Merry Swankster: Santogold w/Mates of State, live @ Gothic Theatre, Denver 10.01.2008

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October 07, 2008

Santogold w/Mates of State, live @ Gothic Theatre, Denver 10.01.2008

Depending on how closely one follows some of the more wonky areas of the online music press Santogold's narrative splits between two fuzzily separated camps. First is the M.I.A. comparisons, somewhat unfair for Santogold as the perception of existing in the shadow of another artist with superficially similar aesthetics holds little positive for her other than exploiting the fruits of Mya's ready-built audience. The flip side is everyone who does not use the aforementioned British via Sri Lanka artist as a reference point for Santogold mentions. Besides eerily similar wardrobe preferences with the color purple and patchwork designs playing prominent roles, I'm not so sure why the grouping exists. Is it because of something else?

Both M.I.A. and Santogold are non-white artists whose tendencies to straddle genres while effectively creating new border lines between them creates trouble for critics who like to organize music into neatly defined categories. Urban, world-music, or R&B? Dub, Hip Hop or Grime? Electro, dance or gasp! - Rock?! What have you with this nonsensical classification, especially when the ethnicity of the performer pulls the archivist classes towards particular slots on the bookshelf that would otherwise disqualify for it not the color of their skin? Santi White aka Santogold herself opined on the subject in an interview earlier this year.

"It's racist (laughs). It's totally racist. Everyone is just so shocked that I don't like R&B. Why does R&B keep coming into my interviews? It's pissing me off. I didn't grow up as a big fan of R&B and, like, what is the big shocker? It's stupid. In the beginning I thought that was funny. I'm an 'MC', I'm a 'soul singer', I'm a 'dance hybrid artist'. And some guy said I looked like Kelly Rowland!" [via the Lipster]

Do non-threatening racial elements inherently exist when an artist like Santogold is described as R&B or Hip-Hop but not Rock? What if Santogold was white? Would there be a difference, and if yes, why? The indie community, and to an arguably lesser extent, greater America prides itself as accepting to different cultures and peoples. From a musical perspective these spoken values are righteously qualified by the very real actuality that in no other time in history has the indie, underground, whatever scenes been so inclusive of widely divergent sounds and styles.

For a broader, more socially encompassing example, one might be able to make a similar case for America too, especially if it completes its multicultural destiny by electing the first non-white guy into the White House. Tupac's warning to the black community of it not being ready for a black president will seem like an ancient relic of a backward past for the next generation. Not unlike the dated feel of old views towards women and the so called "place" where they belong. In other words, kids in 2040 won't think it is odd for a black man to be president anymore than people today think mom is a weirdo for working at an office (or running for the highest office(s) in the land). Once society passes a hump that once felt impenetrable, following generations disregard said hump to the point that it disappears completely. This is a good thing.

Maybe we as a country are already there. Maybe November 5th will be just another Wednesday where half the country is pissed at the other and we'll all move along busy with our trivial problems and wait some more for history to catch up with the present while President-elect McCain is busy shoring up his cabinet. I want to be careful to state that my point shouldn't be seen as an endorsement for vote casting solely on the basis of an idealized model of equality, but as a grander view that merits alone and not skin-deep affiliations be considered when making decisions, including calling Santogold anything but Hip Hop. Otherwise maybe Ms. White is right in her (admittedly jokey) racist jab.

Excuse me for the slight digression.

This is not your father's insular punk scene anymore. Disco cats do not get beat up in 2008. Rock vs. rap battles are not taken seriously outside of the hillbilly mullet set glued exclusively to the classic rock stations that for 15+ years have been releasing the "Led" while never straying from the same Pink Floyd cuts. This is, after all, the shuffle generation. One of the few times* I can wholly agree with the zeitgeist framers and their never ending quest to slap digestible labels on cultural movements. (*Mostly due to my contrarian nature, devil's advocate tenure, etc.)

Whether conscious of it or not, Santogold's music has been an inescapable intrusion to anyone with a television, an almost omnipresent soundtrack to commercials hawking products as divergent as Fords and lime flavored Bud Light - wares all scored with Santogold samples. Santogold is the perfect case study for the modern dichotomy of an artist escaping the awareness of most, even while she's constantly, albeit anonymously, around. And that is sort of the problem. Assumptions of generous paydays aside, something doesn't quite add up in terms of long term career payout for an artist seemingly on her way. Even in the age of TiVo, DVRs, and free-willed robot vacuums, television advertising is not as avoidable as we might be inclined to believe.

[Santogold's "Creator" for Bud Light]

Much has been written about musicians' (relatively) new reliance on commercial avenues for supporting their livelihood than I care to explore in this space. Purist naysayers ignorant to the financial implications of being a full-time musician will never go away, but pimping the meal ticket for, um, meals is a necessity for many in the uncertain climate of the music biz. (I use the term “uncertain” lightly, since by all measurable accounts the more apropos word is cataclysmic. Insert bail out joke here.) It was always an unreasonable standard anyway. See also: allegedly moneyed rockers not earning their stripes through the decrepit venue circuit (Strokes, Vampire Weekend, etc.) vs. allegedly rising from the skimmed pond-scum to success (Nirvana, every blues musician ever).

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You probably clicked on this to read about Santogold in Denver and not a lecture...

Santogold kicked off her set shortly after 11pm. Not a minute too soon from the sounds of the increasingly escalating groans that followed each song spun from the soundboard DJ. The rabid crowd politely stood through Mates of State but was ready to burst for their hero. My personal take on power pop acts is that they don't always translate well live. Things can quickly get repetitive with such a narrow dynamic range. This is exacerbated with bands that present an unbalanced load of unfamiliar songs compared to the ones you know. However, this is also a knock with bands that I love like the New Pornographers, so I guess that last point is effectively negated. It's not to say they put on a bad show, not at all, just that I may run in the direction of a more engaging act when provided a choice.

Santogold stepped onto an almost bare stage but for a turntable rig, a chair holding pink tambourines and three microphone stands placed near the stage's edge. Santi was all smiles as she led off with "You'll Find a Way" from her self-titled debut. Flanked by a pair of monochromed dancers sporting dark sunglasses, the arresting visual brought to mind the militaristic onstage personas of Public Enemy. It wasn't all seriousness though, as her infectious grin was a constant and genuine display of fan affection that would be repeatedly expressed in verbal forms throughout the night.

Everything started off smoothly before suffering through a rough patch of sound issues during the middle part of the show. From my standpoint it sounded like the Gothic transformed into the inside a Jamaican hotel lobby made of tin, marring the crispness I craved in favor of too much muddled dub tones. Problems either peaked or settled into themselves during the Diplo reworked Clash cover, "Guns of Brooklyn". Renamed from the original "Guns of Brixton".

Santogold - "Guns of Brooklyn"

Later in the show between set closers "Starstruck" and "Creator", she invited people up on the stage for a dance competition that quickly devolved into a demonstration of 'who has the balls to dance the craziest'. It was as if to purposefully add to the list of ways people can link her to M.I.A. Remember this?