I hadn’t planned on blogging much while on vacation. But as a public service announcement, I thought I'd encourage you all to go to tonight's M.I.A. show at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle. Sure, it’s probably sold out at this late hour. But it should be well worth it you can find a reasonable scalper.

I’m posting this from Portland where, last night, I saw the British dance act demolish the Roseland Theatre with her stylish and kinetic blend of electro, dancehall, techno and world music. Maya Arulpragasam – aka M.I.A. – was joined by DJ Low Budget and really ripped hype woman who carried a lot of the load. (Still tracking down her name, which is surprisingly hard to find.) And after a revolutionary intro video (see still below) the trio kicked off with “Bamboo Banger,” the lead track from M.I.A.'s new "Kala" album and one of the dopest dance tracks of ’07 for my money.

Arulpragasam came off as a bit aloof in the beginning, striking a pose here and there in her over-sized stunna shades. But throbbing beats kept the crowd bouncing, and her energy level soon picked up. The show peaked with a three-song block that included "Bucky Done Gun," "Bird Flu" and "Paper Planes." For "Bucky,” Arulpragasam scaled her tallest amp and made a scary looking leap into the balcony where she worked the fans up there into a fist pumping frenzy. Before "Flu" she called out, “Where are my leaders at?” before pulling a few dozen bouncing, gyrating kids onstage to help out with that song's cawing. And she demanded prompted fans to hold up their cell phones to begin "Paper Plans," my favorite track from this year's "Kala" album (and the closest M.I.A. gets to gangsta rap.)

DJ Low Budget spiced up the set with snippets of classic dance tracks, including Schoolly D's "PSK" and New Order's "Blue Monday." And an encore remix of "URAQT" featured a fun "Sanford & Son" sample, which almost seemed like cheating. I mean, how can you not have a good time when you're listing to the theme from "Sanford & Son?" Really.