Mayer Hawthorne at Deer Lake Park (Live)[Review]

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Posted Jun 26th, 2012 by @AmaliaJude | 0 Comments

Burnaby, B.C. - Detroit boy Mayer Hawthorne might not be a hip-hop artist, but he’s certainly mastered hip-hop’s roots. He played to thousands of sun-bathed fans at Deer Lake Park as an opener for Foster the People on the first day of their North American tour, and an audience of young girls and their eager-to-impress boyfriends seemed to pick up what the Mayer was putting down.

Mayer Hawthorne

Hawthorne strutted onto stage in a slick red suit, backed by a crew of equally dapper band members on keys, strings and drums. From the get-go it was clear that this self-proclaimed Detroit boy knows his musical forebears and carries the thread of the Mowtown era into the present day consciousness. The introductory “A long time” said it all with “Welcome to the Motor Town/ Boomin like an atom bomb,” before transitioning into “Finally Falling” and “Stick Around.”

By this time we’d seen synchronized dance moves, Hawthorne picking up a guitar and playing effortlessly, and perfect backup harmonies amid the thump of the bass and wildly melodic keys. This was real music, not a throwback or some return to nostalgic tunes – although at times it seemed certain that Bootsy Collins was being channeled. Do-wop and funk with a bit of an eighties twist sped up and slowed down into some sexytime music, complete with oohs, ahhs, and clothing wishing it could melt off of warm bodies. Ahem.

“Shiny and New” certainly did the trick but there was still more to come – a lightness of tone accompanied the falsetto vocal hiIghs, and the new jam “Dreaming” led into a well-received cover of Hall and Oates’ “You make my dreams”. Then and now became irrelevant as good old fashioned talent made itself known…and loved.

Review by Amalia Judith for HipHopCanada.

Photography by Jamie Sands for HipHopCanada

Mayer Hawthorne

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Posted by @AmaliaJude

Amalia Judith was born in Winnipeg, MB and quickly whisked away to a childhood of travel throughout California, England, Germany and predominantly Pakistan. In 2006 she completed an honor's degree in English Literature, which left her quite jobless and alone in East Van. Amalia cut her teeth at abortmag.com, Canada's darkest counter-culture magazine, moving on to contribute words and flicks to HipHopCanada: she's currently the Western Canadian Editor and has had the privilege to interview hip-hop icons like Lil' Kim, Drake, Dead Prez, Big Boi, Pharrell Williams and half of Wu-Tang. Amalia also works as a Key Worker educator and advocate for families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, as well as heading up Team Heartbreak, a media production company that pairs community involvement and artistic movements. She'd love to write you the best bio you've ever had or develop your branding strategy - www.teamheartbreak.com for more info.

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