M.I.A. in Montreal

September 24, 2005
If you haven't heard of M.I.A. by now then you must be living under a rock. Sri Lankan born, London raised, Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam is the hottest crossover emcee to hit the airwaves in recent years. She's sexy, she's political, and I had the chance to see her live in Montreal this past weekend.

The show opened with a mash up set followed by some rhymes by Baltimore rapper Spank Rock (current single: Put That Pussy On Me). Not bad, but definitely not why people had made their way to Metropolis that night. The show had originally been booked at sister venue Le Spectrum, but was moved down the street to pack in a few more of M.I.A.'s new fans. The stage was dressed with several handcrafted items, including a wooden tiger, a helicopter on a stick, and a makeshift palm tree adorned with some Christmas lights. A banner, similar to the artwork on the Galang single, hung behind the DJ's table. With the hip kids in the crowd donning their '80s retro fashions, the whole thing came off like the best high school talent show ever!

Appropriately enough several tracks from Peaches accompanied the dancehall tunes that were played before performers took the stage. Peaches, Maya's XL label-mate, is reportedly the one who turned Maya on to the Roland MC-505 synthesizer after meeting her at an Elastica show.

Diplo, the Philly-based DJ whose mix tape Piracy Funds Terrorism started the M.I.A. phenomenon (the two are also reported to be an item), was on hand as a spectator. The acting mixmaster warmed up his decks, and as soon he cued up the samples "M," "I" and "A" the crowd went nuts. I was right up against the stage on the far left. Maya and her backup sidekick skipped out onto the stage and segued from the "Opening March" into "Pull Up The People." Maya took the opportunity to give a shout out to New Orleans and the victims of hurricane Katrina.

The set included pretty much everything from Arular along with a song listed as "Nookie," though I don't recall hearing anything new during the show (must've been an alternate title for one of the album tracks, or ended up getting left out the set). The start of "Bucky Done Gun" was changed to name check Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto -- "where my Canadians at!" We were treated to a few extra hooks thrown in by the DJ, like Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It." Maya energetically worked the stage and the crowd, holding the mic out to the people in the front row to sing along to a few numbers including "Amazon" and "10 Dollar." She flashed a bright smile as she walked over to my side of the stage and caught me unabashedly joining in on "Sunshowers."


During the show Maya commented on the fact that "Galang" is now featured in a new Honda Civic commercial. She said she hasn't forgotten living in poverty in Sri Lanka, and didn't care what people thought about her taking the money. She went on to say that the money could be used for good things, true to the socially conscious rhetoric on her record.

The song order on the setlist was rearranged slightly, with "Hombre" coming a bit later, swapping places with "10 Dollar." Maya did the old call-and-response with the men and women on the those tracks. The ladies definitely won that contest. "Galang" closed the set and left the crowd wanting more. Maya returned to a track I only know as Dave's Chappelle Show intro music. That was used for a slow-and-low remix of the track "M.I.A." Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin" was used to rework "Bingo," more closely resembling the original Piracy version.

As the crowd cheered her on, Maya lamented her lack of material. She even conferred with Diplo at the side of stage for a moment -- about what, I'm not sure. A request for "Lady Killa" was acknowledged but left unfulfilled. When someone from the crowd called out for an encore of "Galang," Maya confided that it was really time for her to go and write some new material. After a little more confabbing on stage, Maya encouraged the crowd to try and get double the pleasure out of what would be her final number for the evening, "URAQT."

All in all, a great, high energy show. There were a few moments where verses didn't flow quite perfectly, but everyone was having too good of a time to notice. Can't wait to see M.I.A. again when she has some new material ready for the hungry masses.

See more photos from the show here.

Check out this bit of fun at George Bush & Tony Blair's expense brought to you by Diplo & XL Recordings. Quicktime is required.

Shallow Thinks

When pulling up to an intersection, and a car that looks just like yours (same color and everything) turns one way and you turn another, do you ever feel like you're having a Gwyneth Paltrow Sliding Doors moment?

TV Top 5

I didn't manage to catch all the new shows, but I caught a few, and there are some good ones. There are several big premieres still to come, but here are my Top 5 so far:

1. Lost ABC -- of course, it has to be Lost! This show won the Emmy for Best Drama for a reason; it's the mack daddy of suspense serials. As long as their is enough resolution from week to week to keep viewers satiated, this show has a bright future.

2. My Name Is Earl NBC NEW -- it's dumb and it's funny and that is exactly what it is supposed to be. Jason Lee shines as redneck come Karmic do-gooder Earl Hickey. Jaime Pressly plays Earl's white trash ex-wife maybe just a little too well. A good line from the pilot: "I know where your mama parks your house!"

3. Gilmore Girls WB -- still one of the most consistently well-written and entertaining soft dramas on television. This season finds Rory and Lorelei at odds over Rory's decision to drop out of Yale, and Luke and Lorelei coping with their engagement. Hey, Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham are super hot and can deliver lines faster than most people can think, so sue me for being a fan.

4. Threshold CBS NEW -- of all The X-Files wannabes out there, this one feels the most cinematic. The cast is good, Carla Gugina is great. Hopefully there won't be too many Star Trek or little person jokes at the expense of Brent Spiner and Peter Dinklage. Peter graduated from Bennington College in Vermont in 1991. The plan seems to be for weekly episodes to focus on people altered by the signal emitted by the UFO, while further advancing the overall storyline. The WB's Supernatural and ABC's Invasion deserve honorable mentions, but Threshold, while equally formulaic, just seemed the freshest of the genre (though Night Stalker has yet to make its debut).

5. Arrested Development FOX -- back by popular demand for Season 3, AD picked up where it left off with G.O.B. getting the father/son roles confused when he discovers he has a son. Everyone ends up making "the biggest little mistake they ever made" in Reno.

Return of the 'Aints

Dateline: September 19, 2005
What should've been the first home game for the New Orleans Saints turned into a showcase for the new-look Giants at the Meadowlands. After the Saints upset Carolina (who were in better form against New England this week), everyone wanted to jump on the "win one for the Gulf Coast" bandwagon. But as any New Orleans fan knows, this is the 'Aints were talking about here. They can be one of the most exciting and excrutiating teams to watch. Just go back 2 years to when they pulled off a last second TD after a series of laterals only to miss the game tying extra point. That's my 'Aints.

And last night against the NY G-men was no different. While the NFL did its part to raise money for victims of hurricane Katrina, the Saints failed to deliver in a rare Monday night appearance (staggered with the Redskins vs. Cowboys game on ESPN). They fell behind early after a costly fumble. Despite the inspired play of veteran WR Joe Horn (who scored the Saints' only TD), the Giants put an end to the Cinderella story. The Saints' inability to get into the end zone after recovering a punt that went off a Giants' player's leg as well as continued turnovers of their own were too much for the honorary home team to overcome. John Carney who famously missed the extra point I referred to earlier, then made the game winning kick last week, was one of two this week missing what should have been a chip shot for him.

But all is not lost for New Orleans. They are tied for 2nd in the NFC South with Atlanta, and their next opponents are the 0-2, Moss-less Minnesota Vikings.

Fall TV Schedule 2005

Get ready to schedule your life, I mean Tivo. Check out epguides.com for the current US prime-time broadcast TV schedule, including the new Fall lineup. This will probably change in a couple months when at least half the new shows get dropped, so enjoy while you can. You never know, you might discover a cult classic! Or not.

Here are the highlights according to me:

~ SUNDAY
Returning: Family Guy FOX

~ MONDAY
New: How I Met Your Mother CBS (formulaic sitcom, but cast looks OK, including Alyson Hanigan and Lyndsy Fonseca); Prison Break FOX (could be interesting, but don't bet on it lasting); Surface NBC (seems to be a trend of creepy, high concept shows since Lost hit it big -- this one will probably sink)
Returning: Monday Night Football ABC
Moved: Arrested Development FOX

~ TUESDAY
New: Bones FOX (despite the unfortunate name, stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz could make it worthwhile); My Name Is Earl NBC (starring Jason Lee, this might be the best new comedy if not the best new series if the show is as funny as the previews); Supernatural WB (taking over the Smallville slot)
Returning: The Office NBC (the American version returns, we'll see if it earns an order for a full season); Gilmore Girls WB

~ WEDNESDAY
New: Invasion ABC (since CSI & Lost, the X-Files ouevre is back in vogue, but the cast here looks subpar)
Returning: Lost ABC (I admit it, I'm psyched); That '70s Show FOX (no Eric?)

~ THURSDAY
New: Night Stalker ABC (former X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz updates the '70s cult show that helped inspire The X-Files); Reunion FOX (more serialized creepiness, this time with high school as the backdrop, like gag me with a spoon already)
Returning: Alias ABC (the previews hint at a baby -- the network must think Jennifer Garner is indestructable or this is her swan song); Survivor CBS (not one twist but two -- just start executing people and get it over with)
Moved: Smallville WB (not sure if even Superman can beat Survivor & Jennifer Garner)

~ FRIDAY
New: Threshold CBS (everyone has to have their alien spook-of-the-week-show)

~ SATURDAY
go find something else to do!

~ ON HIATUS
Returning Fall 2005: Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO; Nip/Tuck FX
Returning 2006: Scrubs NBC; The Sopranos HBO; 24 FOX; The Wire HBO

Word Verification

Thanks to all you spamming bastards out there I will now be employing word verification for posts on this blog. Fuck you very much, and have a nice day.

New Orleans Unbeaten

NFL Opening Day 2006
I can say this with 100% honesty: the New Orleans Saints are unbeaten. They won their season opener 23-20 on the road against divisional rival Carolina (a team some have picked to go all the way). Deuce McCallister posted 2 TDs on the ground, and TE Ernie Conwell put up some good numbers receiving.

This is a big win for the Saints, who thanks to hurricane Katrina will be playing all their games away from home this season; not that they have had a stellar home record in recent years. Perhaps the Saints win over the Patriots in the pre-season gave them the confidence to pull off this latest upset. But Carolina is only the beginning; New Orleans has a very tough schedule ahead of them. This is a great start for a slightly underachieving yet highly talented team that will face a lot of adversity this year.