Review By Gini Strobel, Fan photos courtesy of Jenny Williams
My friend Jenny called me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I wanted to checkout the Die Antwoord show at Center Stage. While I was only vaguely familiar with the South African Hip Hop duo, it took one viewing of their YouTube video, Baby’s on Fire, and I was hooked on their weirdness! They’re straight up vulgar, obnoxious, grotesque even, but they’ve got some catchy-ass songs and beats. It’s like the Slipknot of Hip Hop. I was also curious about what kind of crowd Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er (of Die Antwoord) would bring to Center Stage’s sold out show.
The energy was high and the crowd was full of diverse personalities: frat boys, glittered princesses, goth rockers, and Village People costumes! Everyone was dancing, spilling drinks, and it was an entertaining sight. I wanted to know more about Die Antwoord’s fans so I chatted up the Polar Bear and Panda next to me (cute twenty-something girls in crazy bear hats). Alex and her friends traveled from Sarasota, FL just to catch DA!
Die Antwoord’s DJ hit the stage with a disturbing mask on, reminiscent of a Walking Dead zombie. Ninja and Yolandi entered with matching orange sweatsuits, but it wasn’t too long until Ninja was shirtless and Yolandi was in tiny boy shorts, revealing her ripped body. This lady does not eat cheeseburgers!
But let’s get to the music, I still can’t get over Yolandi’s voice! It was so high-pitched and so fast. Ninja on the other hand, used every opportunity to say the word F*ck and grab himself. He even surprised us with some crowd surfing. I don’t think these guys ever broke a sweat. They were like non-stop hamsters on a wheel. Crowd favorites easily included Baby’s on Fire, I Fink U Freaky, Fatty Boom Boom, and of course they closed with their most popular hit Enter the Ninja.
While you probably won’t find me listening to their album Ten$ion on repeat, I would definitely go to one of their shows again. If anything, it was a really fun dance party and Center Stage does a great job pulling in some awesome breakout artists.
Check out a few fan photos that Jenny Williams shared!
