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An Epiphany on the Dance Floor

This past Friday, I decided to head down to Muzik in Toronto to see the TIFF kickoff party to the movie Breakaway.

With so many artists lined up to perform, and rumours of an appearance by Drake, it was something I wanted to see firsthand. I had to admit, this was the first time a show had garnered so much attention. Marketing was on point, as virtually everyone in the city knew about this gig, which is a feat in itself, as so many shows here fail merely due to a lack of any solid promotion outside of facebook.

I usually always head into these kinds of things with lowered expectations. As we all know, Toronto hasn’t fared well when it comes to big Bhangra bashes (just ask Panjabi Hit Squad, Tigerstyle, Malkit Singh, Juggy D, Jassi Sidhu, Rishi Rich, Sukshinder Shinda, Stereo Nation, Zeus, and many more.)

Slated to perform were RDB, Josh, H Dhami, Veronica, Jassi Sidhu and Bohemia. Appearances were also to be made by the cast of the movie, Russell Peters, as well as Ludacris and Akshay Kumar. In between all of that, DJ Kamran, Baba Kahn, Starting From Scratch, and DJ KSR would be spinning the wheels of steel. With tickets starting at $40, and a venue large enough to hold 3,000 people, this show was going to be big.

And so it begins.

I’ll spare you the elongated play-by-play, as it really was quite an uneventful night considering the billing.

Each performer “performed” (I can also write “sang” if you catch my drift) two songs maximum from the Breakaway soundtrack.
Ludacris was nowhere to be seen (he was in VIP) and the same can be said of Akshay Kumar (who also happened to be celebrating his birthday that night)

Interestingly enough, Akshay Kumar was present and visible on stage during the free event thrown at Chinguacousy Park this past Sunday, alongside the very same performers.

So while I was dancing away to the music provided by the various Deejays that night (which was probably the only saving grace to the entire evening) I came to the following realisation.

Artists mimed their way through their songs like puppets, but at the end of the day, we the people, who pay good money to see them, are the puppets, as we jump at the opportunity to watch them live with any chance we get.

Could it just be the Artists twisted way of getting back at us? We download their songs for free. They get paid for attending. We pay to see them perform. We still end up listening to the same CD we downloaded for free, but now in person.

And the beat goes on.