MKIT RAIN Closes the ERR;OR Showcase with a Bang

There was a lot of expectation for the ERR;OR Showcase. With the lineup it was easy to believe it was going to be quite a spectacle. Some of the performances were just that: exciting, tantalizing, outrageous. Others… not so much. When it came time for MKIT RAIN to hit the stage, there was a tangible anxiousness in the crowd. As it turned out, the crew was the perfect way to close the evening.

niahn

niahn carries himself much in the same vein of his contemporaries in Colde and even the likes of DEAN when he’s at his most musically contemplative: understated and quiet when at the mic. So when he walks out on stage, it’s no surprise most don’t realize he’s even performing until the next song. He doesn’t introduce himself until then, anyway, and the audience is initially just drifting along in the moment with his soft voice and even softer music. He doesn’t stray too far from the mic stand during his performance.

While many would and could very well be left feeling a bit underwhelmed with his stage presence, I consider it an intimate look at the seemingly reluctant solo artist.

There’s a significant difference between performing on an album, with your friends on stage, and performing by yourself in front of a foreign audience. niahn is a contradiction. A fearlessly open conversationalist who almost appears shy on stage. Those in the audience can see that dichotomy play itself out during his set. All things considered, he does acquit himself well for his first performance on a SXSW stage.

Loopy

From the understandable timidness of niahn we jump to Loopy. Trust me, no one would ever accuse this one of being shy on stage. He’s got all the swagger and cockiness of a rapper bred from the West Coast. A laid-back confidence in himself that translates to an incredibly dynamic stage.

Loopy doesn’t even have to say a word. As soon as he emerges, the audience is beside itself. Certain members scream so loudly it rivals the speaker I’m standing right next to. He has the kind of presence that commands attention. It’s clear his fanbase is dedicated. All they need to hear is the first few notes of each song before they’re already screaming the words back at the stage.

When the music gets really good to him, he sort of stands there in the moment, that cocky grin on his face, and lets everything wash over him. Like the harsh purple lights illuminating the stage, he’s completely drenched in the atmosphere.

His set seems so much longer than the 40 minutes he’s allowed. Yet it also seems to end so quickly. Loopy’s energy is absolutely contagious. He bounds around the stage like a kid on a playground. Smiling in absolute glee with each song. He takes long pauses between lyrics to interact with the audience. There are moments it seems like he’s going to propel himself into the crowd. That’s just how electric his stage is, how thoroughly he’s living in the moment. All this while simply letting the music drive him.

It speaks to his years in the game, as well as his age, that he can conjure up all the fire of his younger peers without needing to actually do all the work to get there. He’s naturally gifted with a bravado that’s not at all put-on. He knows he’s got the audience the moment he steps on stage. He uses that knowledge to twist and bend the crowd to his will.

I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that keeps the audience so utterly entranced. We are the proverbial putty in his hands. He asks of us. We comply. That’s what’s so fantastic about the MKIT RAIN founder. When he has us, he doesn’t let us go.

nafla

If niahn is the appetizer, Loopy the first course, nafla is without a doubt the second, third, and dessert courses. Don’t ever let his diminutive stature fool you. The man is a giant on stage. He comes on in much the same way as those who came before him. Quietly, a small smile on his face. DJ FLOJEE starts the first song. Everything fades into the background. No lights. No somewhat distracting instruments left on stage. There is just nafla, a mic, and his audience.

You can see it in his face when he’s transitioned into performance mode. A certain attitude overtakes him. A shift in his stance. A straightening of his shoulders. He’s ready to attack, and the audience has no choice but accept it.

As with Loopy, his partner in rhyme, nafla owns every inch of that stage. Being a performer requires a certain fearlessness. You have to throw away the notion that people are going to judge you for what you do and just give yourself over to the music. To the moment. nafla does that better and better every time I see him. Granted I’ve only seen him one other time. But even between then and now, he’s become confident in his greatness. Has owned the largeness in his stature, despite what his height suggests.

With each song, nafla’s energy increases. Things reach ridiculous heights when Loopy joins him on stage. The chemistry between the two elevates the performance to something I don’t think either one of them could’ve ever expected. The audience, of course, is all-in, and they use the fact to their advantage, engaging in antics that could appear juvenile in less confident hands. They dance around each other. Pantomime cyphers to their own lyrics. At one point, Loopy pours water on nafla’s head, the dyed-red locks dripping and flailing as nafla aggressively shouts out his lyrics.

MKIT RAIN is Family

Even when niahn joins them, quietly slipping to the back as his two seniors interact with the audience, he adds dimension to the dynamic. His quiet nature balances out the ostentation of Loopy and nafla. His shyness does mean he misses moments to be on the same energetic level as the two. But they embrace him. Try to push him to do more but never make him seem like less than a member of the family.

Thus the MKIT RAIN crew. There’s such a great connectivity among them that even without the full crew, and though niahn is an unofficial member, you feel their collective energy. As they leave the stage, they wave to the audience. It was an evening where the crowd interactions were flawless (at one point Loopy points to a girl next to me as he performs his lyrics).

As they leave, you sense a warmth and earnestness in their good-byes. So affected by the stage show, members of the audience waited outside the tent acting as the Green Room until the owners of Cheer Up Charlie’s informed us they were closing. Without a doubt, MKIT RAIN made the ERR;OR showcase memorable.