With One Of His Openers Jailed Before The Show, Danny Brown Brought The Punk Energy To Friday Night’s South Side Music Hall Set.
Water bottles, beer cans, artists — everything was literally up in the air on Friday night at Dallas’ Southside Music Hall.
The punk attitude brought forth by Detroit rappers Danny Brown and ZelooperZ was alive and well throughout the audience, often induced by artist requests for interactivity and mosh pits. Moments of positive frenetic energy were frequent, but the crowd was nothing but loving – something worth noting when it comes to Brown touring in Dallas.
Back in 2012, Brown brought crowds a helluva show at 35 Denton, only to be later ridiculed by a Dallas crowd at a Palladium show where he opened for Childish Gambino. Despite the heckling crowd on the Gambino tour, almost a year later to the date, Brown returned to Dallas once again, opening for Baauer at Trees.
This past Friday, however, Brown headlined his own tour. He’s been on the road for a few weeks now supporting his latest album, Atrocity Exhibition, with openers Zelooperz and Houston rapper Maxo Kream. The crew had a surprise during the Houston stop on Thursday, however: Kream was arrested.
Word had been flying around Twitter that Kream was arrested on organized crime charges, and the Kream Clicc represented at the show with “FREE MAXO” tweets. It wouldn’t be until Sunday night that Kream would be out on bail, defending his actions and shouting out his fans. But Zelooperz was visibly upset at the show Friday. He entered the stage by announcing “I’m really fucked up tonight!” in response to his friend and tourmate being held in Houston’s Fort Bend Jail.
Even so, Zelooperz put on a fire set — just as all opening acts had — with mosh pit and everything. And, as tribute, he wrapped-up his performance with one of Kream’s own songs, to which the entire audience rapped along. It was a pretty balanced night of upset, rage and love.
For his own opening, Brown entered a dark, purple-lit stage, donning all black as usual, but with a vintage Cher tour shirt on underneath his leather jacket.
“You know why I wore this Cher shirt tonight? Because, I believe in love after love after love after love after love,” laughed Brown, being punny about his song, “Blunt After Blunt.”
Throughout his set, Brown covered most of his popular discography, letting loose on some classics from The Hybrid and XXX in the beginning, and later hitting new tracks from Atrocity Exhibition, like “Pneumonia” and “Really Doe.” At one point, Brown thanked the crowd and mentioned he was going to bring some special people on the stage. The crowd cheered in uproar. Maybe folks were hoping for Kendrick Lamar, or, more sensibly, Maxo Kream fresh out of jail.
Nah.
Instead, in true indie (rap) fashion, Brown helped a young man propose to his girlfriend. The couple had first met at a Brown show back in the day and were amped to be together for another one. The audience ate it up, including Brown himself who was cheering and all smiles throughout the allowed disturbance.
Admittedly, it was a weird night. And an emotional one, filled with blunt smoke, angst and the sense of needing to just let it all go. At closing, there was no cheering for encore – just a bunch of drained and satisfied fans, slowly exiting the venue.