A HARD Day’s Night: M.I.A., Sleigh Bells, Rye Rye, Die Antwoord, Destructo, Skream & Benga in NYC

I don’t know about everyone else (nor do I care frankly) but I had an amazing time over the weekend at HARD NYC on Governors Island. It was an extremely hot summer day but that did not hinder my cousin and I from venturing out to Governor’s Island to celebrate his birthday and hear some great live music…especially after chatting with Destructo a few weeks before.

We arrived on the fairgrounds in time to catch Rye Rye‘s hyper-energetic set, which included an appearance by Ninjasonik and a hysterical cover of Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA. Rye Rye’s stage projections are always a surefire precursor to a night of fun!

Next up on the bill was Sleigh Bells, who have gotten better and better with each set! It was the biggest stage I’ve seen Sleigh Bells on and they seemed just as comfortable as if playing a DIY space in Brooklyn.

South African import Die Antwoord (translation: The Answer) upped the ante to max when they hit the stage after 10PM with their totally bizarre stage show. I saw a brief portion of their set at Creators Project last month but I got the full on experience this time around, complete with a hilariously raunchy chant about your mother during Fish Paste.

M.I.A. took the stage at nearly midnight, opening her set with Steppin’ Up and an burka-clad army equipped with neon power drills. I will stop here to address the obvious concerns. Yes there were sound issues during her set but the show was not as terrible as everyone has made it out to be. Her show to me is about the visuals, the energy, the chaos and the pure adrenaline rush she can trigger. The sound issues were obviously unforeseen but the show was in no way dull or boring and /\/\/\Y/\ as she told Complex Magazine is about “making it so uncomfortably weird and wrong that people begin to exercise their critical-thinking muscles.” In that sense the album has a been successful.

Personal highlights from her set included: chanting along to Teqkilla with the people around me (and catching the bottle she tossed into the crowd!), losing my breath during Bamboo Banga and the rain-soaked acapella finale of Born Free in which she was literally being pulled offstage. Her set ended in chaos, a lightning and rain storm that almost seemed planned. That to me was the makings of a successful show and if she stays true to her promise I will definitely be there as well!

mp3: M.I.A. – Believer

mp3: Rye Rye – Wassup Wassup

mp3: Die Antwoord – Enter the Ninja

mp3: Sleigh Bells – Run the Heart (Bassnectar Remix)