[Photo by Pete Troshak]
On Tuesday night at the Trocadero, Philly born singer Santigold proved that you can go home again, kicking off her tour with a triumphant show in front of a raucous hometown crowd. She might reside in New York now, but her heart and soul is pure Philadelphia.The tour is in support of her strong second album, Master of My Make-Believe, Santigold’s first album in four years. Her music is a stew of different elements; punk rock, reggae, dance, dub, pop and rap elements swirl through her work, sometimes all in one song. Santigold and her band -two dancers, two multi-instrumentalists and a drummer – hit the stage dressed like a high school spirit squad and immediately turned the Troc into a grooving, sweaty, mess of a dancehall with their skittering beats, dubby bass and shrapnel guitars. Santigold can flow with the best of them on the mic and she seemed genuinely moved by the love she received from the crowd. The energy she received, multiplied and sent back out threatened to blow the roof off the 140 year old plus building, taking the show to another level. Seamlessly mixing old and new tracks and keeping the party going for an hour and a half, the band and the crowd both couldn’t stop dancing and grooving. It’s hard to pick out one highlight but the coolest moment was when she allowed fifty or so audience members to join her on stage to dance and sing along with her to “Creator”, a true Philly moment of love and togetherness and beautiful chaos. — PETE TROSHAK