Last week I was able to attend a Mac Demarco concert in Big
Sur, CA. It was a hipster gathering in the heart of the California coast,
filled with craft beer, flannel, rompers, sarcastic smoking, and weed. It was
relaxed and intimate environment to see a truly talented musician preform and
entertain his audience.
Big Sur is a true gem on the coastal road of California, and
is the last major stop on Highway 1 going South before you reach the creeping
edges of Southern California in Santa Barbra. The Big Sur lifestyle represents
a lot of the values of Northern California: healthy living, being responsible
for the environment and loving nature, and all sorts of other hippie notions
fueled by decades of reefer madness - the perfect setting for a psychedelic
pop/rock shoe gaze fest.
The concert was held at Loma Vista Gardens, a place that acts
as a town center to the locals of the area. It is complete with giant tree
house, small amphitheater, stage, and a DJ booth where the walls are made of
tree trunks seeming to have grown around it.
When I arrived a light mist had started to fall on the
revelers nestled into the mountainside. Most sat on the dance floor
cross-legged passing around joints with their friends. All were dressed in a
fairly hipster uniform of plaids, vintage sweaters and the latest from Urban
Outfitters. When the DJ’s set came to an end everyone sat up and shuffled to
the stage waiting for the opening act to start.
Calvin Love and his band opened with their own brand of
synth heavy electro pop. The dreamy tracks had the crowd’s heads bobbing in no
time. Calvin Love was the main attraction of the band playing most of the
interesting guitar parts and singing. The songs gelled into each other and soon
Calvin Love was finishing up their rather misty sounding set as the marine effect
laying low in the Mountains of Big Sur began to drop more water on heads of concert
goers.
Admittedly I had decided to go to the concert rather last
minute and wasn’t extremely familiar with Demarco’ music beyond a few tracks
off of his new album "Salad Days", but I was not disappointed. In fact,
his live performance was even better than the recorded music. On the recorded
music Demarco plays all of the parts, so when you hear the live version it is
really different, because now you have other musicians in the mix and putting
their own slant on the piece. Demarco’s vocals took on a new life as he hit
higher notes then expected and held a tone entirely his own in style. His
performance goofy and good natured laden with jokes and crowd surfing,
reflected a really easy going sense of a man who is so often portrayed as a
clown and joker, gap toothed and inappropriate.
The evening’s music had everyone moving, taking us through
highs and lows all beautifully crafted by the crooning voice of Demarco. His
new album Salad Days is now available to buy on iTunes.
