written by Nate Manuel
photo by Christian Lopez
There’s a style buried somewhere between trap, hip hop, and hard house that holds a special place in my heart. Yellow Claw, with their ever present yet controversial hype man and twerk worthy drum patterns fills this special place. Never dropping below a hip shaking threshold, the faster and more aggressive side of this duo’s content will challenge even the most dedicated fan when experienced live.
Opener Mike Cervello brought out a familiar but distinct set arrangement for the Detroit stop of the Barong Family World Tour. More electronic based, at times even downright funky and often paying homage to his headliner in the form of that golden earworm “Yellow-Mutha-F*kin-Claw”, the crowd was clearly being primed for an even heavier performance…and loving every second of it. Hype man Cesqeaux paraded around the stage handing out water bottles, spraying the crowd, and generally making the show feel livelier than it already was with his antics.
Shortly into Yellow Claw’s hour long set, our already met expectations were blown away when vocalist Rochelle was brought on stage for their viral 2013 hit “Shotgun”, plus a brand new and yet unnamed collaboration I’ll be sure to check out as soon as it’s officially released. As the set continued, my favorite songs were being played nearly back to back. From the older “Slow Down” with DJ Snake to the more recent hit “Till It Hurts” featuring Ayden, Yellow Claw seemed to know just what itches to scratch.
Unfortunately for the crowd, there is never enough time for a show with this energy. As the set came to a close, the dancing masses groaned and hollered for more. “We wish we could, but we really can’t play one more” isn’t a satisfying answer to an encore, but judging by the smiling faces and glowing energy through the exits, there was no doubt it was a satisfying show.