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Around the middle of February I was browsing Stones Throw Records’ website, an independent Los Angeles hip-hop label, and discovered that an artist I am fond of was coming through Montreal at the end of March. The artist I am referring to is CX Kidtronik, the mastermind behind the album Krak Attack and my long time favourite song, "Big Girl, Skinny Girl." I spoke with CX via Facebook, where he informed me that he was not only opening for Saul Williams on tour, but he was also performing in Williams’ three-piece accompanying band. Saul Williams, a New York actor, musician, writer, and poet, has been active for years, but is most well known for his combination of spoken-word poetry and alternative hip-hop. On March 24, Saul Williams took the stage at Montreal’s La Tulipe for the last stop on his North American tour promoting his newest release, Volcanic Sunlight, out on Columbia Records last May.

Most of those in the audience, if they were asked to recall the performance that night, would begin by describing Williams’ first minute on stage as he took hold of the microphone and authoritatively recalled dozens of influential names of historical figures, musicians, poets and activists, an act that silenced the entire venue. However, as impressed and excited as I was for Williams’ performance, the close to fifteen-minute set that CX Kidtronik performed was the thing that got my blood rushing first. To summarize, CX’s set was composed of several songs (cut short to barely a minute), over which he generously layered laser sounds and his own beats and percussion; the crowning track was an a cappella of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”. Saul Williams and the two other accompanying musicians soon came on stage as CX Kidtronik finished his set off with “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash, which brought the show to Williams’ previously mentioned crowd-silencing opener.

Pounding on his hand-made leather drum, Williams and the accompanying band shook the crowd with their percussion heavy songs and kept them moving for close to two hours. Each of the musicians surrounded themselves with a collection of various instruments, ranging from trombones and cowbells to laptops, samplers and vocoders. The act itself created an idea in my mind that all four musicians were performing independently, as each musician isolated themselves within their array of instruments. The level of individuality paired with the connectivity between them was definitely an interesting aspect of the performance and demonstrated the complexity, creativity, and effort that make up Williams’ music. For the final stop of a lengthy North American tour, Williams certainly showed no sign of slowing down or giving the Montreal audience a “glad to be done with all of this” sort of performance. Of all of the things to say about that night at La Tulipe, the energy that Williams brought with him and unleashed onto the audience stuck out most. Song after song, the crowd grew with energy and danced; Williams would take breaks only to encourage the audience to dance more.

Finishing off the night, Saul Williams took a minute before ending his set to speak to one of the audience members and reappeared with a little red felt square pinned to his chest. Williams commended the student movement’s fight and expressed the importance of fighting for what is right, a declaration of his support that filled the venue with cheering and applause. As Williams finished reciting a poem as his encore, CX re-emerged to send everyone off into the night with “Cantina Band” from Star Wars: A New Hope.

-Mason W hosts Midnight Love Affair on Sunday's from 11pm-12am