King Can

On Saturday, I was at the Velvet Underground for 2 singers performing for the first time in Canada. First up was rapper/singer Raja Kumari from California. This Indian-American had no tour mates, only backing tracks. But she filled up the stage with her swagger. It was fun to listen to pop and rap songs with South Asian influence. In addition to various hip-hop style posing and movements, she judiciously show-cased some Indian-style dancing and gestures. It was a short but great set.

Headliner MNEK came from the U.K. to an adoring crowd. I decided to leave the packed front of the stage so that there'd be more room for dancing. Sure enough, MNEK and his four dancers played a set full of up-tempo dance music with plenty of sing-along chorus and thumping beats. For both artists, I noticed that the crowd was much more diverse in ethnicity and sexual orientation than the usual show. Once again, it's amazing how much representation matters on stage.