K-OS + Lioness @ L'Olympia

By DJ Solespin - Eclectricity - 05/14/2009

Leave it to K-os to come up with the idea of a “pay what you want” concert.  I learned about it days ago and saw him playing video games with an E-Talk correspondent on the eve of the concert.  I was thrilled when I found out I was one of the lucky CJLO staff that would see him at L’Olympia.

The last time I saw K-os perform was during the 2007 Concordia Orientation with Metric as the opening act.  It was a short but sweet show.  I felt that any K-os live, no matter how brief, was worth the time.  At L’Olympia, he had a lot more time and four albums worth of material to explore.  This May 2009 date is in conjunction with his newest album Yes!, but the  audience got tracks as early as “Superstarr, Pt. Zero”  to the current “4,3,2,1”.

The pay what you want concept went beyond a clever promotional tool.  The proceeds went towards the David Suzuki Foundation.  After you placed your donation in the basket, you were given a copy of the “Yes!” remix CD, made up of remixes by aspiring Canadian producers.  Lioness, the opening act, was performing as I arrived to an energetic crowd.

The transition from Lioness to K-os’ set seemed extremely lengthy.  There were soothing reggae sounds of Yellowman and Burning Spear as the crew set up K-os’ equipment, but it felt like an intolerably long time.  I would not be surprised if we waited for thirty minutes for K-os to take the stage.  The crowd started to get impatient until the moment we realized the wait was over.  The crowd had been chanting his name by that point.

Behind K-os and band were two interesting pieces of décor.  One was a sign with the word “Yes!” as one can see on his latest release and the other was a four colored stop light.  Anyone knowledgeable about K-os knows that each of his albums from Exit to Yes! is colored green, yellow, blue and red.  As a song was beginning, the light corresponding to the album cover would shine.  That made me understand how much K-os has accomplished during this past decade.

The hits were performed along with the newer material.  In some cases, he would apply the melodies of famous songs like “Stairway to Heaven” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to his songs and the crowd responses were raucous.  Those re-interpretations definitely put a smile on my face.  Another special treat was when K-os called for Toronto hip hop legend Saukrates to join him on stage for an energetic performance of “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”.  One of the most unforgettable moments of the show was when a crowd member body-surfed his way from the stage to the back of the venue.

I noticed during the set that “Man I Used To Be” had not been performed.  All anxieties were resolved at the encore when he and a dancer returned to the stage.  I realized “Man I Used To Be” is my favorite K-os song because of how happy I was to hear it.  I was not alone with those sentiments. The crowd singing the falsetto parts of the song in unison was probably the definitive moment of the show and of K-os’ impact on Canadian pop culture.

This show was by far a more thrilling concert experience than the last one I experienced from him.  He was charged and in control. At any given moment, he reached for a guitar or drum machine to add to the performance and display his talent.  If anyone asked me if I would want to see K-os live again, the answer is…Yes!

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