TORONTO, Ont. (andPOP) - If it had been any other concert, I would have been upset returning to my car at 1 a.m., dragging my stiff legs, to see the usually dreaded yellow paper sticking out of my right windshield wiper.
But I had just spent the previous two hours (and two hours before that waiting) with a sold-out Opera House crowd, watching and singing along to Toronto's finest MC, Kevin Brereton, better known as k-os.
One of the openers, Shawn Hewitt, promised the crowd that they "had no idea" what they were in for. That was an understatement.
k-os was nothing short of brilliant in a concert that could not have been better.
The Whitby, Ont., native delivered an energized set, backed by b-boy dancers when necessary, and a full band, something he hadn't previously used on tour.
He performed Rise Like the Sun, his single from 1996 that many argue is the reason he got his record deal; tracks from his first album Exit; and most from his latest smash album, Joyful Rebellion.
Wearing a white hooded sweatshirt (with the hood on for most of the night) and sunglasses, he walked on stage shortly after 11 p.m., performing a mellowed-down version of B-Boy Stance. He ended about two hours later with the same song, more hyper, before returning for a two-song encore.
In between, he rocked out on the piano to Hit the Road Jack before breaking out into his current and biggest hit, Crabbuckit. Something you wouldn't expect from a hip-hop star, yet didn't seem odd coming from k-os, was his rendition of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2). It was moments like those when k-os took advantage of the opportunity to exemplify what he has been preaching for the past few months in interviews while promoting Joyful Rebellion. He had said his music has no label, and has blasted the term "urban" for limiting the advancement of "black music."
But he proved his point, not by talking while on stage, which he did very little of, but by performing his music in a different way than how he recorded it on his album, yet a way he felt just as comfortable. The Roots are a live band that uses instruments to make hip-hop music with rock elements. k-os used a band to make music; call it rock, hip-hop, it doesn't matter.
On one song, k-os was joined by surprise guest Nelly Furtado, whom he had opened for two years ago. Furtado is capable of stealing a show, especially from an artist who has yet to receive the worldwide fame that she has, but on this night, and I'd presume on all dates on his tour, nobody could steal the spotlight from k-os.
Opening for k-os was rock n' soul artist and former Local Rabbits member Pete Elkas, and Hewitt.
Hewitt had a far greater stage presence than when he performed during Canadian Music Week a few months ago. He captivated the audience in his 20-minute set, performing coherently and confidently, and with the same soul that one expects from an artist like k-os.
5*
