Tuesday’s Southby music madness was even crazier than usual with the added green river of St Paddy’s day running through it. Sixth Street was drunker and the bros sloppier – but music was still king. Spotted in the mayhem were Toronto’s own BadBadNotGood, OG Maco (who proclaimed “Y’all from Toronto? I heard they fuck with me heavy up there”) and Vic Mensa (more on him later).
Highlights from the first official night of the music portion of the festival included a passionate, sweaty set from the Screaming Eagle of Soul himself, Charles Bradley. Backed up by his Extraordinaires, Bradley delivered the love to the capacity crowd gathered at the indoor/outdoor Clive Bar venue the way only he can. In a Canadian tuxedo, he stretched his wings and had every couple in the audience dancing a little closer and smiling ear to ear. He played tracks from his debut album, No Time For Dreaming, and Victim Of Love but due to SXSW’s strict set-time limitations there were no trademark hugs at the end. Sigh.
NXNE veterans Future Islands were up next at the StubHub stage, breaking up the soulful love-fest with Samuel T. Herring’s guttural growls. Despite a few tech issues at the beginning, the band kept fans happy with tracks from last year’s acclaimed Singles album. Herring punctuated the synth-heavy sound with intense snarling, chest-thumping and fist-pumping dance moves.
After some taco-truck refuelling, it was time to catch rapper Vic Mensa at the Chicago Made showcase. Mensa’s impressive hustle last year earned him a headlining spot at this year’s festival – proof that his grind is paying off. His confidence was high, no doubt due to the fact that he had just recently returned from recording with Kanye West in Paris.
Backed by a live band of members from his SAVEMONEY collective, he ran through a handful of tracks off his Innanetape mixtape before launching into fiery new material slated to appear on his highly anticipated debut album. The bass was ribcage-rattling throughout, especially on Kaytranada-produced loosie Wimme Nah and the Kanye-helmed banger Wolves.
jules@nowtoronto.com | @juleshollett
