Technically speaking, DC is not Logic’s hometown, Gaithersburg is. But Echostage is the closest venue to Gaithersburg that could accommodate the sold out crowd of 6,000 fans. Previously, whenever Logic returned to the DC-Maryland-Virginia area, he would perform at the Fillmore in Silver Spring but after his newfound success from his album The Incredible True Story, it seemed only fitting that he would play at a much larger venue.
For some fans, the show started before the doors even opened. Those with VIP passes were granted special access to a Q&A session and were able to watch the sound check. The crowd of 50 or so people shuffled into Echostage around 4 PM. The Q&A session yielded many interesting responses from Logic’s main inspiration for his music to his favorite episode of Cowboy Bepop (Toys in the Attic) to his favorite Faze clan member (FaZe Rain). By far the biggest reveal however, was when a fan asked him about his next album. As fans know, the debut album Under Pressure and the latest album The Incredible True Story are both connected to each other. But what was previously unknown until now, is that when Thalia, a character from the latest album, says the words “Life,” it is actually the beginning of the next album. “My first, second, and third album are all in unison,” said Logic, “They’re all meant to be played back to back.” After a quick sound check which featured two songs, fans were asked to go back outside and wait with the rest for the doors to re-open.
The first to take the stage for the main crowd was DJ Hoppa, Dizzy Wright’s DJ that was also part of the now defunct record label Funk Volume. Unlike the “DJ’s” of mainstream music, Hoppa’s set was less about turning knobs and pushing buttons but more of using turntables to produce scratching noises emulating hip hop tracks of the older era. Unfortunately, this failed to resonate with the younger audience as members become more disengaged as it dragged on.
Fortunately the crowd came back to life once again when Dizzy Wright and Demrick, the opening acts took the stage. Although the vast majority of concert goers were there to see Logic, the Dizzy fans made their presence known as people could be heard rapping along here and there. Dizzy Wright’s performance ranged from more serious tones when he briefly talked about the falling apart of Funk Volume, to much more relaxed moods when all the band members smoked marijuana together as they played the track “Clouds Above Us” by Demrick.
The biggest surprise performance of the night however came not from Logic but actually his DJ, DJ Rhetorik. If Hoppa was good before, he was nothing compared to what Rhetorik did with just a set of turntables and a laptop. Flowing flawlessly from one pop or old school hip hop track to another all while adding perfectly timed scratches here and there and bass drops in between, Rhetorik easily got the crowd jumping up and down. The highlight came when he managed to slip in the words “Damn Daniel” right before one of the final bass drops. The only downside, if one at all, was that by the time it was ready for Logic to come on stage, some in the crowd already seemed a bit tired from the masterpiece of a performance.
That tiredness seemed to evaporate the minute the familiar sounds of Japanese Taiko drums from the opening track of the album , “Contact,” came over the venue’s speakers. Adding to the theme of intergalactic travel that was present throughout the album, the track was accompanied by on screen visuals of a spaceship flying over a newly unexplored planet. The short video was reminiscent of scenes from Interstellar, a movie from director Christopher Nolan who Logic cited as inspiration for the album.
From “Contact,” Logic immediately launched into an energetic performance of “Fade Away”. Energetic could be the one word used to sum up the rest of the night. In the next hour and a half or so, Logic proceeded to play almost every track from The Incredible True Story. Big Lenbo made an appearance for his verse of “Young Jesus” and then played his own track “Protect Your Neck.”
Not wanting to disappoint longtime fans, Logic also performed some throwback tracks such as “5AM” and “Ballin'” from his last mixtape Welcome to Forever. Unfortunately, the crowd only got to hear mashup of Logic’s oldest songs when Rhetorik took over for a few minutes and played “Numbers” and “All I Do” as Logic went stage side for a short break.
Changing it up a bit, Logic also decided to perform the track “Innermission” A Capella halfway through the show, rapping with no background instrumentals whatsoever.
It wasn’t until the first encore, at the end of the show, that the energy levels in the crowd finally died down a bit. Using only the lighting from cell phone flashlights of audience members, Logic performed “City of Stars” as the fans casually sang along.
Not wanting to end on a slower tone however, the energy picked back up once again for the second and final encore, a performance of “Gang Related.” It was clear that the this was a crowd favorite as the track referenced close by locations such as 355 and Gaithersburg.
And then, before I knew it, the night was over. Looking back at it, Logic’s concert was probably one of the best shows I have ever seen. Tried as I did to think of a downside of the night, I could not. The performance was flawless from his interactions with audience members to the energetic lyrics spit into the mic. Although Logic’s next album has not even been recorded yet, I know I will be first in line the next time he comes around.
Feature photo provided courtesy of tour photographer Greg Berg
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This article was originally published here by Rocket Music Collective on 4/3/16
