LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: Macklemore in Boston, MA (09.21.23)
I can remember when “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” came out in 2012 and were some of the most popular songs that summer. 11 years later, Macklemore is still playing those hits and hearing them live is almost better than listening to them the first time all those years ago. Macklemore brought the “Ben tour” to Boston last Thursday, visiting the area for the first time in six years and safe to say it was one of the best shows I have seen this year.
The anticipation in the crowd was evident with ages ranging from young kids to older adults. The concert kicks off with “CHANT” which is the first song off of Macklemore’s album BEN. After the opening song, he took sometime to talk with the crowd, mentioning how he used to spend his summers in Grafton. The next song was one of my favorites that Macklemore had done with Ryan Lewis titled “Ten Thousand Hours”. This song was followed by the Grammy winning song “Thrift Shop”, which had the crowd going crazy. This set seemingly had been perfected with coordinated dancers, instrumentalists across the stage was unlike anything I had seen. It was clear how much Macklemore and his team spent working on this tour.
The stage was set up so that Macklemore could have as much interaction with the crowd as possible. During his fourth song “White Walls” he took out a super-soaker water gun and sprayed the crowd, making the audience get even more hyped for the rest of the show. “Downtown” was next, which was a surprise for Boston because it is not on the original setlist. After the surprise song, Macklemore played “Same Love” which is about LGBTQ rights. With there being such a large LGBTQ population in Boston it was clear how well received the song was during the show.
Mackelmore came back out for his encore in a Boston Celtics t-shirt and performed “Good Old Days”. To show love for another Boston sports team, he changed into a custom Red Sox jersey and gave another surprise by performing “Irish Celebration”, which was not on the original setlist. He ended the show with one of his best songs, “Can’t Hold Us”. This was honestly one of the best shows I have seen and it was so clear that everyone in the audience and everyone on stage was having a great time.
Listen Macklemore’s album BEN – HERE.
Catch the rest of Macklemore’s tour – HERE.
Photos – Macklemore at MGM Music Hall on September 21st:
