Macklemore at Kenyon

What it do, world?

What follows is a review I wrote for the Kenyon Collegian of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s party… I mean performance at The Horn on March 23rd. (All photos by Jake Wayler)

Dust particles, caught in a spotlight momentarily, drifted hesitantly down from The Horn’s rafters this past Wednesday, as if questioning gravity. They never got a chance to settle on the floor: the combination of heat and hardwood bending under feet-bouncing beats stirred the status quo, leaving everyone elated and aloft.

In their first concert in a tour of the Midwest, Seattle-based hip-hop group Macklemore & Ryan Lewis took Kenyon by storm and soul this past Wednesday.

Opening for the headliners was Ohio-based rapper Blueprint. Signed to the Rhymesayers label, Blueprint is part of a faction in the hip-hop industry stressing lyrical consciousness and experimental instrumentals, alongside contemporaries such as Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Grieves, and P.O.S.

Blueprint’s performance was raw, in a style similar to Tyler the Creator, especially when he threw down “The Clouds.” Most of the songs were from his recent album, Adventures in Counter-Culture. His lyricism was witty and cocksure like Childish Gambino, but ranged to the the political in songs like “Hand-Me-Downs,” where Blueprint passionately lamented society’s general apathy: “Used to give us world news – now it’s all videos, / replaced Tavis Smiley with reality shows.” In the chorus, he cynically evokes James Brown’s black power anthem: “Come on say it loud / Look what we handed down / Don’t it make you proud? / Look what we handed down.”

Towards the end of his set, Blueprint released his inner rock star, breaking out the handheld keyboard and hammering out some hammer-ons. Said Leland Holcomb ’14, “Blueprint’s intensity fired me up for the wildness of Macklemore.”

And the rest is modern history.

Macklemore rapped, Ryan Lewis laid out tracks, and the duo was joined by trumpet player Owour Arunga. Arunga began the concert, wading and playing his way through the back of the crowd to the front of the stage. The sentiment was plain: we are here, for you, with you.

The live trumpet imbued the music with an intimacy further heightened by Macklemore’s sincerity. Indeed, sincerity seemed to be Macklemore’s modus operandi for the night. Between impassioned singing, cunning lyricism, stage antics, costume changes, and preaching a feel-good gospel, Macklemore put everything into the performance.

Macklemore is proud of his heritage, Irish, and his hometown, Seattle. In his last song of the night, “Irish Celebration,” he lionized his heritage, singing, “In the night sky we fly it / In pride for the life we fight to live / History, I write with it / Spit it with the dialect / And this is a celebration of course / The green, white, orange.”

In “The Town,” Macklemore spoke on Seattle’s rich hip-hop scene, referencing numerous artists and influences from the area: “This is our scene, our music, our movement, the history lives through us.”

Carl Crow ’14 is from Seattle. He saw Mackelmore there at a sold-out show over spring break. He compared the hometown show to Kenyon’s, “In Seattle there were 700 people, but the concerts were the same in terms of energy. The Horn had better intimacy.” The personal nature of the show was a selling point for many. “I got a fist bump,” said Carl with a grin.

O’Neill Cushman ’11 recalled a show his freshman year in which students got on stage with rapper Wale, and Wale reacted angrily, telling them to “get off my stage.” (Wale’s still kinda tight.) Macklemore didn’t mind the people surging towards him; rather, he fed off of it. When it seemed the crowd would swallow him whole, Macklemore rose above to a whole other level.

“He was in the rafters, we were on the stage… It was by far the best show I’ve seen at the Horn,” said Elise Economy ’14.

“His stage presence was so energizing,” said Rehan Bhatti ’14. “By the end it just became a dance party.” Which is exactly what Macklemore wanted.

During the concert he also commented on Kenyon’s energy, and how it was one of the best show’s he’s played. Indeed, only one song into the concert, Macklemore had to take off his jacket. Sweat permeated his white tank top, a testament to his effort. He wasn’t done changing outfits for the night, though.

During one of his addresses to the crowd, Macklemore conjured up the image of David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King from the film Labyrinth. He proceeded to dawn a denim jacket, with a stud-encrusted mural of Bowie’s beautiful visage and tassels hanging along the arms. Straight stylin.

Macklemore got on his soapbox – or, rather, speaker monitor – before beginning his last set.  He spoke about good and evil, about the heart and the ego. Speaking from his own heart, Macklemore testified to the inhibitory nature of the ego, how it gets in the way of a good time. He asked the crowd to choose heart over ego, to make the night a party and “just dance.”

Then Macklemore did the inconceivable. Yes, that’s right… he brought David Bowie to Kenyon! The English pop-rock legend himself, flown in all the way from London, England. Ziggy fucking Stardust!

Ducking behind a table, Macklemore resurfaced in a 80s-style blonde wig, a gold headband, and a bejewled black cloak. His attitude was contagious, the crowd was liberated from all inhibitions, And We Danced.

It was the perfect way to end the night.

So far, this reporter has only heard two voices of dissent about the concert. The first came from Kenny Loggins ’13, who didn’t even attend the show: “Macklemore? More like Mackle-less…”

The second came from Lily Bullit ‘13 who said “The only disappointment was that he didn’t take off his shirt.”

Explore posts in the same categories: Concerts, Reviews

Tags: Dan Kipp, Kenyon, Macklemore

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