Die Antwoord

Wifey and I haven't been to a concert in many years. Loud music, crazy people, and increased probability of experiencing second-hand pot highs have ceased their, you know, appeal quite some time ago. So we haven't been in a particular rush to get back to regular concert-going. "Regular" being used very loosely here .. *cough* :)

But, as it turns out, a local group from South Africa is presently touring about, and these folks are, well, different. They're known as "Die Antwoord" and they describe themselves as a rap-rave group. Think on that for a second. They've combined rap with high-energy rave. Which somehow works! I've been listening to them on and off over the past year and every time I do I get sucked into 'em a bit more. Besides, they're South African, which makes them awesome no matter how you slice it! ;)

I caught wind that they're touring and would be in LA in February, so I picked us up some tickets to see them at the Nokia Theatre at LA Live. Could not.. nay, would not.. miss them for anything! So with tickets in hand we excitedly waited for the concert-day to arrive! Well, I did at least. Wifey was humoring me, but was happy to share the experience with me nonetheless. That's love right there!

So the day finally arrived and we experienced the full force of Die Antwoord and this "zef" style they are touting. And what an experience it was. Die Antwoord did a fantastic job of keeping the crowd's energy alive and pumping the entire time. Great songs and show altogether! But what really sold the experience were the people. See, when you combine rap and rave you also tend to combine the, uhm, (un)usual audiences that accompany both genres. So there was a great mix of punks, rockers, ravers, and hiphop junkies all milling about. Even the occasional hipster, complaining about being into Die Antwoord before they were cool, were to be found. Uhm, not really, but I like saying that anyway! In one moment we'd see a girl in all black with spikey things all over, and the next we'd see a guy in a huge neon-orange tele-tubby outfit. It was awesome! We'd completely forgotten how interesting people at these events are! Everyone was totally cool though, no shenanigans. Which is good and bad depending on how old you are. I guess we're old now, so good for us ;)

All in all Die Antwoord was a damn blast. I wish they'd make their rounds out here a bit more often, they put on a great show and their songs are exactly what it their style says: rap-rave. Rapid-fire rap lyrics matched to high-energy rave. Great stuff. Also, I have no reservation to giving them my moneys -- they're South Africans w/ talent that definitely deserve every penny it =)

Oh, one other thing, Nokia Live pours a strong drink. Sheesh.

-Hubby