Seattle's Hip Hop Prince, Crowned: Macklemore Basks in NW Love at Sasquatch

Seattle's Hip Hop Prince, Crowned: Macklemore Basks in NW Love at Sasquatch

Seattle rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis' headlining set to open Sasquatch Fest Friday night was certainly a homecoming to rival all homecomings. "I've been backstage with anxiety, thinking, 'This is your people, your family, the Northwest is gonna be here tonight,'" he told the audience at the Gorge Amphitheater, a stunning venue (and longtime home to Sasquatch) a four-hour drive east of Seattle. "What do I say to these people? How do I address 30,000 people here?" Then he delivered it: "I've been working my entire life to step up here onstage at the Gorge," he said, now emotional. "Nowhere in the world is as beautiful as the backdrop here." This was a local boy done good, returning home to flaunt the pop glory and bask in the adoration of his most fervent fans, and they gave him a prince's welcome. Earlier, the crowd watching Vampire Weekend, playing across the hillside venue, thinned to surprisingly sparse numbers as the buzz built for the hip hop duo's main stage arrival. A Euro-soccer-stadium-style chant echoed (how 'bout those Seattle Sounders, eh?) and horns trumpeted. And then there's Macklemore, in his rattle-snake-skin sequined robe, stomping and running along a stage jutting into the audience, doing his knees-bent, arms-flailing, "Whoa, I'm falling... maybe..." signature dance. He rapped, "This is our evening, this is our night..." No, dude. This is your night (and Ryan Lewis' too, but mostly just yours). And the socially-conscious rhymesayer came armed with a message, a few of 'em, actually, and the crowd agreed with their leader, who's a bit of an anomaly in the rap game. His breakout LP with Lewis, The Heist, is colored with the childhood memories of an '80s baby--SATs, Nintendo, spiral-notebook classroom scribbles, those first Nike Air Jordans. But his more risky messages are aimed at rap music. He dissed the glorification of drug use in hip hop on "Otherside," an older track from his first collabo with Lewis, 2010's VS. Redux EP. He prefaced it with the confessional story of his own addiction that was first met with beer-hoisting hollers, but later, perhaps, moments of self-reflection for the intoxicated crowd. "I never had moderation with drugs," he said. He preached of the horrors of OxyContin and Percocet addiction (which, like much of work class America, ravaged the Seattle area), and praised a 2008 rehab stint for setting his music career on track. Then onto his next cause: Gay rights, and its role in hip hop, a long misogynistic genre. "I believe in compassion, love and tolerance," he preached before his breakout The Heist hit, "Same Love." "And Washington State is leading the way!" That was Macklemore's real message Friday night: The Pacific Northwest is the bestestest. He honored its rabid thrift shop and vintage culture in "Thrift Shop," featuring deep and smooth vocals from singer Wanz. Gold lights flashed, backup dancers worked it and brass wailed. Macklemore rolled across the stage on a second-hand scooter in the fur coat from the song's popular music video, rapping about broken keyboards and hand-me-down kneeboards. The Goodwills along I-90 will certainly be cleaned out by Tuesday. He honored Dave Niehaus, the late Mariners baseball radio sportscaster, in "My Oh My," showing images of Ken Griffey Jr., the city's '90s sports super star, crushing home runs onscreen. He saluted a picture of the fallen Kingdome arena. He wore a vintage Detlef Schrempf Seattle Sonics jersey in solidarity with the "F-ck the NBA" t-shirts in the crowd, protesting the vote preventing the team's return to Seattle. "You have no idea how amazing it feels to be back home in the Pacific Northwest," he gushed. That's not hyperbole. Considering the duo's whirlwind, worldwide press blitz behind The Heist, an independently-released album that's topped the charts and sold over 500,000, it's not hard to imagine a heartfelt return home for Macklemore. He shouted out Spokane, Vancouver, BC, Portland and finally Seattle to a massive roar. Then he dedicated "Cowboy Boots" to the Emerald City's hipster 'hood Capitol Hill: "Cowboy boots doing lines at the bar / Where the time goes slow when you're drinking PBR / And we drink and get older / And some of us even try to get sober / Now here's to the assholes and the last calls." There's a twinge of disdain for the hipster elite that's often dragged Macklemore through the mud in the press. But he's a rapper who does it his way, whether it's his interpretation of the hip hop genre, his version of "cool" or the messages he supports. And people from the Northwest--people accustomed to doing things their own way, too--are proud to call him their own.



news sours   www.fuse.tv

ABC adds 12 shows, including 'S.H.I.E.L.D.,' 'Lucky 7'

ABC adds 12 shows, including 'S.H.I.E.L.D.,' 'Lucky 7'

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming to the small screen. ABC today picked up Marvel's first TV series, which focuses on a small group of agents from the worldwide law-enforcement agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. They investigate the strange and unknown in an effort to protect the public. The network also picked up 11 other series, including Super Fun Night, which stars Rebel Wilson, and The Goldbergs. Renewals include Modern Family, The Middle, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Castle, Nashville, Once Upon a Time, Last Man Standing, Revenge and Suburgatory. No word yet on The Neighbors. The ending wasn't happy for Happy Endings, which was canceled, as were Malibu Country, How to Live With Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life), Body of Proof and Red Widow. Which of the new shows will kick off the fall season, and on which nights they'll air, will be announced when the network presents its fall lineup to advertisers next week in New York. The network's seven drama pickups include: - S.H.I.E.L.D., in which Clark Gregg, a veteran of Marvel's feature films, brings his character, Agent Phil Coulson, to TV. Coulson oversees a group of agents that includes Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), who is trained in combat and espionage; Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), a pilot and martial artist; Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), an engineer; and Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), a biochemist. Computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet) joins them. Joss Whedon, director of Marvel's The Avengers, is the executive producer of the much-anticipated show. ABC will provide a first look at S.H.I.E.L.D. during Sunday's season finale of Once Upon a Time (8 p.m. ET/PT). - Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, from Once executive producers Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. In Victorian England, Alice (Sophie Lowe) finds a strange new land on the other side of a rabbit hole. John Lithgow provides the voice of the White Rabbit. - Lucky 7, which centers on seven Queens gas station employees who are part of a long-running lottery pool. Matt Long, Stephen Louis Grush, Summer Bishil, Lorraine Bruce, Anastasia Phillips, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., and Luis Antonio Ramos play the seven, who could all use the money to solve life's problems. - Betrayal, in which a photographer (Hannah Ware) and a lawyer (Stuart Townsend) share an immediate attraction, even though each is married to someone else. Just as their affair starts, they find themselves on opposite sides of a murder investigation. Chris Johnson, Wendy Moniz, James Cromwell and Henry Thomas also star. - Mind Games, which features Steve Zahn and Christian Slater playing brothers who are partners in a business designed to solve clients' problems using the science of psychological manipulation. Zahn's Clark is a former professor who has bipolar disorder, while Slater's Ross is a con man who spent time in prison. Megalyn Echikunwoke, Cedric Sanders, Gregory Marcel and Wynn Everett also star. - Resurrection, in which the people of a Missouri town find their deceased loved ones starting to return. A sheriff (Matt Craven), among others, tries to resolve the mystery. Omar Epps, Kurtwood Smith and Frances Fisher are cast members. - Killer Women, which features Molly Parker (Tricia Helfer) as the only female in an elite squad of lawmen, the Texas Rangers. When some law enforcement officials want to see her fail, the Rangers provide support for Molly. The comedies include: - Super Fun Night, which features Conan O'Brien as an executive producer. Night focuses on junior lawyer Kimmie Boubier (Wilson) and her two best friends, played by Liza Lapira and Lauren Ash. They share a Friday fun night, but Kimmie's promotion complicates the tradition as new social and professional opportunities open for her. - The Goldbergs, which goes back to the 1980s and stars Wendi McClendon-Covey and Jeff Garlin as parents of three, including an 11-year-old son who wields a video camera. George Segal plays the grandfather. - Trophy Wife, which features Malin Akerman as Kate, a reformed party girl who becomes the third wife of Pete (Bradley Whitford). That means an instant family of three stepchildren and two ex-wives. Marcia Gay Harden and Michaela Watkins play the ex-wives. Kate relies on best friend Meg (Natalie Morales), a single woman who likes to party, for support. - Back in the Game, which features Maggie Lawson as an all-star softball player who faced a few curveballs: a baby, a lost college scholarship and a loser for a husband. She and her athletically challenged son (Griffin Gluck), move in with her father (James Caan), an opinionated, beer-guzzling ex-jock, and everything changes when her son decides he wants to play baseball.


news sours     www.usatoday.com