M.I.A. had a lot riding on Saturday’s HARD NYC festival on Governors Island. Following disappointing reviews of her latest album and the cancellation of the LA incarnation of the event, this was a chance for her to soar back, phoenix-like, and reclaim her crown. Unfortunately, a poor sound mix and a thunderstorm that cut her set short saw to it that that didn’t happen. Fortunately, however, for the thousands of fans in attendance, the day offered plenty of other highlights to make the excursion more than worthwhile.
Rye Rye represented Baltimore with a super-energetic set that could have doubled as the best aerobics class ever; Skream + Benga brought UK-style dubstep to the US masses; Sleigh Bells silenced the critics who think they need anything more than a guitar, a microphone, and a boat-load of amps to conquer the crowd; and Die Antwoord so thoroughly embodied the spectacle and over-the-top attitude they’ve constructed that few people thought to care just how genuine their act is.
All in all, we’re calling this one a success, even if it didn’t turn out that way for the main act. We’re not going to jump on the bandwagon and say it’s all over for M.I.A. though. We have faith she can still get back on top — there were just too many forces working against her this time.
Click through below for a gallery of images from HARD NYC.
– Intro by Doug Levy
Comments (6)
[...] the details of the show, but let’s say it was awesome yet disappointing at the same time. Click here for a review and photos of the show. All the opening acts totally rocked the stage, and will be [...]
M.I.A. was just plain awful. She can’t blame it on the sound guy (she does on her twitter). She was terrible and hundreds of people left 20 minutes into her set before the rain started.
yeah i’m glad i left after die antwoord’s set. no one could have topped ‘em anyway, but after hearing how awful mia & the stormy boat ride back both were, i’m happy to have left early.
DIE ANTWOORD AND SLEIGHBELLS STOLE THE SHOW! actually, the show was theirs to begin with and they delivered above and beyond. I left 3mins into MIA’s god awful intro and knew it wasn’t gonna get any better. total draining lack of energy for a hyped up crowd at midnight. has MIA ever been to a concert before?? made it back into manhattan before the rain. i win.
MIA is a disinformation agent of the illuminati. Have you ever heard an interview with her? Politics? Ha! She’s a fashion commodity bimbo. But the illuminati needs you to believe that she is a political activist. This is what they do; this is the way disinformation works.
HAHAHAHA! Great day!
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