Afro-Punk Drives To Detroit - 10.26.09

The Afro-punk tour bus left Minneapolis after a great show and headed 10 hours east on the map to Detroit. Performing in the city known for housing Motown Records, the guys knew they had to bring a stellar performance to the crowd in Detroit. When we pulled up to the Magic Stick, Saul and the crew headed inside the venue ready to get to business. Here is a picture of Saul Williams on left loading out of the bus and heading to the venue. On the right is CX and Davin packing up their equipment for the show.

We arrived to Detroit around two o'clock, giving Saul and Afro-punk production a chance to catch up on the previous performances, goof off about tour bus living conditions, and to grab a bite to eat at The Garden Bowl, a home-styled restaurant located at the bottom of the venue. Here is a picture of Tchaka Diallo from Krak Attack at the dinner table, explaining a tour bus bathroom situation he had earlier in the week.

And here is CX's reaction to Tchaka Diallo's story.

After the quick dinner, the Afro-punk crew met up with Detroit's addition to the tour line-up, Amp Fiddler. Based out of Detroit, Amp Fiddler's sound is known for being funk, electronica, soul, and dance. Amp's done previous projects with Jamiroquai, Prince, Corrine Bailey Rae, and Maxwell-- along with being an accomplished singer, songwriter, key boardist, and record producer. This brother is dope. Here is Amp Fiddler on the left with Tchaka Diallo from Krak Attack on the right at The Magic Stick.

There was something electric about the crowd in Detroit, as if everyone in the venue was pumped to have a blast with the Afro-punk show. One Afro-punker in Detroit, Amas Muhammad, said that he has been trying for years to get to the Afro-punk festival in Brooklyn but never had the funds. Wearing a pair of pink hollow-framed glasses along with a huge smile, Amas said that he flipped out when he found out Afro-punk was coming to his city. "All I was using to connect to the Afro-punk community was online. It's good to see real faces and musicians in my home town," he said.

Following the Afro-punk fan fare, American Fangs got on the stage at The Magic Stick and started off the show. Even though they've only been playing together for a year, the musicians in American Fangs have been linking up with a new audience with each passing show. "It's been cool getting to perform in front of so many different places and faces with Afro-punk," Kenyon, lead guitarists of American Fangs said. "By the end of each set, it's apparent that we make new fans," he said.

The crowd began to warm up and dance when Amp Fiddler started his performance-- as he played the electric keyboard accompanied with a live congo drummer.

CX and Tchaka Diallo from Krak Attack pumped up the already crazy energy in the crowd. During their last song, Tchaka climbed up on the speakers and swung his body over the crowd, hanging onto the ceiling pipes with his bare hands.

Needless to say, the crowd went nuts when Saul Williams came out on the stage as Niggy Tardust and grabbed the mic, putting his full emotion into every note.

We made a lot of new friends in Detroit and we hope to see them at next summer's Afro-punk festival! Thank you guys so much for showing the Afro-punk crew so much passion. Next stop- CHICAGO!

-Whitney Summer Boyd