People vs. Money Tour

M.I.A.'s McCarren Park concert in June 2008

The setlist featured songs from both her studio albums Arular (2005) and Kala (2007), although M.I.A. did not perform the same setlist at every concert. The set often began with Kala's opening track, "Bamboo Banga."[8] M.I.A. performed at the final date of the 2008 MX Beat festival in Toluca.[9] Prior to her Coachella festival appearance in April 2008, M.I.A. filmed from her New York apartment window and posted on YouTube an incident involving a black man being apprehended by white police officers, which elicited commentary debating the force used for the arrest.[10] At the show, she sang a segment from The Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work", changing the lyrics to "The cops don't work, they make things worse, but I know I'll see your face again,"[11] after police tried to shut the set down. Stating "They were on the backside of the stage and they were trying to shut me down...I was really thinking about the situation in New York", referencing the Sean Bell shooting incident, she felt "getting people to be interactive makes me feel more and more connected to my fans."[12]

In May 2008, she stated in an interview "I figured I might as well do a few more shows in America before I may not be allowed back in or ever get a chance to come back again – It's nice to tour around America and do every gig like it's your last gig."[13]

M.I.A. performed additional dates during her tour. On 3 May 2008 she performed at the JazzFest in New Orleans, U.S.,[14] and at an afterparty for the MTV Movie Awards in West Hollywood, California, U.S. on 1 June 2008. At the show, Arulpragasam pledged, with the money she earned from the gig, to build new schools in Liberia, telling the crowd "It costs $52,000 to build a school in Liberia for 1000".[15][16] Updates on the building progress have been posted on her MySpace blog.[17] She also performed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, U.S. in June 2008, during which Mos Def performed with her onstage. Other performers there included past tour mates LCD Soundsystem. Proceeds from the event were donated towards benefitting the museum's general operating fund.[18][19][20] Arulpragasam announced her engagement at her Edmonton Events Centre concert in Canada.[21] Curating his first ever New American Music Union in August 2008, Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers described in an interview in May being very keen on Arulpragasam playing at the US festival, remarking "I think she's a rocking live performer. She wanted to play, she was very into it" but that she cancelled as she was getting married.[22]

Kat Bjelland, Kim Gordon and Susan Sarandon were among concert attendees.

Clothes worn during this tour were inspired by prints and artwork Arulpragasam created for her websites, her album cover for Kala and songs such as "Bird Flu", and were taken from her clothing line.[23][24] In 2008, she launched a limited edition fashion line held to reflect her personal style.[25][26] The limited edition "KALA Tour/Okley Run" line included Mexican and Afrika jackets and leggings, Islamic hoodies as well as tour-inspired designs including "People Vs. Money Tour Tees" and "KALA Tour Tees". In some concerts, she wore T-shirts imprinted with images of artists such as Ian Curtis.[5] Short-shorts, head bandannas, neon, retro stripes and sequin-clad attendees populated her Aragon ballroom performance in Chicago, with Althea Legaspi of the Chicago Tribune noting that "If her fans' clothing is any indication, M.I.A.'s cultural influence – with her flair for outrageous fashion – may be growing beyond her music. Fortunately, Friday's performance showed her showmanship has improved along with her popularity."[27]