After opener Amanda Blank finished her set at the Hollywood Palladium, there was a wait for Santigold to come on stage. At 9 pm, the reported starting time, the stage was ready with drums, keyboard and a few elements of set design, but still no Santigold. The crowd patiently stood in wait for the headliner, swaying to the music blasting on the speakers. About 20 minutes later, the lights went down all throughout the circular venue and Santigold came on the stage along with her bandmates and dancers, who wore cheerleading outfits with a large S on the front of them. She wore a flashy gold jacket, but it was her loud and magnificent voice as she sang, “You’ll Find a Way” that caught everyone’s attention. Much to the pleasure of her entire fan base, she followed with “L.E.S. Artistes,” after which she excitedly talked to the crowd about how it’d been 2 years since she last played in Los Angeles and about her celebration of the 10th anniversary of Santogold.
After “Say Aha,” she proudly exclaimed that since her last show in Los Angeles, she’d moved here and had two children. Projected behind the band on stage were various images and videos of psychedelic designs, in front of which she danced in sync with her dancers to “Unstoppable” and “Starstruck.” She takes a moment after this to thank a special audience member, who produced Santogold with her, John Jill. She followed with “Lights Out.” After performing “I’m A Lady,” she presumably references the recent laws passed in various states regarding abortion rights, saying, “Not trying to be political but…ladies stand up!”
She performed two more tracks from Santogold, “My Superman” and “Shove it,” after which she asked who in the audience wants to come on stage, and ends up with a full stage of people dancing with her as she sang, “Creator.” She reasonably insisted that they don’t just come on stage to record but to enjoy themselves. The stage was emptied while she took a break and a Major Lazer mix played. She returned to stage with an outfit change to the tune of “Go!” followed by “Chasing Shadows” and “Coo Coo Coo.” She followed that with “Run That Road,” which she called her touring anthem. After the obligatory thanking of her dancers, she moved onto “Can’t Get Enough of Myself,” “Disparate Youth” and finished off with “Big Mouth.”
Of course, Santigold always delivers on the encore. Though it consisted of only covers, the audience happily sang and danced along to “Hold the Line” (yet another Major Lazer track), “We Want Some Pussy” by The 2 Live Crew and “B.O.O.T.A.Y.” by Spank Rock.
Setlist:
You’ll Find a Way
L.E.S. Artistes
Say Aha
Unstoppable
Starstruck
Lights Out
I’m a Lady
My Superman
Shove It
Creator
GO!
Chasing Shadows
Coo Coo Coo
Run the Road
Can’t Get Enough of Myself
Disparate Youth
Big Mouth
Encore:
Hold the Line (Major Lazer cover)
We Want Some Pussy (The 2 Live Crew cover)
B.O.O.T.A.Y (Spank Rock cover)
Photo by Marv Watson
Leave a Comment