Mac DeMarco Delivers The Dogs During LA Residency

Mac DeMarco performing at the Ford Theater, LA by Farah Sosa​​​ provided courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

FIRST NIGHT OF LA RESIDENCY OFFERED ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE

The world is no stranger to larger than life musicians who have dedicated fan bases: Beyonce and her hive, Travis Scott and his legion of supporters, the list goes on. Someone like Mac DeMarco at first glance would be shy of this list, but I would beg to differ. The proclaimed prince of indie rock has been making music for over a decade now, gaining fans as a traditional artist would with each album release and now receiving many more of the younger audience due to his tracks going viral on TikTok. The notion of “saying you’re a Mac fan without saying you’re a Mac fan” has always been present since I first connected with the artist back in 2014 in support of his album, Salad Days. The red vans, cuffed blue jeans, and dad cap were the choices adorned by DeMarco to this day, but it’s a fact that it represents himself. Others do it to not just show support of him and the music he creates, but to want to replicate his mannerisms, his habits, hit looks. Wearing a tour shirt is one thing; trying to copy someone you admire can be flattering but overall isn’t healthy. This was on full display at his first official show of the Five Easy Hot Dogs tour.

I’ll preface this by saying how devoted a fan I am. I own every album, and have been supporting Mac since I discovered his music back in 2013 in high school. It was an important moment in my life, reading The Catcher in the Rye for the first time, getting into Saturday Night Live more, and listening to “My Kind of Woman” on repeat. I’ll catch him on every tour and now, I’m insanely lucky to call the guy a friend. Therefore when he announced a three day residency at the eloquent Ford Theater in Hollywood, I had to be there. This was something different for DeMarco, usually playing crowded venues like The Fonda or Teragram Ballroom; to opt for a minimalist outdoor venue was interesting. I missed out on his surprise set earlier in the week at The Echo because I felt it wouldn’t be the same experience.

Mac DeMarco performing at the Ford Theater, LA by Farah Sosa​​​ provided courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

With no opener, DeMarco and his newish band made up of drummer Daryl Johns, bassist Pedro Martins, and synth player Alec Meen came on around 8:10PM. Mac sat on the right side of the stage, which put me only six rows away from him. He was his normal cheerful self, thanking the crowd for coming and pointing out constantly how the venue was more upscale than he’s used to. “Look at this stage. I think it’s made of wood,” he chuckled before diving into Five Easy Hot Dogs in full. Between tracks, he gave a little background on where he was when he recorded the songs and what he can recall from his trip. “This feels like VH1 Behind The Music or something,” which parents of the children in the crowd lauded. I took each song in as Mac intended the audience to, sitting and giving your full attention. I mean it’s not too much of an ask.

After the 14 tracks were played, DeMarco went into his older discography, beginning with “Salad Days” and sprinkling in newer songs from One Wayne G. Around the middle of the show, fans began to run up to the stage, blocking aisle ways and sometimes sitting in them and whipping out their phones to record performances of their favorite songs. This was fine up until fans were downright pointing their phones at DeMarco, trying to get his attention like it was their right. A lot of people also chimed in with words; one kid asked about five times if Mac could sign his arm to which he replied, “maybe after the show.” Another woman constantly waived her vinyl from the second row as if he was going to autograph it from the stage. Over a dozen fans came about as close as they could get to the stage where they pointed their cameras outward and took selfies with Mac performing in the background; this baffled me. After attending over 400 shows, this being my 12th Mac show, I had never seen anything like this.

Mac DeMarco performing at the Ford Theater, LA by Farah Sosa​​​ provided courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

The sheer amount of disrespect on display was insane. Mac played it off, continuing his set, but many fans alluded to recording for TikTok as their sole reason for attending. I hope Mac was able to forget this aspect of the show as I tried, and I’m sure he did. He played “Another One” and “For the First Time,” while also debuting three songs live from One Wayne G. The entirely acoustic set paired with the intimate lighting and backdrop of a Hollywood cliff was indeed something newer for Mac, but made the experience stick out. Something admirable about him is his changes to the same old tracks he tours with. Songs add transitions, Mac switches tones, and his banter always makes him more interesting regardless of the online popularity. This show specifically, he joked of how Meen resembled Chris Evans, thanking Captain America for his service.

Mac DeMarco performing at the Ford Theater, LA by Farah Sosa​​​ provided courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

The band ended on a high note with older tracks that Mac encouraged fans to sing along to if they knew the lyrics. After “This Old Dog,” he stated how there’d be no encore to which fans greeted him with boos. “Ok, you want an encore?” Mac said as he and the band walked off stage and awaited the chants of “one more song” to hit their ears. The band once more walked on and proceeded to play fan favorite “Chamber of Reflection.” Many times, Mac stood atop his stool and sang the tracks that didn’t need him on guitar. His famous teeth gap was always bursting through, showing just how happy he was to be performing after about a year of recording and taking time off. He concluded with “Still Together” like he does at most shows, and it was still exciting. I’ve seen Mac cover Neil Young with the entire audience sitting on the floor, crowd surf on an inflatable crocodile, and belt Misfits at the top of his lungs. This time around, I was seated watching a slightly older Mac perform his own MTV Unplugged set of sorts. Besides the crowd’s disregard for any type of manners, Mac’s first night of three sold out shows in LA was a raw play about his experiences, growth as a person, and will to give the crowd everything he’s got. I’ll always be a tasteful fan. Check out the set list here!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!