Above: Macklemore crowd surfs during “Can't Hold Us” in the Capitol Theater on Sunday night.
By Janine Gates
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis received an enthusiastic Olympia
welcome Sunday evening as they came to town for an intimate, energetic concert at the
Capitol Theater.
One of eight stops on their Northwest “Camping Tour,” the Olympia concert sold out in less than an hour.
Above: Before the concert, Mayor Cheryl
Selby presented Macklemore and Ryan Lewis with the cultural keys to the city for
their artistic contributions and positive messages while challenging
homophobia, promotion of anti-racism discourse, and long term investment in the
Black Lives Matter movement.
“…Olympia had a huge impact on me becoming the
artist and the human I am today….I met a lot of rappers and a lot of amazing
artists and people who wanted to change the world and there were a lot of conversations.
If it were not for Olympia, I would not be here,” Macklemore told the cheering
crowd.
Warming up the crowd inside before the concert was Xperience, (without the “e”
because rappers have to mess with their names and better known as XP), who proudly
told the crowd that he was born at St. Peter’s Hospital, and has been
collaborating with Macklemore for 13 years.
Macklemore and Lewis kept the crowd singing, dancing,
sweating, laughing, and crying with non-stop hits from Cadillac to White Privilege II, ending with Downtown.
“…It’s up to us to rewire…we need to let love take over…I don’t care about the color of your skin, your sexual orientation…I
don’t care what your passport says, I want you to be inspired by diversity, not
afraid of it. And at the end of the day, hatred can never overpower love,” said Macklemore as he
lead into Same Love.
Macklemore joked and told stories of his time in Olympia,
during which he created The Language of
My World album and graduated from The Evergreen State College.
“Olympia became my family….you guys are my family,
and so is Brad Pitt,” as he segued into Brad
Pitt’s Cousin.
Describing his drive into Olympia, taking Exit 104,
he headed toward Capital Mall, Red Robin, Toys R Us, seeing the skate park on the left,
and Burger King on the right.
“….I kept driving, telling myself to stay focused, when
all of a sudden, I hear angels calling. What the fuck is that? And I look over
to the right….”
The crowd screamed, realizing he’s heading toward Goodwill and,
of course, Thrift Shop.
Above: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis rocked until 11:15 p.m.
Next, they are on to sold out shows in Hoquiam, Bremerton, and Bellingham, and will end up in Seattle for Bumbershoot on September 3.
