Recap: Mac DeMarco at the Vic Theatre

Mac DeMarco and his Spring 2017 tour came to Chi city this week, helping spread some good vibes to The Vic Theatre. The master of Chill Wave couldn’t come on a better day, with Chicago having (insufferably) warm weather that Tuesday evening, making for a perfectly swamp-y environment that was so well-suited to jam to the smooth stylings of everybody’s favorite British Columbian.

Mac exuded charm, with his low-key demeanor and his playful, gravelly whispers in between songs. During the breaks after performing live renditions of opening number “Salad Days,” plus crowd pleasers like “For The First Time” and “This Old Dog,” he made sure to periodically pay homage to Chicago. At one point he asked which place had the best Italian beef in town, so among the chants of Al’s and Portillo’s, of course someone shouted out Subway.

The crowd was unconditionally in the palm of his hand, throwing hats and other items onto the stage throughout the night. At one point a Twin Peaks hat landed at DeMarco’s feet, to which he responded with compliments for the stellar local band. At one point he started making requests for more caps, so the crowd responded by throwing some that feature logos for Navy Pier and the Cubs, and when he asked for a bucket hat, some avid fan obliged and delivered!

The place exploded when “Freaking Out The Neighborhood” started playing, and I saw a couple ladies doing the Macarena during “One More Love Song.” You’d be surprised how many times you’d see people moshing to these tunes, and the crowd-surfing was just as chill too, looking more like they were floating over a sea of hands instead of the usual appearance of clothed flesh being tossed around.

A cover of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” got everyone worked up, especially considering Mac and his band gave it their own spin that consisted of mostly singing the line “make my way downtown” in place of the real lyrics.

One of the many highlights tonight…. When @Msldemarco covers Vanessa Carlton & most of the lyrics are just "make my way downtown" pic.twitter.com/5tKGDh0Q9V

— Pursuit of Dopeness (@PursuitDopeness) May 17, 2017

At one point he mentioned he’d be going down to Lincoln Hall to see a show after his own concert finished up. New track “Moonlight on the River” was a long jam filled with effects that made for one big, beautiful chaotic mess. “Chamber of Reflection” led to a big singalong, leg-kick over the keyboard included. Set closer “Still Together” was capped by a big, collective band jump and Mac smashing the mic on the floor. This guy’s a real star; this concert was evidence enough for why he’s headlining Lollapalooza this year. If you’ve got tickets, make sure to close out Saturday night at the Pepsi stage.