PHOTOS: M.I.A. at Tattoo in Toronto

by AUX staff

MIA at Tattoo, Toronto. May 3, 2014.

Photos by: Stephen McGill, AUX TV

Review by Jabbari Weekes

Where else but an M.I.A. concert would you hear, “Sound system guys, what are you doing? I can’t hear the gunshots.” In a jam-packed Tattoo on Saturday night, M.I.A. could be found verbally assaulting the misfiring soundboard during an exciting set for only 400 people that properly kicked off Canadian Music Week. (The show was initially announced as a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square, but was moved due to “unforeseen logistical issues.”)

Rising Swedish pop artist and opening act Elliphant took stage first, winning the crowd over with several songs from her debut album A Good Idea, including crowd pleaser “Down on Life.”

The tightly wound perimeter that security guards had set up nearly burst at the seams when M.I.A. arrived. Clad in Versace from head to toe, M.I.A. bubbled quietly towards the stage before launching into the marching imperial air horns of “Bucky Done Gun” and the tumbling drum loops of “Bird Flu.” “Boyz” and Matangi album cut “Double Bubble Trouble” turned the rest of the set into a mini Soca fete that seemed to be too much for the venue to handle. However, the crowd could care less as they took up imaginary gun salutes and fired blanks into the sky to “Paper Planes.” Even with the speakers blown out, M.I.A abandoned the stage to join the crowd in a touching “Bad Girls” a capella sing-a-long.

Just as quickly as M.I.A. came to the stage, she left, while fans chanted for an encore to no avail. But M.I.A. has always been a hard one to figure out, and true to form, she made no apologies for it.

Check out the photos below.