Review: Insane Clown Posse at Fillmore Detroit
Everyone needs a proper Faygo shower every now and again, and I received mine Saturday night at the Fillmore Detroit during the Insane Clown Posse's 16th annual Hallowicked concert at the Fillmore Detroit.
By the end of ICP's 80-odd minute set, me and my Juggalo bretheren were soaked from head to toe in Faygo soda -- mostly Diet Root Beer and Diet Cola (sadly, no Rock N Rye, Orange or Red Pop -- my guess is the Clowns get a discount on the diet stuff) -- and standing in about an inch of pop on the Fillmore floor.
In short, it was without question the most fun I've had at a concert all year.
There is something undeniably exhilerating about getting drenched in sweet, sticky soda alongside thousands of others, and I'm not sure there's anything wrong with that. The ICP concert experience is like none other, and the thrill it delivers is a visceral one. It doesn't mean anything, per se, but then it doesn't have to -- when the guy next to you is draining a 99 cent 2-liter over your head while the Clowns are on stage rapping cartoonish fantasies of ghoulish violence over hard rock circus beats, there isn't a lot of time to ask questions. It's best to just go with it.
ICP worked a healthy smattering of material from September's "Bang Pow Boom" alongside greatest hits material from throughout their close-to-20-year career, and the new material -- including "In Yo Face," "I Found a Body" and "Juggalo Island" -- fit in well among Juggalo faves such as "Chicken Huntin'," "Tilt-a-Whirl" and "F--- the World." Most impressively, the Clowns were able to work their well-documented love of professional wrestling into the show, as a live skit played out during "To Catch a Predator" that ended with a wrestler jumping off a ladder and landing on the song's titular predator, putting him through a table in the process. You won't see that at a Radiohead show.
Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope worked the stage while never slacking on Faygo duty, constantly tossing, punting and launching 2-liters into the crowd. They were joined by more than a dozen masked clowns during the closer, the title track from "Bang Pow Boom," as a tsunami of Faygo covered the crowd, who chanted "Fam-i-ly! Fam-i-ly!" in return. There was no shortage of community vibes in the air, as the Faygo-spraying continued long after the Clowns had left the stage and the house lights came up.
Shuffling out of the Fillmore and into the brisk nighttime air, my clothes sopping, my feet squishing and my skin smelling of sweat and Root Beer, the chorus of "To Catch a Predator" played on repeat in my head:
"I'm probably gonna burn for this,
Ain't no lesson to learn from this,
There's nothing I'mma earn,
But it sure is fun."
