Photos by Randall Michelson (@rmpix22 )
A small glimmer of fall weather after L.A.’s scorching heat wave accompanied Mac DeMarco’s first show in North America, with a packed audience at the Hollywood Bowl. As I sat in my terrace box at the outdoor venue, I took in the vast size of the amphitheater, DeMarco’s biggest show yet.
Instead of an opener, I was treated to a video montage of DeMarco’s cat with acoustics from his discography. DeMarco came on at 8:15 P.M., starting his show with “For the First Time” and moving straight into “Sweeter” and “On the Level.” The stage was illuminated between the shells of the Hollywood Bowl, with shades of red and blue highlighting DeMarco’s band. Looking up, I was mesmerized by the crossbeam of light that was made with searchlights in the clear skies above.
As with any of his concerts, DeMarco’s performance was nothing short of spectacular and, well, odd. His spinning the microphone, darting back and forth on stage, and balancing on his amp were nothing new, and it’s safe to say he landed his cartwheel for the day. While I heard some chatter about exactly why DeMarco was doing these movements, I appreciated the irony in his heartbroken music that accompanied his childlike antics.
“This is where I live, Los Angeles. And this is where I die, the Hollywood Bowl.”
With each song, I knew that DeMarco’s performances would be nothing without his amazing band. His guitarist absolutely shredded it at the end of “Rock and Roll” and, shortly thereafter, the keyboardist followed up with an amazing groove during “Still Beating.” I was then treated to my favorite song of DeMarco’s, “This Old Dog,” played in a much slower and amazingly acoustic version than his studio recording.
DeMarco closed off his show with some of his most popular songs, including “Freaking Out the Neighborhood,” which was met with a climactic ending. Increasing tempos punctuated his band’s incredible performance. A special kudos to the drums and bass as DeMarco played along on his guitar with them. Hearing the ending of “Moonlight on the River” live was incredibly surreal; the combination of synths, drums, and electric guitars (including DeMarco’s) with the blue darting spotlights on stage took me out of the bubble I had thought I was in. His last song before his encore appearance was “Chamber of Reflection,” with a glowing red backdrop that later evolved into beams of red and yellow hues as he closed out with an audience full of cheering and clapping.
After he walked off the stage, the Bowl was filled with chants of his name, which he responded to with an encore, bringing out comedian and filmmaker Nathan Fielder on the guitar onto the stage. With the rest of the band, DeMarco played “My Kind of Woman,” “Nobody,” and a cover of “Human Nature,” by Michael Jackson, a song choice that pleasantly surprised the audience.
With that, DeMarco took his final walk off the stage, and I was left basking in the crisp October air with ringing ears. The night couldn’t have been any better as I looked back at the Hollywood Hills and the remnants of DeMarco’s breathtaking, ear-piercing, and wonderfully sound-engineered performance.
Listen to Mac DeMarco here!
