Live review: k-os & Saul Williams at Théâtre Fairmount, Nov. 18, 2015

k-os with Saul Williams
Théâtre Fairmount
November 18, 2015

k-os, a giant on the landscape of Canadian hip hop, was supported by his friend (and fellow impassioned vegetarian) Saul Williams at Théâtre Fairmount this past Wednesday. Both men are eclectic and visionary musicians. I fell in love with Saul Williams’s debut album, Amethyst Rock Star, back when it was released in 2001. His combination of dark, intoxicating musical atmosphere with clear, crisp, critical lyricism felt so fresh. It wasn’t until later that I learned about his origins in poetry, or his degree in acting and philosophy. So I wasn’t too surprised when what he offered at the Fairmount was stand-up poetry, as he referred to it, and not songs – although I did recognize riffs from Rock Star. There was no instrumentation as such, but Williams is compelling on his own.

It was k-os’s first concert here since the release of his sixth album, Can’t Fly without Gravity, in September. From both Toronto and Trinidad, k-os went back to his Caribbean home to write “WiLD4TheNight (Ego Land),” the hard, hypnotic single from the new album. Like the album, though, the concert at Théâtre Fairmount was super diverse – with mashups and references to 60s garage, 80s pop and punk, and all kinds of soul. I’ll never forget the incredibly energetic dancer who also emceed k-os, and overall the vibe on stage was pretty powerful. The audience was young and enthused, although there were a couple moments when I wasn’t sure if they – or the venue’s sound system – were fully up to the challenge of k-os’s chaos.