Santigold Openly Questioned Consumerism At The House of Blues In Dallas Last Night.

The $12 soap for sale at the merch table out in the hallway of the House of Blues has a bright “99¢” logo on it — the same mark and title of Santigold's latest album.

It feels a bit like we're being punked as consumers.

Inside, the venue itself is starting to fill up on the ground floor when, suddenly, a booming bass fills the venue. Wearing a colorful ski mask, Brooklyn artist Leikeli47 opens the night with uptempo dance beats and energetic rhymes. And, despite being hidden behind the mask, you can tell: She smiles more often than not. In turn, her crowd gets hyped up sufficiently for when, after a handful of tracks, the curtains are drawn and the stage is prepared for Santigold.


Here's where the night starts to feel like everyone in the audience is part of a social experiment. When Santigold takes the stage, her backdrop is a large projection screen displaying miscellaneous, well… bullshit, mostly. There are images of cell phones, fast food items, rabbits, kittens, grocery store aisles, things on sale for 99¢.

Santigold's back-up dancers, all dressed in the same get-up as one another, start their part by drinking Gatorade through straws and eating Cheetos while relaxing in inflatable plastic seats. Santigold, standing apart, is wearing a yellow dress that says “WE BUY GOLD,” which seems a bit meta, considering everyone in attendance purchased a ticket to see her in concert.


It's well-done performance art. But it leaves one wondering: “Do I buy the $12 soap?”

Maybe taking into account that Santigold has long said that her favorite band is Devo, a pop group known for their stage shows and satrical social commentary, provides the answer to that question.

She is Santigold.






8785_2

8785_3

8785_4

8785_5

8785_6

8785_7

8785_8

8785_9

8785_10

8785_11

8785_12

8785_13

8785_14

8785_15

8785_16

8785_17

8785_18

8785_19

8785_20

8785_21

8785_22

8785_23

8785_24

8785_25

8785_26

8785_27

8785_28

8785_29

8785_30

8785_31

8785_32

8785_33

8785_34

8785_35

8785_36

8785_37

8785_38

8785_39

8785_40

8785_41

8785_42

8785_43

8785_44

8785_45

8785_46

8785_47

8785_48

8785_49

8785_50

No more articles