An Evening With Death Grips
I don’t care about real life. I don’t care about real life.
I recently had the opportunity to catch Death Grips play a show in Minneapolis, Minnesota on their 2015 North American tour on June 27th, 2015. The concert, “An Evening With Death Grips” was sold out at the world famous First Avenue mainroom. There were no opening acts, and the Grips played to a packed audience of 1,500 people. Doors were 8:00 pm, and the Grips started their set at around 9:30 pm. They played for well over an hour. Their entire set was performed with manic intensity and surgical precision. They took no breaks. There was limited audience interaction. They performed their entire set bathed in red light, no tricks or light show. It was almost like viewing them through a portal to another world.
It was tough to make out MC Ride’s visage against the backdrop of red light, but he rapped, shouted, and screamed his way through over twenty songs picked from their whole career to date. His movements were an impressive part of the act – they seemed inhuman. Ride shaped his body into a crucifix position, paced the stage, and slithered about restlessly. Zach Hill played a relentless drum set. I noticed there was a lot more going on drum-wise during the live performance than on their records. Andy Morin played the tracks and keyboards, and was as vibrant in his performance as either of the other two members.
Having just caught what was likely the loudest performance of my life in New York City, I have to say this was close. Their set included songs from each of their albums, including Fashion Week. The group ran through old and new tracks, and the audience knew all of them. They covered everything from “Takyon (Death Yon)”, “Hustle Bones”, “I’ve Seen Footage” to “Inanimate Sensation” and “Why A Bitch Gotta Lie?”. The only downside for me personally was that I was hoping to hear “Beware” or “Artificial Death In The West”, but as far as I’m aware they don’t break those out live.
Their set ended with “I Want It I Need It (Death Heated)”, MC Ride thanked the audience, and they left the stage. It was a hell of a show – it was hypnotic before the finish. Well worth the price of admission for over an hour of music. During the performance they put to rest everything their detractors have said about them, major label shenanigans, and their “break up”, which in hindsight appears to be a strategic PR stunt and nothing more. Long live Death Grips.
Jenny Death, part two of The Powers That B dropped online March 19th, 2015.
Check out some photos from Jon Behm at Reviler, which can be originally seen here:
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