Live Review: Mac DeMarco, GUM, Free Time

DeMarco faithfuls gather early at 170 Russell for a night of Mac-inspired wildness.

Free Time kick off with drony guitar-pop before GUM appears looking swish in a glowing Hawaiian shirt. Without his usual top-shelf bandmates, GUM aka Tame Impala/POND's Jay Watson relies on backing tracks, looping and an extra guitarist to take his side project goodness to the people. Watson suffers an immediate mishap during Glamorous Damage leaving him twiddling knobs and glaring into the sound booth. Elafonissi Blue brings deliciously dark, '80s-flavoured synth pop, while Television Sick offers mad guitar riffs and theatrical head flicks and flourishes by showman Watson. "I'm feeling fucking sketchy today thanks to Mac DeMarco and his cronies," he gripes, though he seems perfectly fit. Anesthetized Lesson is a case in point, Watson dropping ripper MJ-style squeals and whoops throughout.

Frenzied screams greet Mac DeMarco and his motley bunch of bandmates. Poor old Demarco can't even speak without cigarettes being chucked straight at his head. Video footage of Ben Stiller masquerading as DeMarco's Argentinian roommate Tall Juan (with phone number +1 347 909 6333 displayed, "If you feel you want to, call him" says DeMarco) beams behind all set. The Way You'd Love Her warms things up before Salad Days takes the crowd hysteria up to expected extremes. Another One is romantic enough to inspire swaying cigarette lighters, one 'accidentally' lighting up a punter's joint. Old faves Cooking Up Something Good and Ode To Viceroy are gleefully banged out before new keyboard player Jon Lent is theatrically forced into a maiden crowdsurf during Freaking Out The Neighborhood.

DeMarco drops an impeccably timed fart into the mic during the first verse of Chamber Of Reflection, while Still Together sees him take the drums, allowing drummer Joe McMurray an epic crowdsurf all the way to the sound booth. DeMarco then leaves the drumming in GUM's safe hands to warm up for his own eagerly awaited dive. Leaping into the crowd, DeMarco is dropped, picked up, and reverentially passed to the sound booth and back, grown men grabbing his face for quick pashes. An almighty cover of Metallica's Enter Sandman sees everyone on stage swapping instruments, smoking ciggies, swigging drinks and staging mock punch-ups before DeMarco takes a final sweaty ride across the crowd. Wild, cheeky and charming, Mac DeMarco delivers another shambolically epic and entertaining doozy of performance.