Live Review: JPEGMAFIA @ Terminal 5 (2024-09-14)
w/ special guest Jane Remover
Event Details:
Date: September 14, 2024
Venue: Terminal 5 (Manhattan)
Ticket Price: $55.53
Artists: JPEGMAFIA w/ Jane Remover
I first discovered JPEGMAFIA a couple of years ago and didn’t really know what to think. There was something there but it was so much different than all the other hip-hop I typically listen to. He has a very unconventional production and lyrical style but I kept going back to it and appreciating the nuance in his music. Having run through his discography many times now, I feel he is one of the most under-appreciated artists making music right now. His latest album, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, is one of the top albums of the year for me and I feel like I notice something new every time I listen to it.
When I arrived to Terminal 5 this evening, the line stretched about 200 meters to end the of 56th St., wrapping all the way around to 55th St. and back another 90 meters up the block on 55th. I have never seen a line for T5 like this before but I somehow managed to get a great spot on the left side of the stage. I felt like the oldest person by an average age of 12+ years and I've not seen so many Xs on hands in a long time. Am I getting… old?
The opener was definitely not my jam and some jackwagon in front of me thought it was OK to slam into everyone around him who were clearly just taking it easy for the opener, so I may have let him know it wasn't cool in typical JG fashion. He threw a fit but quit his bullshit. Ironic that as soon as someone pushes back it’s not so fun anymore.
After seeing how amped the crowd was for the opener, I knew it was going to be utter madness for Peggy. People were getting the “Peggy!” chants going and you could feel an eagerness to start raging brewing in the crowd. Once Peggy came on stage, it was survival of the fittest until the end of the set.
The first song wasn't even one of his high energy songs but I was instantly at the whims of the crowd, pulling and pushing me in all directions, bodies crammed in so tightly I could barely breath at times. It was borderline dangerous but I've been there before and everyone seemed to be looking out for each other. There were times when I felt so contorted, my legs were completely disjointed from my upper body and the only thing holding me up were the sweaty bodies smashing into me from all sides.
It was like the Danny Brown crowd on steroids, System of a Down pit energy for an entire hour and a half, the only thing that compares to the intensity and endurance was the Rx Bandits show earlier this year. The best part of it all was how happy everyone looked. It felt like a sauna and everyone’s smiling faces were glistening with sweat. In these circumstances you have no choice but to embrace intimate sea of chaos.
The setlist tonight was fire and he performed a nice mix of old songs, a cool a cappella cover of “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, a portion for the album Scaring the Hoes and of course songs from his latest album, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, sprinkled in throughout. The only bummer on the night was during one of the songs I was most looking forward to, “God Loves You”, he somehow forgot the lyrics and cut the song midway through the first verse. Otherwise, the set was packed full of bangers and the crowd responded accordingly.
I am a firm believer that the best way to experience a show is on the floor but I will admit that some of these shows feel like a young person’s game and I am just barely scraping by at times. Maybe it’s similar to getting a tattoo in that sense and part of the enjoyment is testing your limits, coming out the other side with something you will cherish for a lifetime.
Cheers and keep rocking!