Mom jeans, dad hats, and scuffed up sneakers are some of the attire you’ll find on people attending a Mac Demarco show. Singer-songwriter Mac Demarco made a stop in downtown Durham to host an intimate performance full of rock ‘n’ roll and comedy at the historic Carolina Theatre.

This is Demarco’s second tour in North America to promote his latest record This Old Dog, which was released in May. Earlier this spring, Demarco made a stop at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville as his first visit to venues in North Carolina this year. His second tour has brought him to perform at bigger and more esteemed venues all around the country such as the prestigious Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

At the Carolina theatre, fans excitedly ran into the auditorium waiting for the show to begin. They were greeted by sounds of an ambient synthesizer playing in the background. Opening up for Demarco was The Garden, a duo consisting of twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears hailing from Orange County, California. The duo’s music genre can be characterized as experimental and somewhat cartoonish. While the group has nothing stylistically in common with Demarco, they are an ideal opener to hype the crowd up for the main act with their unique and wacky energy.

The show began with The Garden, the duo immediately came out to display their wacky, almost animated performance. The two constantly jumped around while performing their songs, playfully kicking each other as brothers typically do, and even having the drummer run off the stage to the audience during one of their songs. Even with the all absurd idiosyncrasies, the duo still manages to play excellently and put on a good performance that sounded very close to their studio records. Unfortunately, the audience didn’t reciprocate the energy the duo was giving off and made the performance feel like an awkward high school talent show, though the band is really talented but quirky.

After the fifteen minute intermission, the main act himself came out to perform. Demarco came out with his band to a roaring audience eagerly anticipating his next move. He is known for engaging the audience and assuring them that the show will be a fun and safe event.

Demarco and his band came out and performed fan favorites such as “Salad Days”, “Freaking Out the Neighborhood” and more recent tracks from his previous album such as “For the First Time” and “This Old Dog”. The band sounded very crisp and Demarco crooned over the microphone with his somewhat raspy vocals. In many ways, the concert felt like a comedy show. In between songs during the set, Demarco and his band constantly cracked jokes, engaged with hecklers, and conversated with the audience.

The only weak parts of the concerts were that Demarco and his band spent way too much time bantering in between songs and wasting valuable set times. The finale of the concert was quite weak as the band covered one too many classic rock songs instead of performing songs from his own discography. While the Carolina Theatre is a very nice venue it didn’t quite fit the intimacy that Demarco brings to the concert with over 90% being in required seating.
Overall, Mac Demarco put on a good show and delivered a very fun and enjoyable evening. The opening act, The Garden definitely surprised with their performance as well. If Mac Demarco is ever in a town near you, you are in for a treat.