Saul Williams as Niggy Tardust @ S.O.B.’s
Abby Gordon
July 17, 2008
Saul Williams couldn’t make it to last night's S.O.B.'s, so he sent Niggy Tardust in his place. Saul’s inventive and controversial character, the basis of his new album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, took the stage clad in sparkly war paint and feathers in front of a large painted backdrop. While the band all wore feathers as well, they maintained distinct personae, with touches like Willy Wonka shades and indescribably sculptured hair. “All I tell the band members," says Saul "is, ‘you know that thing you’ve always wanted to do? Go there.’ We’re on a stage, which is an elevated platform above the audience. They don’t need you to be onstage acting like you fit in with the audience.” And as far as his own costume, he explains, "Before I go onstage I’m looking in the mirror trying to not recognize myself. So I keep adding until I don’t see Saul. And when I no longer see Saul I know Niggy’s present.”
Niggy was undoubtedly present at S.O.B.’s, recreating Bjork’s “Declare Independence” and U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” in a fashion that both paid homage to the originals and turned them into whole new pieces of art. The audience seemed to especially appreciate “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Black Stacy,” and “Convict Colony,” but what about the man behind the masquerade? “Right now, my favorite song to perform is “Tr(n)igger.” When I perform, I’m there not because of the audience, but because of the monitors on the stage. On stage, to hear that song blasting—it’s like I’m in my shower or my bedroom dancing like, fuck yeah!” When the self-described “serious, social commentary poet” invokes the “hybrid” character who defies race, people are moved. The audience was able to dance, shout, and get involved with the political performance, and they still embraced Williams like a brother and a friend when he left his platform to climb into the audience. Niggy Tardust may be a fictional alter ego, but Williams himself is a perfect modern example of the real life raceless hybrid he envisions.
[Editor’s note: Watch for an enlightening interview with both Saul and Niggy next week.]
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