Home > Indie

10/08/2023

Macklemore with Beeba at Roseland Theater on 10/07/2023 - Photos and review

By CHRISTINA HALL // Macklemore put on an unforgettable show at Roseland Theater. It was very heartfelt and full of gratitude, but embraced the energetic and playful side of the artist. It’s no surprise that both shows of the weekend sold out during the presale.

Commencing the West coast portion of The BEN Tour, Mackelmore kicked off the first of two sold out nights at Portland's Roseland Theater. His band and back up singers took the stage before Mackelmore, who's real name is Ben Haggerty, performed CHANT and a gospel-esque song about resilience. Thrift Shop shifted the energy of the crowd even higher as dancers took the stage, Macklemore performing some choreography that would occasionally appear throughout the evening.

The Seattle-native chatted with the crowd and reminisced about how Portland was the first place that he had "made it" outside of his hometown. He mentioned that this venue was smaller than most; there would be no pyrotechnics as seen in other coverage of his tour. This show would be intimate...but hot, due to the unseasonably warm weather in the area. However, he foreshadowed that eventually it would be wet.

The entire band, including Beeba, the DJ who warmed up the crowd earlier that night, joined in on choreography for No Bad Days as Macklemore took squirt guns and shot them into the crowd. He again spoke, discussing imposter syndrome and sharing gratitude with everyone being part of his community, where he finds purpose. This began a cluster of meaningful songs including, Same Love a song about LGBTQ+ rights, Otherside about addiction, Starting Over about the guilt, struggle and shame about relapse.

The rest of the evening took a playful turn beginning with 1984, which not surprisingly had an 80's sound. Before And We Danced, a parody intro played on the LED. Mackelmore then came out in a wig and sequin cape, fully playing into a character that some fans embraced by dressing up themselves. Two fans were brought on stage for a dance off with Macklemore recapping their moves.

A short intermission included PeeWee Herman visuals on the large LED screen, while Tequila played. Macklemore's daughter came to the stage to help him toss out Capri Suns before ending the main set with Glorious. Macklmore came back onto the stage wearing a Portland Blazers jersey for a three-song encore, Tail Lights, Good Old Days and Can't Hold us down. Macklemore dove into the crowd where confetti shot out to end the night.

Macklemore put on an unforgettable show at Roseland Theater. It was very heartfelt and full of gratitude, but embraced the energetic and playful side of the artist. It’s no surprise that both shows of the weekend sold out during the presale.

Comments