!! OMG, photos: M.I.A. live in Toronto !!

We know M.I.A. has the ability to send the media into a Twitter tizzy, but can she still ignite a fan frenzy? During a concert at Toronto’s Sound Academy last night the defiant pop star delivered on the latter with an energetic, 90-minute set spanning her three albums.
Backed by three niqab-clad back-up singers, two b-boys, one hype girl and a DJ — all draped in matching, YouTube-print pajamas — M.I.A. hit the crowd with a wall of industrial-strength beats in the form of “Illygirl”, “Worldtown” and “Steppin’ Up”, three songs indicative of the brash noise of her third album /\/\/\Y/\. Of course she also played the hits, including the first-ever live rendition of recent single “XXXO”. She saved “Paper Planes” and “Boyz” for the encore and invited all the girls on stage to dance along to the finale “10 Dollar”.
Controversy was in short supply, though M.I.A. does like to keep her audience on its toes. She shrugged off her poor record sales of late by telling the crowd, “I don’t give a f*ck if nobody buys my shit! That shit should be free!” Later, she told a fan that groped at her wedding ring to keep away from “my retirement fund”. All the while James, the best-dressed concert photographer in Toronto, battled the corporate media schlubs in the photo pit. Check out the pictures and the rest of M.I.A.’s fall tour dates after the jump!

M.I.A.’s 2010 fall tour dates:
Sept 25 – Washington, DC @ Virgin Festival
Sept 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Sept 27 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Sept 29 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Setp 30 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Oct 3 – Ithaca, NY @ Cornell University
Oct 4 – Boston, MA @ Royale Nightclub
Oct 5 – Boston, MA @ Royale Nightclub
Oct 9 – Austin, TX @ Zilker Park (Austin City Limits)
Oct 12 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
Oct 14 – Los Angeles @ Mayan Theater
Oct 17 – Seattle @ Showbox
Nov 10 – Brixton, England @ Carling Academy Brixton
Nov 13 – Manchester, England @ Warehouse Project
Nov 16 – Köln, Germany @ E-Werk Köln
Nov 17 – Berlin, Germany @ C-Halle
Nov 25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Noord-Holl
Nov 26 – Eindhoven, Netherlands @ STRP Festival
Nov 28 – Munich, Germany @ Muffathalle
Nov 29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote-Fabrik
Nov 30 – Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
Dec 2 – Milan, Italy @ Alcatraz
Dec 3 – Rome, Italy @ Atlantico Live
Dec 6 – Madrid, Spain @ La Riviera
Dec 7 – Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz
Dec 11 – Paris, France @ Trianon
Dec 12 – Paris, France @ Trianon