Mac DeMarco wrapped up his four-night NYC run (pics from Night 3 at MHOW w/ Jerry Paper and Happyness)

August 21, 2015

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin, words by Bill Pearis

Mac DeMarco @ MHOW 8/19/2015

“This is our third show in a row which is the first time we’ve ever done that,” Mac DeMarco‘s bassist Pierce McGarry admitted to the Music Hall of Williamsburg audience on Wednesday. “It’s super hard!” McGarry, who was wearing a furry neck pillow that almost seemed like it was part of his hair, provided most of the jokes at the third night of DeMarco’s four-night NYC run. “Three days in New York…I don’t know how you endure the subtle torture of living here.”

DeMarco shows are known for shenanigans, but the whole band are pretty great musicians, and they played it straight (at least till the end of the set) on Wednesday. They played all of his new mini-album, Another One, plus favorites like “Ode to Viceroy,” “Cookin’ Up Something Good” and “Let Her Go.” Like they did at their first two shows in the run, they launched into Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ in the Years” which they started mid-song at the twin-solo and let it trickle off when the chorus finally kicked back in.

It wasn’t till the yodel-y “Still Together” that things got nutty again. Mac spit water on the crowd who literally lapped it up like baby birds. (People really, really, really love Mac DeMarco.) “Remember how I was really sick two days ago,” DeMarco asked the front row. “Well, enjoy your weekend.” During the song a bunch of folks climbed on stage. The first person stage dove, but the others just seemed to be up there to take selfies, which Mac definitely did not approve of, pushing their phones aside or blocking his face till security pulled them off stage. There was also the requisite crowd-surfing moment from Mac himself, which you can see above.

Also on the bill on Wednesday were UK band Happyness whose take on Wilco/Pavement-y indie rock sounds pretty good, and Jerry Paper who in a robe and telemarketer headset confused some of the crowd. Pictures from the whole night are in this post.

Mac wrapped up his four-night run at Warsaw on Thursday night (8/20) with Delicate Steve. Anybody go to that one? More pics from his MHOW show below…

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