Fans who fill the OVO Wembley Arena on Wednesday night know that Macklemore has had a pretty torrid time of it over the past few years.
The star’s first album in six years, BEN, dropped earlier this year and tackled life during the pandemic as he battled ghosts of addiction and a struggle to find joy in life.
At moments, that brilliant record is a hard listen as Macklemore pens abusive love letters to alcohol and heartbreaking apologies to his family but it ends with an overwhelming feeling of hard-earned hope – if you’ve not listened this is why you really should.
Armed with BEN, Macklemore is full of that newfound joie de vivre as he bounces onto the Wembley Arena stage. After delivering mission statement ‘CHANT’ with Tones and I alongside, the star tells the crowd: “It took Covid to make me understand that all that matters is to have fun and spread love.”
Macklemore then blasts into everyone’s favourite guilty pleasure ‘Thrift Shop’ before heading into the euphoric ‘NO BAD DAYS’ and anthemic ‘Downtown’ alongside the ever-cooky Eric Nally.
Elsewhere, Dan Caplen makes an appearance to belt the chorus of ‘These Days’ and ‘And We Danced’ is given its usual deliciously kitsch treatment for a real highlight of the night.
The Macklemore songbook really is something to marvel at with hit after hit making for a pulsating sugar rush of a show.
It’s not all about the radio classics and viral tracks on Wednesday night, though. ‘1984’ is a real triumph on BEN and ‘TAIL LIGHTS’ puts a lump in the throat as Macklemore chooses life once again.
Those more serious moments are kept sparse with the rapper keeping a party at the forefront of his mind and the darkest tracks from BEN are kept away from the live stage.
Nonetheless, when sincerity does come it’s moments of live music to remember forever. ‘Same Love’ is timelessly important while ‘Wing$’ could be the best track across the whole of the Macklemore discography.
Inevitably, the night ends on mega-hit ‘Can’t Hold Us’. If Macklemore’s mission is euphoria, that track delivers it in bucket loads.
Standing over nearly 7,000 adoring fans at Wembley Arena, Macklemore is full of joy and it’s infectious.
Are you a Macklemore fan? Let us know @CelebMix on Twittter.