Young Fathers Put On An Inspiring Show At The Music Hall

It isn’t everyday that a show grabs you by the neck and forces you to stand up straighter and pay attention, but Friday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg was just that kind of show. Wandering through the doors of the venue after a long and exhausting workweek with the promise of something spectacular in store from Edinburgh trio Young Fathers renewed my sprits and set my curious mind ablaze.

Before the main event, I was treated to two opening acts, Glass Gang and Mas Ysa. The former played music that I can only describe as hazy electronic trip hop mixed with atmospheric dream pop. My spot near the stage was dangerously close to the guitarist of the band, who was absolutely shredding at points during the night. My only regret is that I wished I could hear more of the actual lyrics, which seemed to be drowned out by bass or guitar.

Glass Gang

Shortly after their set ended, stagehands set up a makeshift fortress of equipment center stage for Mas Ysa’s performance. From the table that loomed directly in front of me packed with gadgets, I assumed that he would simply DJ for the entire hour. Boy, was I WRONG! As Thomas Arsenault took the stage, quickly ridding himself of his shoes, taking a long swallow of wine straight from the bottle, and launching directly into his set, I was equal parts surprised and intrigued. I couldn’t understand, nor see, if he was creating the beats in real time but they were lush, layered, and profoundly interesting. Then he whipped a mic out and started to scream-sing the most melancholy lyrics I’ve heard about love in quite some time, all while simultaneously dancing around in jubilation. A short time later, his socks were also discarded. This man was absolutely odd, but I found myself loving his set after all was said and done. His set was equivalent to the scene in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when Cameron kicks his father’s car and it hurtles through a window and crashes into the woods. Oddly satisfying, but still… holy shit.

Mas Ysa

What better way to transition from a barefoot, dancing man singing about love to a politically charged napalm bomb performance of Young Fathers. By this time, the sold-out crowd was bursting at the seams for the main event, and they certainly did not disappoint. Before the show, I had only listened to their new album a few times. I didn’t want to watch any YouTube videos because I wanted to experience the show first hand. I wasn’t prepared for what I experienced.

First of all, I had no idea where to focus. They were all over that stage, in a good way of course. We were all along for a ride that we couldn’t stop before it was time. Alloysious Massaquoi seemed to be the anchor of the group, holding down the majority of the singing and also, hammered out some pivotal drum parts during the night. G Hastings, who seemed to be the wild-card of the group, rapped, sang, ad-libbed & added electronic flourishes. His performance wasn’t overly energetic or particularly stoic, it was just right. At the other end of the spectrum, however, definitely the wild man of the group, Kayus Bankole was the hype man of the group. Of course he participated in the singing, rapping and ad-libbing, but he also brought tons of charisma and stage presence. There were several times where he’d come to the very tip of the stage, I almost thought he would dive right off of it, and of course, he was the one to end up partially undressed near the end of the night.

Young Fathers

I say all of this to say Young Fathers absolutely blew my mind, and that’s nothing I say lightly. They were so dynamic onstage I saw several folks that were acting too cool for school finally give in and move around a bit. I thought one young lady in the front row would start crying out of sheer joy. The energy that they projected onto us was all encompassing. I found myself not worrying about much while this was going on. I forgot my earplugs – “so what.” My photos might not be technically perfect – “meh, who cares?!” I was consumed by the music and it felt fantastic.

Young Fathers

This band, and this new album White Men Are Black Men Too are wholly important and incredibly timely. With everything that has been going on in the media lately, I saw this performance as two things – a wakeup and a release of sorts. As the show ended, people milled around looking stunned. Perhaps because they didn’t return for the typical encore, but mostly because we just got worked over. I’m not sure how I went so long without hearing of Young Fathers but this certainly won’t be my last run in with these men.