Macklemore at the Ogden Theatre, 12/6/12
Eric Gruneisen Macklemore at the Ogden Theatre last night. Slide show: Macklemore and fans at the Ogden
MACKLEMORE @ OGDEN THEATRE | 12/6/12
All Macklemore has to do is pose dramatically to induce the same frenzied reaction from an audience that a slightly lesser MC would draw with their signature song. Granted, a very sizable portion of his Denver audience comprised easily riled high school girls, but that should truly take nothing away from the fact that the stories he tells are utterly compelling, and his performance at the Ogden was not one iota short of exhilarating. His stories are deeply personal, universally relatable and delivered with such poignancy that it becomes impossible not to be moved.
See also:
- Slide show: Macklemore and fans at the Ogden
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- Macklemore on taking his time to put out something he's truly proud of."
- Winter on the Rocks: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Major Lazer, the Grouch & Eligh
Eric Gruneisen Macklemore at the Ogden Theatre last night. Slide show: Macklemore and fans at the Ogden
Macklemore is a unique rapper in a lot of ways. His flow is an acquired taste; he says more words in less time than anybody who sounds as unhurried as him. He's super lyrical, and while most lyrical rappers lose something in their live performance because it's hard to hear what they're saying, Macklemore is so enthusiastic and earnest that you can feel what he's communicating, even if you can't hear exactly what he's saying. More important than any of these qualities, though, is his commitment to revealing himself in the hopes of connecting with others.
Eric Gruneisen Macklemore at the Ogden Theatre last night. Slide show: Macklemore and fans at the Ogden
Macklemore begins his free love anthem, "Same Love," which was everywhere on social media a month ago, with the line, "When I was in third grade, I thought I was gay." Forget that pretty much no other rapper (except maybe Lil B) would say such a potentially emasculating thing about himself; most of the kids I went to high school with wouldn't have been caught dead singing "I can't change even if I tried" in the name of same-sex love. With his first lines, Macklemore makes it okay to not be so defiantly masculine, which is not only progressive, it's freeing.
Eric Gruneisen Macklemore at the Ogden Theatre last night. Slide show: Macklemore and fans at the Ogden
With songs like "My Oh My," Macklemore reaches deep into his memory banks to recall what are obviously some of his dearest recollections listening to baseball on the radio with his father. He gives us a look into who he really is, something which most rappers are all too eager to hide. His passion is so evidently genuine, and his storytelling is so adept, that you are transported to the dusty garage where he and his dad used to listen to games, and you feel the excitement of the game as if you were at the ballpark.
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Ogden Theatre
935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO
Category: Music
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