Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Nikki DeMartini //
Sage Francis with Jel //
Mezzanine – San Francisco
January 30th, 2015 //
It was a few minutes before midnight when Sage Francis took the stage following a couple different guest DJ sets Friday night at Mezzanine. Scheduled openers The Metermaids from Brooklyn had to cancel due to a blizzard on the East Coast.
It’s been less than a year since Francis’ last show in SF, and the innovative rapper from Rhode Island gave fans a performance unmatched to any other solo hip-hop artist, bursting with his unique sound, style and grace.
He hit the stage wrapped in a Strange Famous flag (as a tribute to his record label) with nothing more than a microphone and a laptop laden with original instrumental beats to carry him through the set.
While a majority of Francis’ setlist weighed heavily on tracks from his older albums than more recent releases like last year’s Copper Gone, he wholeheartedly spit his brutally-honest lyrics with a certain attention-grabbing swagger and spoken-word flare. The captivated crowd felt compelled to dance as they cheered him on throughout his lively and humbly-engaging performance.
Francis has a few more shows lined up in March on the East Coast before he returns to California in late May for a night at Corona’s M15 Concert Bar & Grill. Hopefully it’s not another four years before we hear new music from one of SF’s favorite, off-beat rappers so we can jump back on the Sage train soon.
nice shots & write up!!