I’ve personally been a fan of Mac Miller since day one. To say he’s come a long way from his first mixtape “Easy Mac” is an understatement. Last week I headed to The Observatory in Santa Ana to see Mac for my third time. Each time I have seen him perform has been a different experience. The first time I saw him was the day his first independent album dropped, “Blue Slide Park”, at The House Of Blues on Sunset. It was a very emotional and humbling performance, to say the least. The second time was when I saw him at the Nokia Theater when his second independent album, “Macadelic”, dropped. This performance was completely different, as he was now a more established rapper, a household name, and performed with more confidence.

This last time at The Observatory was the first time I was not in the crowd as a fan jumping and singing every lyric to a tee. I was in the photo pit. This was the first time where I felt a personal connection with an artist. Being that I know every single Mac Miller song ever (and I mean ever) and appreciate him as an artist and all around person, I felt a special connection through the lens.

Mac started off with a few songs from his new independent album “Watching Movies With The Sound Off”, including “Star Room”, “Aquarium”, “Somebody Do Something”, and “Goosebumpz”. He even brought out Action Bronson to perform “Red Dot Music”. He then lead into playing older songs, and even joked before he performed “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza” about the ten million dollar lawsuit that the song brought about. He continued by doing acoustic versions of some of his favorite songs on his guitar. While he was talking to the crowd he was also drinking something. I’m guessing everyone assumed it would be alcohol, because let’s face it he’s a young rapper. But to everyone’s surprise it was milk and Lucky Charms, which he later poured onto the crowd.

That describes Mac Miller as a performer and artist. You get the unexpected and are surprised by the moves he makes, yet he still finds a way to relate and be humble. I have never been disappointed going to one of his shows.

Throughout the night, Mac brought along a few of his buddies including the aforementioned Action Bronson, Chance The Rapper, and The Internet.

Action came onto the stage with a bottle of sparkling cider and grooving to “Slow Motion” by Juvenile. He began to perform and kept stopping the DJ because he had forgotten his next verse. At one point he apologized to the crowd saying “I apologize. I’m extremely high and uncomfortable right now.” The crowd LOVED it.

Chance The Rapper was the best opening act in my opinion. He had complete command over the stage. He is an interesting character with a die-hard fan base. One fan even brought a map of the Chicago (Chance’s hometown) subway system.

I literally couldn’t keep my eyes off him his whole performance. He even gave the audience an ultimatum of “turning up” or not seeing Mac and then proceeded to take his shirt off and throw water all over the crowd (which was much needed). As this “turn up” was going down, I looked into the crowd. There were kids on each others shoulders and on top of pretty much anything just jumping and going crazy. His performance made me a fan.

I was really happy to see The Internet. I have been listening to them for a while and finally got to put faces to the songs. Honestly, I like them live even better. Just like the rest of Odd Future, The Internet is different and unique. The lead singer, Syd The Kid, was not disappointed when many people in the crown were not singing along. She addressed the crowd asking them to just relax and move with them. And that’s exactly what the crowd did. By the end of their performance everyone was cheering and clapping along.