On the sold-out stage of Silver Spring’s The Fillmore, boyband Brockhampton played the ninth show of their Love Your Parents Tour. The stage was set rather homey, with worn couches scattered for band members to sit on stage during their set. In the fashion of a traditional boyband, the six members wore matching outfits: orange prison jumpsuits.
Brockhampton started off their performance with Boogie, the first song of their most recent album, Saturation III. Boogie is a celebration song for the group which managed to record and release three albums in the span of one year.
Although all the band members had impressive performances, it seemed that Matt Champion, vocalist, was a crowd favorite. Champion stood out because of his seemingly endless energy, combined with the deft clarity with which he performed his verses.
Also noteworthy was member ‘bearface’, who appeared on stage only to give two solo performances. Bearface was featured on every end track of Brockhampton’s three Saturation albums. His performance completely separated him from the rest of the band.
Bearface’s songs were at a slower pace than what the band had performed in the night so far. The audience responded well; holding out lighters and phone flashlights towards the singer. Halfway through his boy-on-boy love ballad, Summer, a disco ball dropped, creating a unique, surreal atmosphere.
Though Brockhampton’s stage presence was amazing, there was a lack of audience participation. Many of the band’s songs are perfectly designed for call and response, but the opportunities for audience interaction were still limited.
In several songs, the background tracks came to abrupt ends, causing confusion in the audience. Not everything the band did was well executed, but the members were in sync at all times. Besides their matching outfits, the members had planned dance moves, singing, and even lip synced each other’s verses.
Frontman Kevin Abstract often encouraged the audience to form a pit in the standing room only venue, causing a dangerous mix of commotion and excitement. Several fans had to be escorted from the crammed area around the stage. As a distraught audience member said, “It’s crazy over there. I lost my wallet and my bralette.”
With all the energy on stage and in the audience, it was surprising that Abstract was not more involved with the group’s performance. He admitted to the crowd that he had begun losing his voice due to overexertion in the days prior. Compared to the rest of the group, Abstract acted with noticeable fatigue. After only an hour, band member Ameer Vann announced to the crowd that Abstract could no longer perform due to sickness. To compensate for the lost member, Vann rapped Abstract’s verses in the last songs.
The concert’s end came quickly, leaving the audience cheering for the band to play an encore. Brockhampton’s hasty exit left the audience with about an hour-long runtime for a show that sold out in a matter of days. After the show, Abstract tweeted, “Wow that was embarrassing sorry maryland.” The band is set to finish their cross-country tour in the beginning of March.
