Editorial: @MacMiller Concert @HouseOfBlues In Los Angeles (Review)

Easy Mac with the cheesy raps, better known as Mac Miller, released an album this past year called “Watching Movies With The Sound Off”. The album did fairly well, selling selling over 150,000 copies over the US. The album itself sounds like a combination of Pharrell and Diplo sprinkled with Flying Lotus here and there. I enjoyed the album, however, I wanted to see how this album would be performed, being that a lot of the sounds are so abnormal to replicate. So…I took the liberty to go see Mac Miller at the House Of Blues in Los Angeles.

 The House Of Blues held around 1200 people from different demographic backgrounds, excited to see Mac Attack perform. The vibe was set right, with half-sleep inducing music combined with energy that can only be compared to bay area music. After waiting 2 or so hours, I was finally let into the establishment to see a unique set up. Mac decided to enlist the help of The Internet to help perform his album. Now I’m not a big fan of The Internet…but their presentation and unique ability to capture the vibe of the album through the concert is impeccable. They presented Watching Movies With The Sound Off in a new unique fashion, so much so that it sounded like a completely new album…and that’s a good thing.

Mac’s set first began with a combination of StarRoom/Killing Time, which for me was a good thing. Mac destroyed the set, setting the tone for the rest of the night. Strong bassline, adamant vocals, and drums that only Slipknot can reciprocate, the combination of Mac and The Internet proved to be a good combo. They continued on with Birdcall, replicating the same cadence that Clams Casino did on the record but with live instrumentation. This was one of the better tracks of the night only because it felt like an old school 90’s concert, with the crowd riling up to the hard core boom bap drums. It also included Mac playing around with an MPC during the chorus, a skill I assume he learned while producing under the moniker Larry The Fisherman. It was at this point however that Mac decided to bring about an old record from his platinum stash (aka the songs everyone in the world knows) called Best Day Ever. It was cool feeling like a prepubescent 4 year old girl for a little bit but I was not too fond with the record when it first came out. His performance was lackluster, as he was forgetting his lyrics due to excessive drinking and whatnot. Nonetheless the crowd reacted. Plus it was free…who could complain!?

The next set of songs were nothing special in that there wasn’t anything memorable about them. That’s not to take away from the powerful influence it had with the crowd. Everyone knew each individual word and were reacting with Mac with such precision, it’d be impossible to turn that talent down. However I’d like to point out a remarkable performance of his song Euphoria. I want to first state that I despise this record. I could only take so much Euphoria being sang and Clams Casino did not cut it for me on this one with the production. However, Mac’s performance had me stunned. Mac was able to play the melodies of the song on a keyboard without The Internet’s help and had the crowd chanting as if it was a Queen’s Ballad from the 80’s. I could not knock down this man’s talent and growth in musical instrumentation.

After a quick break, Mac Miller came back with Earl Sweatshirt and the rest of the Odd Future gang. He performed a lot of other people’s records to enthuse the crowd…and it worked. The crowd went wild as Earl Sweatshirt performed the record he had with Mac. Being that this is the first time I have ever seen Earl perform, his performance was completely different from the way he actually sounds on the record. Earl without being monotone might be the best thing I could have heard at that moment. After the duo performed and interacted for about 3 different songs, the rest of the Odd Future came out as Tyler, The Creator performed O.K. with Mac Miller. This particular set was complete with stage-diving, mosh pits, and turbulent body guards pushing people off of Tyler and Mac Miller. This is expected for Odd Future performances.

The show wrapped up after Odd Future left with Mac Miller performing Donald Trump. This record had the whole crowd chanting the words, similar to how Best Day Ever was. He had immense energy, more than the whole concert combined, just to give a remarkable ending.

I would recommend for people to go see any Mac Miller concert if they ever get that chance. Mac Miller might not present a professional performance, however the type of people that he has coming to the concerts, as well as the guest performers, create a unique concert that’s difficult for other artists to replicate. Easy Mac with the cheesy raps successfully pleased my ears with his performance.