Santigold at the Trocadero
Philadelphia, PA
5/8/12
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 are 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. Where her debut solo album was the kind of album you might put
on at a party, her current record is lyrically deeper and has more of a driving
around late at night kind of vibe. Standout tracks include “Go”, “Disparate
Youth”, “Big Mouth”, and “The Keepers”.
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 guitar. 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 hundred and forty 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.
visit Santigold's site to sign up for the mailing list and get a free download
see the published version of this article on Phawker.com here
