Concert: Die Antwoord

Die Antwoord are a South African rave-rap group that are like nothing I've ever heard before. I think they're such an outlier from everything I usually listen to, that I like it. They consist of rappers Yo-Landi and Ninja, with DJ Hi-Tek, and are known for making music videos that are completely bizarre and sometimes disturbing, so I was skeptical about what their live show might be like.

I got to the Roseland about twenty minutes after the doors had opened - which is very weird for me not to be in line beforehand. I really didn't know what to expect (in terms of the amount of people in line before hand, and what the people that made up the crowd would be - ravers, hipsters, etc), but when I got inside there was only a layer of two or three people deep against the barricade. It just so happened that I saw some kids that I knew from my old high school, and they let me stand with them at the front and to the right. It ended up being the perfect spot, because we didn't get any of the shoving that happens when you're at the front and center (as I explained in my Childish Gambino post).

I was surprised that the crowd was mostly made up of relatively normal people - people I might see at a Franz Ferdinand concert at the Crystal or something. There were a few people wearing some rave style clothing, but no one was in full rave attire. There were also some rocker/goths there, but as I said, it was mostly the typical Portland crowd (which includes a fair number of hipsters I hate to say).

The opening act wasn't really anything but a DJ guy and a guy on the guitar playing different rave-y beats. I didn't even catch what they were called.

Then Die Antwoord came out. I was completely blown away with how good they were! You could tell that they had been performing for years, and it seemed like it had been rehearsed many times, but still felt fresh. Portland was the first show of their tour after all (they played at Sasquatch before Portland, but Portland was the start of their official tour). There were two back up dancers (women) that came out wearing a few different costumes - most prominently gold leggings, bandeau bras, and ski masks. They were a nice addition to the stage which was practically bare, and weren't distracting which can be an issue with some back up dancers. Yo-Landi had a few costume changes too, and Ninja ended up in some Pink Floyd boxers by the end of the night.

They were both all over the stage - jumping up and dancing on the DJ platform, running from one end of the stage to the other, and keeping the entire audience (including the balcony) amped up and engaged. They said how much they loved Portland numerous times to great cheers and applause.

They debuted some songs off their new album, Donker Mag (Dark Magic in English), including Pitbull Terrier, Raging Zef Boner, and Happy Go Sucky Fucky. They also played a good number of older songs.

I'm not usually one to take a ton of pictures at concerts since I feel like it detracts from the experience, but for whatever reason I ended up taking quite a few at this show... Maybe because there was a big inflatable boy holding a giant penis (the Evil Boy).

All in all, I had a fantastic time, and was beaming from ear to ear after it ended at how much fun I had.