Close to the Edge: Near Death on the Orange Line
Sports Redux: C's Shot Down
Max Goes to Longwood: Wild Things on the Subway
Saturday Happenings
Sunday Happenings
Let Bostonist assure you that no one can ever accuse The Streets of being a bad host. Last night The Streets played at the Avalon with Lady Sovereign opening, but it really felt more like a massive house party and Mike Skinner was the host with the most.
They came out on stage with full force revving up the crowd with songs from the latest album (opening the set with the album opener), with some major revisions as the lyrics were infused with shout outs and throwbacks to Boston boys New Kids on the Block.
Like any good host, Skinner knows never to let a guest’s glass get empty, and true to form he picked up his personal stash of Hennessey and insisted that the staff pass out shots to the crowd while he sang.
No party (or Streets concert) would be complete without a little female drama… After confirming that the (fit) girl in the front row did indeed have a boyfriend (the bloke standing right beside her no less), the Streets proceeded to serenade her with a new version of that exhausting Pussy Cat Doll’s single. Singing to her: “Don’t-cha wish your boyfriend was hot like me?” followed by dirtier and dirtier Don’t cha wish- questions which were, well, let's just call them less than family friendly.
For a hip-hop show, Bostonist was a little surprised at the amount of slower ballads they included in the live set. But they also made sure to sing older hits like “Fit but you know it” and “Let’s push things forward” which sounded great and almost nostalgic.
Along with their crazy antics on stage (which the crowd couldn’t get enough of), and some killer dance moves, the Streets put on a seriously good show. The energy of Mike Skinner and his live crew was high and contagious from start to finish, and by the end they literally took the shirts off their backs for the crowd.
Finally, winning the hearts of every true Bostonian in the room, Skinner announced he hoped “the Red Sox were winning tonight” – as there was a game going on right across the street.
Post contributed by Victoria Daskal
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Um, The Streets is one guy, Mike Skinner, so you should just say "his live set," etc.
But, at any rate, The Streets is awesome. Nice to see what hip hop looks like on the other side of the Atlantic. And it sounds like it was a pretty fun show--I'm sorry I missed it.
Yeah, The Streets is Mike - but he performs live with others on stage. I've made a few changes to dispel the notion that The Streets is a group of people - though I don't think he was all alone on stage.
It's kind hard not to say "they" after you see how much he relies on the other guys throughout the whole show- especially his back up singer- (don't remember his name now) who was the instigator for most of the antics and up front and center with Skinner for every song
Understood--I think the same problem comes up when, for example, Springsteen does a tour without the E Street Band. It's not that there aren't other people performing on stage, but one doesn't refer to them as "Bruce Springsteen" in describing the performance. It's a tough problem, and it's even more awkward for The Streets, since his name seems plural and so no matter how you write it some pedant will take issue with it.
I was "the (fit) girl" he sang to in the audience:-) It was an absolutley amazing show. Most music artists sound better on their recordings. Mike Skinner sounds better live!
I am soooo jealous of the fit girl! I wish he had serenaded me! Same first name and all.