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High energy doesn’t begin to explain the way Machine Gun Kelly performed on May 3rd at Tempe’s Rocky Point Cantina. The venue itself was relatively small and was completely packed, the only place to seek refuge being the bar.
Despite a huge setback in Chicago, where the bus driver abandoned the MGK crew and left them without equipment and a way to continue, they were able to complete the final string of shows along the West Coast with a makeshift bus and gear. They managed to get to Albuquerque, then Tucson, and to finally to Tempe where he commanded the stage.
One thing to note was his timeliness and eagerness to please his fans. He was scheduled to begin at 11 p.m. and was on stage performing by 11:05, something generally unheard of for any concert. He interacted with the audience throughout the entire show with everything from stage diving to spitting Ciroc on the crowd after chugging from the bottle.
He began his incredibly personal set with “Save Me” a hit off his Lace Up album. The performance seemed to rile the crowd to the point where a member of the audience climbed up on the rafters and was then promptly ejected by an overzealous security guard.
Kelly continued with “What I Do,” featuring Dub-O and Bun B, and held the somber energy throughout the entire song. With lyrics like, “This shit’s too real for ya’ll cause almost everybody rapping isn’t real at all. Sometimes I forget I got a deal cause’ I’m busy thinking about when I couldn’t get a meal at all,” he depicted the struggle he faced before his “come up.”
Getting off of the mellow vibe Kelly moved on to “Ratchet,” a song dedicated to the overconfident, obnoxious, unfortunate-looking women in the hip hop world. This track was accompanied by a group of women on stage that fit the description and the crowd rapping along to every hilarious line.
Along with performing tracks from Lace Up he also included a few songs like Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit.” Mixing up the flow of hip hop would seem to be out of place, but Kelly’s punk-rock attitude and show environment (complete with mosh pits) was perfect for these types of variations.
Longtime Machine Gun Kelly fan Zachary Dougherty was impressed by the show, “I watched him grow as an artist so it was easy to connect with him when he was performing for his fans.” Although this was his first MGK show, he is no newbie to the hip hop culture, claiming he’s seen roughly 20 concerts while only being 22 years old.
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His show was top one or two for me,” Dougherty stated in regards to favorite concerts, his pure, unrelenting stage presence and powerful command of the audience being why.
