Machine Gun Kelly Puts On for Cleveland at Irving Plaza Show in New York City
On Wednesday night (Nov. 2), ravenous college kids donning bandanas and t-shirts flocked to New York City's Irving Plaza to watch Machine Gun Kelly conquer another venue on his month-long Alpha Omega tour. As Cleveland's prodigal son prepared to deliver a monstrous performance, overzealous sports junkies had their eyes plastered to every available flat screen to see if the city's Indians would trounce the Chicago Cubs for their first World Series title in over 60 years.
At 8:30 p.m., the crowd's attention quickly shifted away from Game 7 once opener Mod Sun touched the stage. The Minnesota MC morphed into an infectious ball of energy and dominated his set with each performance. While rapping "Free Love," Mod laid down on the middle of the stage and soaked in the lively crowd's response. His exuberance was matched by his shirtless drummer, who instantly became a crowd favorite because of his vigor on cuts like Mod's "Stoner Girl" and "We Do This." While "We Do This" thumped loudly through the speakers, a huge mosh pit ensued in the middle of the audience. Fans tossed away their shirts and began raging by pushing each other in sheer excitement. The ladies in the audience blissfully joined in on the act, as Mod serenaded them for “Stoner Girl.” Before pulling the plug on his set, he delivered a rousing performance of “My Hippy," which caused tremors in the bottom level of Irving Plaza.
With red lights beaming across the stage, the night's headliner emerged and kicked off the show with an ear-splitting performance of “Alpha Omega.” He then jumped into several of his buzzy records including “Est 4 Life” and the Chief Keef-assisted “Young Man." On several occasions, the vivacious rapper rapped on top of speakers and even pulled his best Peter Parker impression by daringly hanging on the balcony ledges of the V.I.P. section.
When MGK wasn’t climbing stage equipment, he was showcasing his skills on the guitar. He paid homage to Blink-182 and did a rendition of their magnum opus, 2000's "All the Small Things." He continued to showcase his prowess in heavy metal by jumping into "Oz," "Gone" and "Little More."
Women began swooning for the Ohio native as soon as he delivered his Camila Cabello duet, “Bad Things.” Enchanted by the words of the chorus, his female fans sung the hook in perfect harmony. The mosh pit then became a circle of peace during “Mind of a Stoner” (co-starring Wiz Khalifa). Of course, the turn-up quickly returned when MGK smashed the set with poignant hits like "Wild Boy”"and "Till I Die."
"It feels like it’s about to be a changing of the guards when it comes to greats in this generation," MGK told Billboard after his show. "It looks like I’m one of the chosen ones. That’s what I truly believe and stand by." He added, "“Bad Things” just hit the Top 40. I’ve been performing like crazy, perfecting my showmanship, and been practicing guitar every day. I’m coming for that spot."
As he walked around shirtless after his hour-and-a-half set, MGK received word that his Cleveland Indians just knotted up the score against the Chicago Cubs with a three-run blast in the bottom of the eighth ending (The Cubs eventually took the victory in extra innings, 8-7). Overwhelmed with joy, the Land rep swiftly scurried back into his dressing room to see whether his team will have an amazing night and walk away with the “W” like he did.