily find many videos or interviews of him speaking about this album. It's inspired by Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, obviously. Where Bowie was trying to push the limits of sexuality and get people to take notice - Saul is doing the same thing with race...

Niggy Tardust is a concept of himself, one in which he is a hybrid. In race, in sexuality, in music and in style. His message is that we are all hybrids. There is no such thing as race.

It's really not as silly as you think and if you took the time to look more deeply into it you might find something really amazing.

Personally, his message really hits close to home for me. Maybe it doesn't for you and maybe you can't appreciate it because of that. I don't know...

[KrazeeStacee]

Originally Posted by davin

the keyboardist also busted out the bass a couple times. like on black stacey. also, from my angle i swore i thought i saw spiderman messing with some turntables at some point, but then again maybe it was just some aspect of the drum pads.

we were towards the front on the left side (house left, stage right) sorta near the merch booth and the girl we all sang happy birthday for. funny thing is i remembered you were supposed to be going to this show.....after striking up a conversation with a girl in the crowd who had gone to bonnaroo last year. but her name was jackie.

Ah yeah, we were actually right in the middle - did you happen to see that fucking idiot who wanted to mosh rape everyone? He had on the head wrap and army backpack? Toward the end of the show when he actually finally created a moshpit, we were along the back edge of it.

Also about him "owning" the show more - I really think the whole Niggy Tardust concept brought out a whole new side of him I'm really happy to see. He has a theatrical background and was saying in some article I read how happy he is that he has an opportunity to use that now. It's also nice to see him break his character at times and smile or laugh...like when he came out and was looking all intense at the crowd, someone yelled "I paid for your album!" and he laughed. Or the whole myspace thing at the end of the show...that cracked me up.

I just love him to pieces after that experience. Mark's right about him really reaching out to his fans, it makes you feel like he's speaking directly to you...even in a room full of people.

[KrazeeStacee]

Here's some more pictures we found btw









And here he is singing in my face