Simplistically Captivating: Mac Demarco live at Manchester’s Aviva Studios
The unhinged Canadian indie rocker returns to UK for the first time in half a decade.
Photo: Press
There’s always been a unique familiarity with Mac Demarco’s persona; it’s a sort of mix between his unbothered charm and class clown attitude that drives a carefree essence throughout his music. This isn’t a dig at his artistic vision as he seemingly embraces the slacker rock label, and in doing so has turned in some of the 21st century’s greatest indie classics with the likes of 2, Salad Days and This Old Dog.
It’s been half a decade since Mac Demarco last toured the UK and, since quitting his well-stated ode to cigarettes for sobriety, his recent records showcase a new sense of creative freedom in his work. Following the release of the experimental demo collections of One Wayne G and most recent bedroom indie record, Guitar, the timing seems better than ever for the long-awaited return.
No grand entrances precede the show, just a simple wave and a casual invitation: “Make yourself at home, Manchester.” This immediately gives way to the subtle guitar strains of opener Shining. Despite the stripped-back, bedroom-recording aesthetic of his latest album, Demarco has found ways to flesh out live renditions, revealing something looser and more dynamic. Each track shifts in mood as his voice effortlessly slides into falsetto, riding atop instrumentation with considerably more groove and heft than its original recordings.
Yet it is the classics of 2, Salad Days and This Old Dog that truly ignite the crowd. Each opening note sparks a sense of recognition and excitement, culminating in moments like Ode to Viceroy, which becomes the night’s first major highlight, soon matched by a sing-along for Freaking Out the Neighbourhood, marked by a rising wave of shoulders throughout the audience. When he reaches Passing Out Pieces, a song once steeped in youthful mischief, it lands with a different emotional resonance; though only 35, Demarco’s revisitation of his earlier misbehaviour carries subtle nostalgia, punctuated by his line to the crowd: “You’re making an old man feel young again.”
The setlist is sprawling and generous, striking a perfect balance between upbeat crowd-pleasers and gentle downtempo moments, creating natural waves of collective energy. It’s not that the old Mac has vanished — far from it.
He’s in playful form throughout, punctuating the set with goofy stage antics, comedic accents and tribal-esque improvised dances that display Mac’s silhouette across the warehouse’s walls.
Mac ends the set with favourites Moonlight on the River, My Kind of Woman and Chamber of Reflection, leaving the audience both exhilarated and nostalgic. This performance reinforces his image as the charmingly irreverent friend whose natural gift for guitar work accidentally shaped him into the quintessential modern indie rocker.