I’ll confess: Two months ago I had no idea what BROCKHAMPTON was. After a music website that I frequent named the group Rookie of the Year for 2017, I was intrigued, and devoted listening time to the group’s impressive Saturation trilogy, which was released over a span of seven months last year. I knew the songs, and I thought I knew what I was getting into, but I was woefully unprepared for the orange jumpsuits, faces painted blue, and line wrapped around the venue that greeted me when I arrived at Revolution Live last night.
The 12-piece self-described boy band, currently based in California, has just as much in common with NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys as with hip-hop collective Odd Future. The group has inspired numerous think pieces on how it’s redefined what a boy band can be, embracing the unseemly label and inspiring a fandom that recalls the glory days of frosted tips in the late ‘90s.
Make no mistake, BROCKHAMPTON isn’t making radio-friendly pop songs like the boy bands that inspired them. The group’s unique and often-abrasive style is unabashed hip-hop, with socially conscious lyrics that bring a sorely needed inclusivity to the genre.
The group’s Love Your Parents tour stopped in Fort Lauderdale for a sold-out show at Revolution Live, and the crowd that came out on Thursday night was so young that an employee of the venue referred to the concert as a “kids’ show,” and told me that while more than 1,300 tickets were sold, he’d handed out fewer than 300 drinking-age wristbands at the door.
The crowd managed to work itself into a frenzy long before the show actually began, creating chants in an impatient effort to bait the group onstage early. When leader Kevin Abstract tweeted “craziest crowd so far and the show hasn’t even started” at 7 p.m., I don’t think he was kidding. One fan I spoke to had driven to the venue from Naples and waited in line since 10 that morning. Two others, who were brought onstage by the group during the encore, had traveled from Puerto Rico to be there. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a show with more die-hard fans.
When Abstract took the stage at 9:30 donned in an orange jumpsuit and surgical mask, the crowd went crazy. When the rest of the group joined him in matching attire and started the set with “BOOGIE,” the crowd went absolutely berserk. The excitement was palpable, and the band members and the rabid crowd fed off each other’s infectious energy all night, with players frequently instructing the crowd to open up pits on the floor, and the crowd singing along to each and every song with such vigor that at times the group couldn’t be heard.
The 70-minute main set closed with a transcendent rendition of “BLEACH,” which was elevated from great to beautiful with the addition of the young crowd’s high-pitched choral sing-along. At times, the only audible vocals were coming from the crowd, but it worked because the crowd knew every word.
The main set was followed by a softer two-song solo set from Ciarán “bearface” McDonald, during which he showed off his skills playing guitar, the only real instrument onstage all night.
This was followed by a proper encore from the six band members, during which they showed off some choreographed dance moves on “HEAT.” BROCKHAMPTON closed the show with two more renditions of “STAR,” a heavy hitter from Saturation I that had already been played early in the set. This seemed to be the band’s way of repaying the crowd for its raucous energy all night, and the young fans in attendance ate it up.
A truly great concert makes you wish you knew every word to every song, and that’s exactly what BROCKHAMPTON’s set accomplished on Thursday night. Kevin Abstract asked the crowd early in the night: “Y’all know this is the best boy band in the world, right?”
I do now.
Set list:
1) BOOGIE
2) QUEER
3) STAR
4) GUMMY
5) FACE
6) ZIPPER
7) SWAMP
8) GOLD
9) JELLO
10) SISTER
11) STUPID
12) JUNKIE
13) SWEET
14) BUMP
15) BLEACH
Bearface solo set:
16) SUMMER
17) TEAM
Encore:
18) HOTTIE
19) HEAT
20) STAR
21) STAR
