M.I.A. - Brixton | livemusic.fm

For all her multi-tasking impressiveness, Anglo-Tamil singer/rapper/producer MIA can be hard work. Since the release of her third album, Maya, she's maintained her reputation as one of the most politically-engaged and polarising artists by wearing a niqab to an awards event and claiming Google is funded by the CIA. But admiring her from afar is different from seeing her stamping around the stage of Brixton Academy. "Like a Taliban trucker, eating boiled-up yucca, I keep my eyes down like I'm in a black burqa!" she barked, straining to be heard over a spectacularly ugly, churning beat.

Much of this gig, the first of a short British tour, was akin to being shouted at by a headmistress in sunglasses and a glittering silver jacket. While the head-mashing techno/grime soundbed and the minimal setup – keyboards, drums, stunning lights and projections – mimicked the experience of being in a club at 4am, MIA's haranguing delivery was straight out of the classroom. At times, shouting and gesticulating, she seemed a peripheral figure at her own gig – an odd position for someone motivated by the need to have her views heard.

The core of the show was the relentless electronic pulse and the stream of visuals, which included images pertaining to her lyrics: on World Town, we saw news footage of explosions; for Teqkilla, we had shots of comatose women. During Boyz, the stage was invaded, in a suspiciously orderly manner, by a dozen fans, who surrounded MIA as they did the timeless hands-in-air rave dance.

The set list took in all three albums; notably, the best moments were provided by the first two. Galang's "ya-ya-yay" chant was darkly compelling, and Paper Planes made a massive encore: people drifted on to the street with the memory of a hypnotic bassline, the sound of gunshots, a till being rung and the chorus: "All I want to do ... is take your money."

Caroline Sulllivan 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/nov/11/mia-brixton-academy-review