Fresh off a blistering performance at Coachella in California last week, kickass Florida rapper Denzel Curry took to Dublin last Sunday for one of the first shows in support of his latest (and brilliant) album, ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’. Performing almost 20 tracks in just over an hour, Denzel and a rambunctious Irish crowd went 100mph from the get go on what was a memorable night in the 3Olympia.
To begin the show, support came in the form of lesser known Florida rapper, PlayThatBoiZay. He received quite the ovation as he took the stage, saying he “travelled over 5000 miles to party with y’all” to the instantly fired up crowd. What followed was an 8 song set that featured various mosh pits from the entire audience, and for his final song he pulled a fan up on stage to perform with him! The kid couldn’t have been more than 20 years of age, and he absolutely nailed it, knowing every single word. It was the highlight of the support set, and probably the highlight of that kid’s life. PlayThatBoiZay was the perfect act to kick off the night.
After a short interval, Denzel himself took to the stage with a very relaxed manner as the crowd went absolutely ballistic. He shushed them, and they obeyed, before heading into ‘Melt Session #1’, the opening track off his new record. Material from ‘Melt My Eyez…’ took up the majority of the set as 11 of its 14 tracks were played, including ‘Walkin’’, which was up next. Jesus, this song is so great, and while it clearly stands out as the hit amongst Denzel’s newer tracks, it received the biggest fanfare of the night. Even Denzel himself seemed surprised, as once the crowd finished humming the song’s beautiful melody, he said to his DJ, “this crowd is so turnt on the new stuff, I don’t know what it’s gonna be like when we pull out the old stuff.”
As every single row of people bounced and vape clouds plumed throughout the venue, Denzel’s energy never wavered as he dived into his classic material. The crowd gave a massive cheer as he said he was gonna do a few from ‘Imperial’, his second (and fan favourite) album. Along with this, brilliant songs such as ‘BLACK BALLOONS’, ‘Ultimate’, and ‘SIRENS’ were performed back to back, with these and more being cut short and having no final verse. This is a theme of Denzel’s shows, as it’s the only way to squeeze 20 songs into a one hour set. I personally would’ve loved to have heard ‘SIRENS’ in its entirety, the final verse of which also features on Denzel’s career-making cover of ‘Bulls On Parade’ by Rage Against The Machine, but that would honestly be my only complaint of the show.
Denzel finished the main set with ‘The Ills’ and ‘X-Wing’, saying the latter was his personal favourite off the new album, and after a very quick encore he returned to play ‘DIET_’. He complimented the still bouncing crowd as he walked off stage, bringing an end to what was such a fantastic show. Denzel really vibed off the Irish crowd throughout, even joining in on an ‘Olé’ chant towards the end. And although the heavy bass on every track shook the 3Olympia for an hour and a half, it’s somehow still standing, and I hope Denzel returns sooner rather than later. Thank you for reading.
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