Red Bull Sound Select returned to the Twin Cities at it’s biggest venue yet with a Saturday show at the Skyway Theatre headlined by Kelis (she of “Milkshake” fame). This one was curated by Greenroom Magazine and Flip Phone. One of RBSS’s features is an affordable ticket price, and the Skyway had a good crowd on hand when opener Sophia Eris took to the stage for a DJ set. That set was spiced up with a few drag performances ranging from actual dance moves to one pretty much walking from one end of the stage to the other waving their arms.
A couple of songs by Flip Phone’s Genevee Ramona and Sasha R Cassedine followed with a performance by RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Milk Queen that started in a DigiCam tent that revealed a muscle suit making for a bizarre transition to say the least..
Up next was Leikeli47 who started her career in 2010 wearing a ski mask leaving her identity a mystery for several years. She released her latest album “Wash & Set” earlier this year. Leikeli47 her dancers and a DJ hit the stage like a good MN blizzard and had the energy level in the room up several levels in seconds. What had been a few dancers turned into pretty much everyone in the Skyway dancing their butts off including a few shirtless dudes braving the chilly venue.
Kelis crossed over into mainstream culture with her hit “Milkshake” so much so that Minneapolis’ MilkJam Creamery created a luxe milk shake in her honor this week, a 24 Karrot affair with honeycomb declaring it definitely “better than yours” I have to confess, I had not paid much attention to her work recently so I was curious to catch up.
After a short delay Kellis took to the stage in what I promptly declared the busiest stage outfit of 2017 and it fit her character and performance perfectly. She blends her hip-hop with healthy doses of soul and the occasional dance hall vibe. Seeing Kelis perform live was a treat, and I found LeiKeli47 (complete with mask) had worked her way to the front row to enjoy Kelis’ set.
My favorite of her set? I have to go old school and got with “Trick Me”. Overall another great installment in the Red Bull Sound Select series – I for one am curious what they will come up with for the next show.
