Live Review: Macklemore

On Friday night Macklemore kicked off his Gemini world tour with a sold-out show at Brisbane's Riverstage.

You would be forgiven for thinking that Macklemore was just a mainstream rap artist with a few good singles and catchy choruses. But when we arrived to the Riverstage on Friday night, the atmosphere was electric with excitement, eager fans had lined up in the cold and wet all afternoon to get close to the 34-year-old rapper.

Macklemore burst onto the stage all sequinned blazer and bravado. Complete with dancers, back up singers and a very small brass section, he threw himself into gospel-inspired Ain't Gonna Die Tonight. With the 9,000-strong crowd already eating out of the palm of his hand, he continued straight onto Firebreather, a rock-inspired tune fuelled with blistering energy, which had the crowd quickly yelling his own lyrics right back at him.

Macklemore quickly established an intimate, personal relationship with the crowd. He regaled them with tales of his two and a half-year-old daughter and shared his excitement for the arrival of his second child. Many faces made up the sold-out crowd, from children to parents and everything in between, but the one thing that everyone had in common was the connection they felt to Macklemore, enraptured by his personality.

The set continued with the ground shaking Marmalade, and then arguably one of his biggest singles, Thrift Shop, which topped the triple j Hottest 100 in 2012. From the first beat, the crowd was enchanted. Admittedly, it is hard to not know every word to this song, but live the atmosphere it created was impressive. Macklemore continued the throwback to his 2012 album with Ryan Lewis, playing The Heist track White Walls.

A vocal advocate for same-sex marriage, Macklemore took a quiet moment to address the changing political environment in Australia. Following the controversy surrounding his NRL Grand Final performance, he took the chance to congratulate Australia before launching into his emotional song Same Love.

After a quick reset and outfit change, Macklemore re-emerged as the one and only Willy Wonka for the song of the same title. Corner Store followed in quick succession with a cameo from Dave B, who is joining the Gemini tour in a support slot. Another cameo came from powerhouse vocalist Donna Missal during Over It. It was hit after hit after hit.

Dance Off followed in a similar fashion and the crowd went crazy for the bass-driven favourite. To everyone's surprise, Macklemore pulled two patrons out of the audience to join him in a dance-off on stage. What he succeeded in doing, and doing well, was making the concert feel less of a star and guest experience, and rather more of a community event.

The set rolled on with his highest streaming single on Spotify Can't Hold Us. Upon request, a sea of arms filled the venue — and with this show the biggest of the entire Australian tour, Brisbane had surpassed expectations for the American rapper.

The encore seemed to roll around with lightning speed. Slowing down for cathartic single Excavate, the Riverstage was ablaze with phone flashlights. Continuing on the emotional journey came Good Old Days, originally featuring Kesha but on this night sung reverently by the crowd.

Ending on a high note, the set closed out with the ever-entertaining Downtown and more recent single Glorious. Macklemore pleasantly surprised — this gig was hit after hit, and even the less familiar songs were still enough to keep the crowd bouncing along. He is an incredible showman, whose presence on stage is undeniable. Dancing, rapping, and never missing a beat, Macklemore is a master of his craft and is clearly much loved here in Australia. What an incredible start to the Gemini tour.