Mac Demarco, Town Hall, 8 January 2020: Concert Review

Mac Demarco made his return to New Zealand at Auckland’s prestigious Town Hall last night for a one-off show. This show will be part of the Here Comes Mac Demarco tour following his latest album Here Comes The Cowboy which is widely recognized as his ‘masterpiece.’  Demarco went on to display an extraordinary performance of live indie rock amplified by his characteristics and loose etiquette.

Fazerdaze, raised in wellington, lead singer Amelia Murray recruited her band members, after many solo shows, to be the up and coming indie band they are today. Mark took his place behind the synthesizer, Elliot took his place behind the drums, while Amelia was delivering the songs with her lead vocals and guitar. The groovy Indie music primed the audience for what was ahead as the energy was raised in the Auckland Town Hall.

There was a brief break before Demarco opened with On The Level, a slow track rich with a harmonic synthesizer. The hall was in aura when Salad Days followed, the hit song from the album which took him to the top of the indie scene when it was released in 2014.

Mac Demarco was not the only familiar face on stage as he was accompanied by a four-piece band the Pond, often supporting the infamous Australian muse, Tame Impala.

I appreciated the stage of musicians showing a true focus on showmanship. Demarco continued to entice the audience with his energy while drinking beer and puffing away on a cigarette throughout the set. There were definitely some highlights to the set when Demarco wore an extravagant pink cowboy hat with googly eyes before throwing it to a lucky fan in the crowd and watching Demarco’s characteristics when swinging his mic around by the cord

Demarco abruptly commands for all lights to be turned off for the next song. “One Another” begins and the audiences backlit phones and lighters shine side to side to the music.

Mac Demarco is simply a new breed of indie rock music. The Canadian artist whirled the audience with his goofball nature and talent. It was evident that Mac Demarco’s music gathered more than just the average listener as I found myself watching the performance next to the full Sticky Fingers band.

His Goofball persona was on show when closing out the set. Demarco placed his guitar away while the rest of the band proceeded to play a 20-minute instrumental jam session leaving him to smoke and drink with his hat placed over his nose.

Eventually, after a long jam session, the band finally said their goodbyes, although the crowd began to stomp and chant, “One more song” till the encore was given. Mac Demarco gave in and took the stage again. After telling the audience how grateful he is, Demarco insisted he would play an old classic that he hadn’t performed in years, Blue Boy. Instead, without warning, Demarco causally played Metallica leaving the audience muddled in laughter. Classic Demarco.

~Liam Watters

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