K-OS reigns
K-OS returns to Winnipeg, manages to not get cancelled
TIMOTHY BROWN STAFF
The opening band for the night was Magneta Lane, a three-piece female rock band hailing from Toronto and having recently gained success throughout Canada. This is thanks to their debut album, The Constant Lover. The music they performed was decent enough, most of it being quite catchy.
Unfortunately, they were kind of boring. When going to see a band live, typically a person would want to see more than just the performers standing on stage, playing their instruments. There is a certain amount of stage presence that can help an audience maintain interest in a band. When you go to watch a play, the actors on stage aren’t just standing there in one spot; they’re using body movements to emphasize and add dynamism to what they’re doing vocally. The same standard should be required for musicians.
It wasn’t just the fact that they were standing in one spot that made them boring; it was also their facial expressions. They looked completely bored on stage, maintaining the same blank “I don’t really care” expressions on their faces the entire set. However, they are a newer band so hopefully with time they’ll develop better stage presence.
k-os, on the other hand, was excellent. My favorite aspect of his set was that he played with a full live band. It’s always fun to watch a rapper and a turntablist on stage together, but there’s something about a full band that really adds to any hip-hop concert. The guitarplaying, in particular, was amazing.
Because k-os just released a new album (Atlantis: Hymns for Disco) he now has three albums to draw material from and was thus able to put together a very diverse and entertaining set.
k-os’ on-stage presence was very lively and energetic. And it wasn’t just k-os either. His band also had an excellent presence. They seemed to communicate quite well with one another, resulting in a very tight set. Particularly impressive was the fact that there were two separate solos. The first was for the guitar and the second was for the guy doing the African drumming. Both were great, and were warmly received by the audience.
The performance all together was very strong and commanding, with few or no flaws. Unfortunately when it came time for the encore, something went wrong with the drum kit and k-os was forced to do an acoustic number. It probably wasn’t as vivacious as what it could’ve been with a working drum kit, but it was still a nice way to end the night for an audience who enjoyed every minute of it.
