Run the Jewels can seemingly do no wrong. With two critically acclaimed albums and countless highly praised performances behind them, the duo of El-P and Killer Mike were in top form at the Majestic Theatre Friday night.
Known for their aggressive and clever lyrics, exemplary charisma and abrasive beats, Run the Jewels lived up to their hype in every way.
With Queen’s “We are the Champions” playing in the background, the duo sauntered onto the stage with their gun and fist Run the Jewels signs held high. After basking in the crowd’s reverence for a few moments, they launched right into a standout track from their first album, Run the Jewels.
After that, the duo hit hard with a ridiculous one-two punch in “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry” and “Blockbuster Night Part 1.” By this point, the hype level of the crowd was through the roof and there was absolutely no chance of it coming down.
Run the Jewels then continued through a pretty even and representative collection of songs from their only two albums. The only exception was “Tougher Colder Killer,” a song that appeared on El-P’s solo album but features Killer Mike as well as one of the openers, Despot.
Run the Jewels spit hot fire, steal rap game on banger-filled second LP
The crowd more similarly resembled one assembled for a Beach House or Sun Kil Moon show rather than a hip-hop show. The crowd was very white, very male and very indie for the most part.
Despite the demographic makeup of the crowd, they were in no way reserved or stiff, but quite the opposite. Seemingly every other song incited mass jumping that sometimes turned pushy.
Something notable about the duo’s Madison show was that it was a homecoming for their DJ — DJ TrackStar. A few songs into the set, Killer Mike brought attention to TrackStar’s parents who were in attendance and sitting in the balcony. Many times between songs, El-P and Killer Mike would showcase their charisma and unmatched chemistry in small, yet hilarious back and forth commentary.
Not all of the banter was light, however. Before playing the anti-police brutality song “Early,” Mike dedicated the song to protesters in Ferguson.
Much of the banter echoed the populist motifs present in the duo’s music. El-P went off on a particularly bizarre mini-rant concerning issues the crowd may face at work and how they shouldn’t let their bosses tell them if they’re good enough. It was well intentioned, but came off a little out of place.
Another thing of note was the somewhat awkward song intros. Much like OutKast during their tour this summer, many of the song introductions were painfully pre-planned and led to a corny, disingenuous feel.
None of this could take away from the energetic, high quality show the duo put on. While many hip-hop acts play over a backing vocal track or routinely skip lines, it was easy to tell that both El-P and Killer Mike were seasoned professionals who would not engage in such tactics.
After closing the set with “A Christmas Fucking Miracle,” the pair came back on for an emotionally heavy encore in the form of the song “Angel Duster” from their newest release.
Not a group to distance themselves from the audience, Run the Jewels stayed on stage a little longer to sign a record or two and high-five some people near the front. In addition to this, both El-P and Killer Mike made appearances at the merchandise table after the show.
Ultimately, it’s quite a tall task for any other current hip-hop act to put on the kind of show Run the Jewels puts on. From the non-stop energy to the jovial interplay between El-P and Killer Mike to the abrasiveness of the beats, it’s hard not to be totally absorbed in the show.
If you need any other proof of the appeal and infectiousness of Run the Jewels, even DJ TrackStar’s dad was throwing up the trademark gun and fist sign in approval by the end of the show.
