[Note: The first two paragraphs below are taken from my review of Macklemore’s Philadelphia show. If you already read that review and are interested in the DC show, skip to the third paragraph.]
Macklemore changed the way I look at rap. I had always thought that rap’s intense focus on language would make it a perfect genre for me, and I had heard flashes of brilliance before: “Jesus Walks,” “The Prayer,” “Lose Yourself,” etc. All too often, though, I found myself bogged down by overused curses, minority-bashing slurs, and topics I could not quite relate to. (Hard as it may be to believe, I do not regularly encounter blood-crip drive-bys on my way to work. I’d admit to having at least 99 problems, but a habitual need to trash women is not one of them.)
Macklemore changed all that by offering songs of conscience (“Wings,” “Other Side”), songs of compassion (“Same Love,” “Starting Over”), and songs that made me start dancing...and not feel gross at the end (“Thrift Shop,” “B Boy”). His attention to detail in the lyrics and Ryan Lewis’ attention to detail in the videos enhanced the style and substance of each song. As with Bruce Springsteen, the songs felt not just exciting, but urgent – these were about real people and real issues. Three tracks on his first album, “I Said Hey,” “Contradiction,” and “White Privilege” even address all of my prior rap issues! (I.E. Overused curses, minority-bashing slurs, and socioeconomic rifts.) If you’ve only heard The Heist, I strongly recommend these off Language of My World. I can’t recommend the DC live blog as strongly (you’re probably better off listening to the linked songs), but if you’re interested, keep reading…
--- I walk down sketchy back stairs, a sketchy hallway, and emerge on the floor. My first floor tickets for a Verizon show.
--- Macklemore walks on to “BomBom,” Heist’s all-instrumental track. Clever! It works as a mood builder, a transition from small clubs to an arena, and a shoutout to indie rock. All good signs this will be a good show.
--- HA, he’s already priming the crowd with “DC! DC!” This guy’s a pro.
--- The video backdrop for “Ten Thousand Hours” features typed words, handwritten words, so many beautiful WORDS. It’s like he’s catering the show directly to me.
--- As the song ends, he pauses, soaks it all in. Nice.
--- “Life is Cinema”! Killer(s) sample / song. Hope this means there will be a bunch of other non-Heist tracks.
--- Story time! Like Dave Grohl, Ben Folds, and Bruce Springsteen, Macklemore recognizes the importance of telling stories between songs. Musicians that don’t must think doing so is pandering or takes away time from playing more music. They could not be more wrong. Songs that have stories introducing are always better than those that don’t.
--- Short Story [summarized intro to ‘Can’t Hold Us’]: “This one time, on the road, I had hot dogs with Snoop Dog and Bill Clinton.” There was not much more to the story, but its random humor fit “Can’t Hold Us.”
--- Long Story [summarized intro to ‘Thrift Shop’]: “Usually I’m all about the snooze button. This was DC, though, so I had to wake up at 4:45. I had to meet with senators. I had to see Obama’s house. There was ---- to do. To get it all started, I decided to go meditating in the Potomac. I did not have a swimsuit, so I had to go with a birthday suit. This probably wasn’t smart because it was freezing in there. I’m swimming away, my stroke’s on point, when I see these two dudes on the shore, going through my stuff.
Within a few seconds, my clothes were gone. I try to get out and intimidate them, but bicep flexing doesn’t really work when you’re shriveled... I think maybe I can get this woman to help me, but she’s busy feeding the birds. Plus, she’s 90 years old, and her fists are about 110, so that wouldn’t work. She did, however, give me an idea. She said, ‘Hey, if you don’t have any clothes, I know a great place for you to get new ones…’” [Thrift Shop’s trademark trumpet blares, delivered by Owuor Arunga, the ‘Dizzy Gillespie of hip hop.’] It was a long road getting there, but it was worth it.
--- Moving Audience Story [intro to “Same Love”]: “Steve and Dan have been together for 16 years. Steve and Dan, come out on stage…” He later used this as an intro to a freestyle rap with Talib Kweli: “In the age of YouTube, I’m afraid and most rappers are afraid to freestyle in public. You know that, though, if people in ten states can put themselves out there, if Steve and Dan can do that in front of 18,000 people, I can take that risk.”
--- Moving Personal Stories [intro to “Otherside” / “Starting Over”]. The ‘stories’ here are the addiction backstories the audience already knows. Deciding to do “Otherside” acapella and sampling Band of Horses in “Starting Over” makes them even more powerful.
--- Huge tone shifts with “White Walls,” “Wings,” and “And Then We Danced.” Love the pause / glance at the hanging shoes at the end of “Wings.”
--- Smart to end with “Irish Celebration.” I’m not thrilled about him wearing a Wizards' jersey during it, but at least the Supersonics jersey also made an appearance. I’m not thrilled that he has not featured a single song off Language of My World (he better do that next time!), but at least he mentioned its producer.
--- HA: “They're tellin' us we've reached our curfew. We have to shut it down.” Translation: YES, one more unexpected song. What will it be though? They’ve played all other major ones.
--- “Barack Obama’s in a suite here tonight, so we must do something special.” Hard to tell if he’s joking about the Obama part. Maybe it’s true; there is photographic evidence of Macklemore at the White House earlier in the day.
--- “We can’t hold anything back it at this point…” Wait, that sounds like…they’re not…are they? They’re playing “Can’t Hold Us” again!!! I flip out; Frost students LH and MM presumably flip out; everyone flips out. 145 concerts in, my first true encore. What a moment.
Grade: A
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