On Wednesday November 5, 2014, Mac DeMarco performed with his opening act Connan Mockasin at the Theatre Rialto. Connan Mockasin came out in a funky straw hat and captured the audience with his relaxed “dream pop” sound. “I Wanna Roll With You” got everybody singing along with their hands up, swaying to the calm tunes, however that did not stop the first of the many crowd surfers! From the first crowd surfer forward, the concert just got crazier.

Fans of Mac DeMarco expected a show that was lewd and wacky and they got just that. Although it was no repeat of the drumstick incident, Mac DeMarco definitely put on one the craziest live shows I’ve ever been to. Mac came out on stage wearing his “Viceroy” hat and of course, overalls. He begins the set with his hit, “Salad Days,” and immediately the crowd starts moshing. (I was surprised, even Mac looked surprised). People were jumping, punching, and screaming out the lyrics. It was one of the rowdiest mosh pits ever. If you didn’t have your hair tied up and your shoes tied tight, you would probably have left the concert bald and with no shoes. At one point, at least 50 people just fell down in the middle of the floor and dog piled on top of each other. It was definitely a human domino effect. I felt really bad for those that got stuck at the bottom. Nonetheless, it was a good time.

Somewhere between “Passing out Pieces” and “My Kind of Woman” fans started jumping up on stage. Girls were kissing him on the cheek and playing air guitar next to him. Everyone was taking selfies and some people took off their shirt. This started some kind of chain reaction, and soon enough, half of the audience was on stage, singing and dancing with Mac. The security managed to get most people off stage, but some people insisted on sitting and watching the show comfortably backstage. The security resisted, but Mac DeMarco said, “Come on, just let them stay, they aren’t bothering anyone,” so the security reluctantly dismissed.

One guy jumped on stage with an acoustic guitar (he brought that to the concert?), and stole the mic from Mac and started to sing his own song. The poor security had enough of dealing with people jumping on stage, and in a fury, they grabbed the guy by his legs and dragged him offstage with no mercy. The guy tried to pick up his bag that he had left on stage, but the security guards refused to let him pick up his stuff.

At the middle of the concert, they did a cover of Bob Marley’s “Jammin’” and “One Love.” The lights dimmed green (obviously), and people had their lighters out in hand.

Near the end of the concert, Mac leaped into the audience, crowd surfed throughout the entire room, and ended back up on stage. Everyone was going crazy, trying to get a good picture, I could barely see him crowd surfing. I got a picture, but not a very good one!

Lucky Mac got some free gifts from his audience that day. One fan threw him a nice hat and another one gave him a gold chain. He put on the chain and took off his Viceroy hat to put on his new hat. Everyone reached out their hands, thinking Mac would throw the Viceroy hat out. He thought about it, but instead, threw the hat to his drummer.

Mac DeMarco ended the night with “Chamber of Reflections” and “Still Together,” quickly thanked his audience and left the stage. However, the inevitable “one more song” chant from the audience and subsequent foot stomping quickly brought the band back on stage. Mac’s encore song was “Top Gun Theme” by Steve Stevens and he was in no rush. Mac commanded the stage with the catchy riff played on repeat. He played it with variations, altering the speed dramatically from slow and calm to incredibly fast. The crowd followed his lead, swaying to the slow and moshing to the fast guitar riffs. It was a great way to end off the night. Mac DeMarco proved himself to be not just a musician, but also a captivating performer.

After the show, the bartenders of Theatre Rialto kindly provided concertgoers with free glasses of water (they could probably tell it was very necessary!). Overall, it was a night of sweat, bruises, and craziness, but it was also one of the most memorable concerts ever. Mac DeMarco was so much fun, and I would definitely see him again!