It was a magical Sunday night at The Mann on September 24, 2017, as fans piled into the field in front of the Skyline Stage for an amazing show by ‘Mac DeMarco’, and his opening act, ‘The Garden’. The Shear brothers from Orange County, California, also known as The Garden, opened up the night. Their unique punk rock set showcased a few songs, before everyone’s favorite act came on, the prince of indie rock, Mac DeMarco.
Mac DeMarco came on stage, cigarette in hand, to his entrance music, ‘That’s Amore’. DeMarco started the show off by introducing himself and the band, “Hi, I’m Mac, this is Andy, that’s Jon, and that’s Alex… say hi to Alex”. DeMarco playfully interacted with the crowd as they roared back at him. DeMarco then quickly started the night off with ;On A Level’ from his new album, ‘This Old Dog’. He then broke into ‘Salad Days’ during which a fan threw a package on stage, to which DeMarco said (in a fatherly tone): “Quite the arm there, slugger! He chucked me some stuff”. He kissed whatever was in the package and then put it on top his amp. DeMarco really stepped into his zone with one his many love songs “No Other Heart”. His on-stage antics continued with one of his goofy voices, “You wanna see a fucking card trick, it’s called ’52 pick-up’,” DeMarco hollered as he threw a whole deck of cards into the front of the crowd. “Suck on that, oldest trick in the book”.
The crowd sang along all night to every song, and even chanted “Daddy” to which he replied, “Are you saying ‘Daddy? Try this one: Mommy'”. As laughter and chants of “Mommy” rang throughout the crowd, DeMarco sparked up another cigarette, for his song about his favorite cigarettes, ‘Ode to Viceroy’. Backed by a very talented rhythm section, DeMarco is able to flourish as a conductor. His very comical and interactive cover of ‘A Thousand Miles’, showcased his humorous side, musicality, and power that he holds over the crowd. Speeding up the intensity and slowing down the pace, DeMarco conducted his choir with ease. There was never a dull moment in the show.
At one point, Mac DeMarco got on the mic and said, in an old mobster voice, “A guy like me shaking his ass off on-stage gets a little hungry. Since I’m at The Mann, I might have 2-3 cheesesteaks come find me”. DeMarco then hyped up the crowd up even more by saying, “This one’s for lovers. Do we have any lovers here?” He then continued toying with the crowd, “Anyone in the crowd tonight have any parents? Anyone in the crowd have any cousins?” Cheers and giggles rolled out before DeMarco yelled, “Anyone in the crowd wanna die tonight?!”. The crowd ate it up, screaming as he dove into the slower paced song, ‘One More Love’.
DeMarco’s wonderfully crafted set dipped in and out of new material and old favorites. Some songs featured a twist, like a slowed down version of ‘My Kind of Woman’ filled with crowd participation, and a psychedelic noise jam to end ‘Moonlight on the River’. DeMarco’s stage persona is one of kind, from singing ‘That’s Amore’ to his sound guys, to kissing his friend “Tommy fucking Midnight” on stage. Mac DeMarco ended his set with ‘Still Together’, and, after several minutes of fans pleading, DeMarco came back on stage and performed an intimate encore of the song appropriately named, ‘Watching him Fade Away’.
If you weren’t there, you missed one of the best end-of-Summer concerts we had the pleasure to attend.
Mac DeMarco SETLIST:
- On the Level
- Salad Days
- No Other Heart
- For the First Time
- The Stars Keep On Calling My Name
- This Old Dog
- Cooking Up Something Good
- My Old Man
- Ode to Viceroy
- A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton cover)
- Dreams From Yesterday
- Freaking Out The Neighborhood (Mac brought fan up onstage to play the song)
- One More Love Song
- My Kind of Woman
- Moonlight on the River
- Chamber of Reflection
- Still Together (featured long medley of covers including several Van Halen songs and “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer)
- Watching Him Fade Away
[Photos by John Hanning]
[Article by Conor Green]
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