02.16.13

Paris-based poet/rapper/actor Saul Williams returned to New York to attend the premiere of his film Tey (Aujourd’hui) and a Q & A alongside director Alain Gomis and co-star Anisia Uzeyman. Set and filmed in Senegal, the movie portrays the last day in the life of Satché, “as he walks through the streets of Senegal, taking in the sites of his past as if he were looking at them for the last time: his parents’ house, his first love, the friends of his youth, and his wife and children.”

The film screening was followed by an hour of profound poetry from Williams at BAMcafé, just blocks away from his old stomping grounds at Brooklyn Moon. He spoke of a late 90’s encounter at the aforementioned café, once a haven for up-and-coming poets, with his friend Mos Def, who had just penned “New World Water” and wanted to share it. Williams shared “Ohm” on the same night.

“I am no earthling / I drink moonshine on Mars / And mistake meteors for stars / ‘Cause I can’t hold my liquor,” Williams spoke on “Ohm.”

Saul Williams’ lengthy manifesto “Said the Shotgun to the Head,” which he wrote over the course of four years, was shared with an appreciative capacity audience which included the poet’s mom and sisters. A journal entry followed on the war between thoughts and beliefs. The enigmatic Williams later rapped “Black Stacey” and “DNA” acapella before closing out his brilliant set with the anthemic “Coded Language.”

03.09.12

“Patience” was a fitting show starter for Saul Williams after the lengthy opening set tedium from CX Kidtronik, which amounted to little more than iTunes on shuffle with sporadic laser sound effects. All was quickly forgiven when Saul and his touring four-piece began playing magisterial, uplifting tunes such as “Look to the Sun” from his latest outingVolcanic Sunlight, recorded in his new home of Paris.

The peaks and valleys of the Renaud Létang-produced record came to life on a backbone of stellar horns from Julien Chirol and the progressive drumming of Pegasus Warning (yep, that’s his name). All three songs that were featured in The Stone Bench mini-doc, which Saul filmed in the real, non-touristy sector of the Catacombs, thankfully graced the evening’s set list. The audience this go around was far more receptive than their Parisian counterparts.

The robotic hiss of “DNA” was an interesting selection, as Saul swapped altered mics throughout his verses, bouncing back and forth between melodic and metallic flows. Permitting this audible intricacy were the acoustics of the sold-out Soda Bar, which sounded remarkably solid for a change. The venue was an odd choice for Saul in the context of his ability to easily fill a larger building, but it made for an intimate evening of thought-provoking lyricism and crowded, sweaty dancing.

Saul Williams seems tuned in to a higher frequency that most of us will not grasp in this lifetime. Picking up on fragments of it and connecting through them, however, feels goddamn good in a sea of dive bar strangers.