TIGER BOMB: M.I.A., Electric Factory, Last Night CLICK TO ENLARGE
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Yes, the rumors are true — M.I.A. is absolutely beautiful, both in sparkly skintight spandex and a t-shirt three sizes too large, either standing tall like Shiva the Destroyer or seemingly trying to make a baby with the stack of speakers.
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Few things fire up a crowd more than opening with “Bamboo Banger.” And seeing as how it’s HER song, it only makes sense that she should open with it, if you think about it. Also, few things are as hard as waiting for the song to kick in after two minutes of the first notes in a repeating loop combined and roadrunner sound effects at deafening volume. Crazymaking, in a good way.
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The Electric Factory may or may not have turned into a legitimate rave. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone who left covered in glow-stick residue.
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M.I.A. definitely knows how to push a crowd well past their limits — the storm-tossed sea of humanity that was the dance floor did not cease to move even once, and more than one danced-out hipster was unconscious as they were surfed out of the crowd.
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As if the collective of dancers wasn’t going to be physically drained from M.I.A. alone, the Cool Kids and Santogold/Amanda Blank had the opening slots. Result? 3-4 hours of non-stop movement, comparable to running a marathon while having an epileptic seizure. Which, as it turns out, is more fun than it sounds.
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MIA must get lonely on stage, as she invited the audience to come dance on stage on more than one occasion. Very rarely is it cool to be on stage in front of the sold-out Factory dancing like a fool while wearing neon tights, but Saturday night was an exception. That usually gets you beat up and thrown out the back door by security.
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The “Boyz” music video came to life in an extended version of the song, as bright colors and crazy dancers lit up the screens on stage and the fair M.I.A. passed mic an allowed the crowd to ask her “How many? How many?” As in “How many boyz start wars?” Pretty much all of them, in my experience.
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Seriously, though, M.I.A. is the most gorgeous human being ever.
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Remember that scene in Scanners when that guy’s head blew up? When the lights came on last night, after a night of flashing lights and ridiculously loud bass, everybody’s head looked like it was about to blow up. It is a testament to MIA impeccable show biz instincts that she knew just when to stop. Because, think about, all those heads exploding all over the place? That would have been messy.
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One of the most awe-inspiring sights my looking balls have ever seen: skyward-aimed finger guns from the ENTIRE crowd during the show-closing and tour-closing “Paper Planes.” For that final burst of ecstasy, M.I.A. was right: “Everyone’s a winner, we’re making our fame.” — MICHAEL DONOVAN
TEXT BY MICHAEL DONOVAN / PHOTOS BY JONATHAN VALANIA