If any of the fans at at last night’s Hoodie Allen show at First Avenue got soaked at the Zombie Pub Crawl the night before it did not diminish their spirits. Maybe it was a different crowd ready to party (being an all ages show), but one thing is for certain – everyone was ready to have a great time.
First up was Myles Parrish previously of pop duo Kalin and Myles. He dedicated his set to Prince and asked that lights be purple only. A short delay (technical difficulties) brought offers of assistance “I’ll do backup vocals”, “I’ll DJ” from the crowd but once things got started Parrish’s songs were quite catchy with a mix of cuts from his solo album as well as hits from Kalin and Myles. The frequent use of air horn sounds at the end of songs made me feel like I was in episode of “What would Diplo do?”
Set List: ?? / 2006 / do my step / trampoline / Mobbin / Flexible / all in my head / stand for you / what’s really good / notification / cut a rug / tommy bahama / Chase your dreams
Luke Christopher’s set was cancelled and Myle’s DJ filled in to entertain the crowd.
Loud chants of “Hoodie, Hoodie” greeted the headliner. Steven Markowitz aka Hoodie Allen just self released his third album “The Hype”. Before the set fans had a chance to text a number for a chance to receive a signed shirt on stage. Allen announced 2 goals for the night. To have the best set of his tour for himself, and for everyone else to have the best f’ing Sunday ever.
Well if anyone did not achieve that goal it certainly it was not from lack of effort on Hoodie’s part or lack of accessories – Frequent blasts of CO2, flying cake, a rain of bank notes from the stage, balloons, an inflatable boat for crowd surfing and a ton of confetti for the final song. The winning fan received her shirt and got to announce the next number.
Between songs there was a lot of banter between Hoodie and his guitar player Alex and shoutouts to First Ave, the Vikings, and Minneapolis in general. The set list was created to include songs from all of Allen’s albums and EPs and the energy level through the performance remained high.
The audience was unsurprisingly young and female sprinkled with a few confused looking boyfriends and parents. By sheer dumb luck I found myself standing next to a small platform at the back of First Avenue when Hoodie moved to it mid song to perform in the crowd.
Overall the party atmosphere and energy of Hoodie’s show rivaled some of the best I have seen at that venue. It may not be the type of music that I normally listen to but everyone had a blast. And that is one heck of a way to spend Sunday night.
Set List: Believe / Sushi / Are U Having Any Fun? / Fakin’ / Something Dangerous / You Are Not a Robot / Act My Age / Surprise Party / Cake Boy / James Franco / Two Lips / Champagne and Pools / Fame Is for Assholes / Know It All / No Faith in Brooklyn / All About It / All My Friends
Encore: Ain’t Ready / No Interruption
