Macklemore and Ryan Lewis @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre - 2/08/2016

As the house music dimmed a unifying anticipation swept through the crowd, with every exaggerated second of silence building the exhilaration and excitement. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis exploded onto the stage to ‘Light Tunnels’, the opening track from his New Album: This Unruly Mess I’ve Made.

After a brief introduction they jumped into “Brad Pitt’s Cousin” as the crowd’s feverishness continued to rise to new levels. The theatricality and emotionality of their performance was incredible and never ceased to amaze for a single moment. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis put on a thrilling show complete with set pieces and costume changes (including a rack of op-shop clothes, and the iconic fur coat from the thrift shop music video), but what was truly inspiring was their message: in order to overcome all the hatred and anger happening in the world today, we must all work together to accept and love one another.
 
Through the set they played hits including ‘Can’t Hold Us’, ‘Growing Up’ and of course the song that really put them on the map for its advocacy of LGBT rights: ‘Same Love’. Never for a moment did their energy slow, and throughout the entire show Macklemore made us laugh and scream with jubilation. When they played “Let’s Eat” off the new album Macklemore and Xperience sat at a table down the front of the stage and afterwards, wanting to share their tasty snacks with the crowd, Macklemore picked a member of the audience towards the back of the entertainment centre, to throw a cookie to.  While he may have missed them, the cookie made it to the back corner of the venue, much to my own surprise!
 
Their encore included ‘And We Danced’ from ‘The Unplanned Mixtape’, a cover of ‘Kiss’ by Prince and ‘Dance Off’ during which he brought up two members of the audience and had them dance head to head in front of the entire Brisbane Entertainment Centre, before finishing the set with the smash hit ‘Downtown’.
 
An altogether unforgettable night and amazing experience, Macklemore delivered a stellar show full of wonder, laughs and fat beats. I hope he comes back soon and that I’ll be lucky enough to catch him again.
 
Reviewer: Gabriel Langlais Leftwich and Brianna Gimbert