Pic Playback: MGK’s “Mainstream Sellout” Tour Takes D.C. by storm
Multi hyphenate entertainer Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) dipped back into his music and performance bag as he brought his “Mainstream Sellout” Tour to the DMV area for a sold out night at the Capital One Arena on June 24.
Playing to a super diverse crowd of music connoisseurs, he enlisted the aid of Avril Lavigne as his opening act. The 37-year-old singer-songwriter dressed the part of a rock star, putting on a show in a black leather biker jacket and sequenced mini skirt. She finished the look with a pair of knee-high, lace-up boots and sang into a pink crystal-covered microphone. Celebrating 20 years in the industry this year, Lavigne was poised to let those in attendance know that she’s still out here speeding in her own musical lane.
Rolling through her discography, her long time fans were delighted as she covered past hits “Girlfriend“, “I’m With You“, “Complicated“, and “Sk8er Boi“. Granted she had a rather lengthy set, we were a little shocked (for the moment) that she didn’t perform more new material, aside from “Bite Me” to further draw the audience in, as she recently released a new album this year entitled “Love Sux“. It would have been the perfect opportunity to not only grab in a different generation of fans, but also put them on to what Avril TODAY sounds like.
If the previous act had the rock star persona covered, then MGK went the absolute pop star route with his show, delivering a 2-hour spectacle. Starting the event off with an intro video that simulated a facetime call that referenced him needing to be rescued, a huge pink and black helicopter descended from the rafters with Kelly hanging from a ladder, opening up with the song “Born With Horns“.
The set featured his signature punk rock and rap vocals as well as chart-topping hits like “I Think I’m Ok”, “My ex’s best friend”, “Til I Die” and “El Diablo“. He didn’t hold back from giving his fans what they wanted, as he performed a nice chunk of brand new material from the “Mainstream Sellout” project. Renditions of soon to be classics “Papercuts“, “Emo Girl“, “Maybe“, “Make Up Sex” and “WW4” were all given the proper live treatment.
As the night went on, the surprises never stopped, as he brought out Avril to perform their song “Bois Lie” and “Forget Me Too“, in addition to the first live performance of “Drug Dealer“. As the eloquent poet that he can be, we were left with some words to go home with “I’ve got this dream, that for the rest of our lives, we can do this shit whenever we want, I hope to see you all as we continue to grow!”
