Best Gig I have ever been to
I'll start by saying that I have been a fan of ICP for around 18 years, their recent albums may not have captured me in the same way as their earlier work but I still enjoy their output and had huge expectations for their return to the UK.
I was fortunate enough to attend their gig 14 years ago in London and as such had an idea of what to expect, however nothing truly prepares you for an ICP gig...
Within minutes of entering the venue the the sense of a festival atmosphere was present with artists already on stage, this continued with an array of support forgoing the traditional lengthy gaps and instead operating an almost seamless set of different artists until the stage was concealed behind thick plastic sheeting in preparation for the main event.
The support were entertaining to excellent and Mushroom head, who shared top billing, were truly amazing, creating a work of visual mastery acting as a demented metal based blue man group with colourful drums filled with liquid and a synchronicity between band members again calling to mind a choreographed west end show not a metal band. However Mushroom head, decked in their unique uniforms truly personify theatricality in metal and after a similarly long absence from the UK as ICP, expectations were high and they delivered. Opening with Qwerty was also a master touch as this set the scene and left little choice but to be drawn into their performance.
When the aforementioned curtain was finally erected i was front row, a feat I was unable to achieve 14 years previous and one I honestly did not expect to achieve this night. This only served to heighten the anticipation and excitement as the crowd began chanting as the demented riddle box era circus music played serving as a short intro to the abrupt drop of the thick plastic curtain revealing two of the longest serving hip hop artists in the world today.
Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope who looked as though they hadn't aged in the intervening years, opened with Hokus Pokus from The Great Milenko, a song I, and the vast majority of the surrounding juggalos knew the words too and immediately drew a booming reaction from the crowd. Thankfully, despite some of their more recent output having merit, ICP choose a set consisting almost entirely of their well known classics, this was well received by the partisan juggalos audience, who like I, seemed to be largely long serving fans who's favourite ICP moments consisted of Riddle Box, Milenko, Jeckel Bros and the nearby eras.
Of course as is to be expected from an ICP show I was soaked in faygo within seconds of them taking the stage, I somehow managed to avoid this when seeing them previously. It does add to the show in a strange way, as long as you avoid taking a direct hit in the eyes which isn't overly pleasant. As the show continued we became steadily wetter as a variety of characters and girls took the stage and assisted ICP in soaking the audience in faygo. The show was a constant assault of classic songs punctuated with faygo showers, a seamless carnival cavalcade from a band who know their art and shows this in a well produced and flawless presentation. As the night drew to a close we were left with the cold walk to the station, sticky and wet from the nights events but satisfied in the knowledge that the world's most "hated" band had once more performed in front of one of the world's most dedicated fan bases and exceeded all expectations.
Posted by Sue86 on 29/11/2017
Insane Clown Posse, Electric Ballroom, London - 19th November 2017
Amazing time
I attended 3 ICP gigs and had an amazing time the juggalo family are just the best. Manchester was definitely the icing on the cake 🤡🍾💕
Posted by Fiona long on 23/11/2017
Insane Clown Posse, Academy 2, Manchester - 21st November 2017
