Mac DeMarco

The Old Market, Brighton | 19 May

As the birthplace of Michael Buble and Justin Bieber, Canada is no stranger to producing male solo artists that can get people talking worldwide. Though not quite on that scale, guitar-wielding goofball troubadour Mac DeMarco is certainly knitting an avid and dedicated fanbase. Though his third album Salad Days may have been a hit with the critics, his live shows have cemented the cult of personality, with ever-growing whispers of his outlandish antics seeing ticket sales soar. 

Whilst shows by seasoned tourers can occasionally be haunted by a feeling that they’re simply going through the motions, night after night, the hallmarks of a Mac DeMarco show is that it always feels off the cuff and natural. Past visits to this city have seen him swinging upside down from rafters and enthusiastically conducting onstage frat behaviour, but tonight he and his three bandmates focus on powering through a raucous set of potent slacker-pop anthems that duck and weave around melody filled choruses.

Whether it be the cigarette culture-championing Ode to Viceroy or the faux backwater Elvis-sounding Cooking Up Something Good, where Mac croons gently through the microphone, these songs have the potency to light up dampened spirits and generate a tight knit communal atmosphere.

As stage divers and those who feel compelled to rush onstage and lock lips with the charismatic singer continue to flock onto stage, he further endears himself to the audience when he tells the lone security man at the foot of the stage to leave his post – tonight isn’t about putting a wall between artist and audience, but neither is it about being at full throttle, all of the time.

Set closer Unknown Legend is a relaxed affair, one where the audience willingly crouch down upon Mac’s command for the duration of this Neil Young cover, before he leaps into their grateful arms before slowly departing. Mac DeMarco shows may still be some of the most riotous you’ll ever attend, but they’re also some of the most compelling.

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Words: Nathan Westley