These two created a novelty hit with Thrift Shop, but even under the silliness and humor of that songs laid a toss to realism and a commentary on the ignorance of the designer culture we find so prevalent in today’s world. There was a balance in social consciousness and straight-up humor. Also, don’t let us discount the ridiculously infectious musical hook created by Ryan Lewis.

Even someone who rarely watches TV like myself has caught an appearance by these two on a talk show or two. They’ve appeared on SNL, Macklemore was on the cover of Rolling Stone and Funny or Die even had them star in a skit. All of this attention came even while the pair remained outside of the mainstream music industry. Sure, they signed a distribution deal with ADA, which was passed off to their parent company, Warner Brothers, but, in the end, these two own their music and their fate.

Without the strong grounding in the underground rap community, these two might have gone a different path. Would a major label have allowed Ryan Lewis to keep producing beats or would they have wanted to get one of their “big name” producers to take over? Would most of the songs on The Heist have survived? The lyrics seemed to be opposition to anything currently allowed in mainstream rap. How would it have worked out?

Success found while going against the current is rather impressive. Releasing an album, putting a tour together and creating a following from a network of your own choosing is impressive, to say the least. Now, you’ve heard the legend, or at least my telling of it, so let’s get to the show:

With a flash of light, the tune of Ten Thousand Hours kicked off. Ryan Lewis bounced up and down, riling up the crowd, the string section danced around, a trumpet player hit some notes and, finally, Macklemore rose up from the floor to kick into the first verse. The audience showed more life that they had all night and the party was beginning.

Ten Thousand Hours was the perfect kick off to the show and not only because it was the first track off The Heist, but because it summed up the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to become great at anything you do. The hours spent writing lyrics, overcoming addiction, creating songs with Lewis and touring around the country finally led to this stage.

Macklemore brought this point home when he discussed playing Houston before to an audience of 200 people, then coming back as part of a festival, but, on this night, pulling 5000 folks into the arena. Even better was the almost Parliament-like vibe on the stage. All sorts of weird items were around the stage, costumes were worn and/or changed into and guests rolled forth throughout the night.

Not one to make the people wait, Ryan Lewis cued up the music for Thrift Shop and got the entire arena rapping and dancing along. Macklemore and company threw clothes off of shelves into the audience, scored a short-term loan of a bear-skin coat from the audience and the hook from Wenz, man, that was a sing-along moment most will not forget.

As Thrift Shop ended, Macklemore took the time to discuss his former addictions that landed him in rehab back in 2008. He discussed throwing away years of creative energy by just getting drunk or high and checking out on the world. It was a story you hear quite often, but, meeting Ryan Lewis through Myspace changed all of that. One of the key moments in the tale was Lewis looping a Red Hot Chili Peppers tune and inspiring Macklemore to pen Otherside.

On this night, the lights went dim and a spotlight shined down on Macklemore as he rapped the song out all by himself. No beats, no backup, just him and the mic. It was a good moment to show how it could all come together again for someone, as the following tune, Starting Over, said, “If I can be an example of getting sober, I can be an example of starting over.”

After that, the life lessons rolled forth again. The marriage-equality-based, Same Love, brought the house back into full sing-along mode. Everyone sang the hook with the lovely Mary Lambert throughout and created a beautiful moment. The largely adolescent makeup of the audience showed the future generation is ready for equality and acceptance of positive messages in the hip-hop community.

The night rolled on and the music flowed forth with tunes like Can’t Hold Us and White Walls. It kept the party atmosphere going and the audience responded to each of these songs with equal parts enthusiasm and affection.

As the night closed, at the conclusion of Irish Celebration, a beautiful moment took place: a visibly tired Macklemore bent over to take in the applause of the audience, he pulled his earpiece monitors out and just listened to the applause, then, when looked up, you could see a genuine smile on his face. The look said “Damn, I’ve finally made it.” Yes, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, you two have made it and thanks for bring your friends along to share in the moment, the audience loved every moment.

Before Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hit the stage, Talib Kweli laid down a set.

I was big fan of Blackstar back when I first got into college, which was a duo of Kweli and Mos Def, so I was genuinely excited for the set. I enjoyed their socially conscious lyrics and energetic performances.

However, on this night, being backed by only a DJ, the set was a roller coaster. Some tracks saw Kweli bringing a ton of energy and others saw him take a backseat to others who were pushing their own albums, mostly performers on Kweli’s own label.

The shining moments were great, but I would have liked to have had more Kweli and less guest space, though I will say the guests were talented, but with a short opening set, I really want more Talib Kweli.

The opening act on the night was Big K.R.I.T., who kept the southern rap scene vibe going throughout his set. It was not unique, but it was done well. His set rolled consistently high energy and the early arrivals had fun with it, which is all you can ask from the opener.

Setlist:
Ten Thousand Hours
Crew Cuts
Life Is Cinema
Thrift Shop
Otherside
Starting Over
Same Love
Freestyle
Can’t Hold Us
White Walls
Wing$
Encore:
And We Danced
Irish Celebration
Can’t Hold Us