Artist to Watch: Mac DeMarco
05.17.2016
Mac DeMarco played a typically chaotic show at Webster Hall in NYC. Photo by Mary Kang.
A slew of sold out shows in New York City last weekend put a spotlight on indie rocker Mac DeMarco. DeMarco took the stage on Sunday at Webster Hall in NYC’s East Village. With his band behind him and a bright-eyed crowd in front, DeMarco kicked off the show by popping a bottle of champagne -- the night already feeling like a party of close friends, rather than a concert. As the music began, fans rocked and swayed to some of DeMarco’s more mellow hits, including The Way You’d Love Her, Salad Days, and No Other Heart. But as the evening went on, the crowd began to grow restless for something wilder.
Mac DeMarco fans Madalyn Norman and Khristian Reynolds waiting outside of Webster Hall before the show. Photo by Mary Kang.
By mid-set, the ‘slack’ rocker gave the crowd permission to go nuts -- counting off a more upbeat song, Freaking out the Neighborhood. Suddenly, hands, bras, and people were in the air and on stage -- fans jumping up to join the band and make their own mark on the night. Crowd surfing began with DeMarco himself somersaulting into the sea of people, returning to the stage with an inflated life jacket and a drink from the bartender. Chaos has become a staple of DeMarco’s shows, with a sense of freedom and intimacy that makes the crowd feel a part of the performance. And this is how the ‘anti heartthrob’ likes it.
“There is something so different about his sound,” says Khristian Reynolds, a DeMarco diehard who came all the way from Indiana to see him play. “He’s just so different… in his artistic ways, and how crazy and weird he is. He makes us all feel cool.”
DeMarco ended out the night with no shoes or socks -- both seized by the crowd -- performing “Enter Sandman'' by Metallica, thrashing his guitar in a way that would make Kirk Hammett proud. Although a heavier, harder sound than DeMarco’s self-described ‘Jizz Jazz’, the crowd moshed and head-banged to the cover as if they had been waiting for it all night.
Is this a glimpse into DeMarco’s fifth album from his label Captured Tracks? Although different, it may be just what this generation of music lovers is looking for. He’s certainly got the talent, an unpredictable “do what I want” attitude, and a growing fan base to back it. This is a crowd -- scratch that -- a generation of fans just yearning for this type of energy. And, who knows, maybe Mac DeMarco will be the one to give it to them.