This summer, Death Grips released their new album Bottomless Pit. When they announced a three-show mini-tour including a show at Terminal 5 in New York this September, my friends and I jumped at the opportunity. This was going to be our second time seeing DG, the first being at Union Transfer in Philly for the Jenny Death tour in 2015.
That show was incredible. While the crowd was rough, my friends and I were able to hold our own in the pit. Even though we separated several times throughout the night, finding each other again posed no significant problems at Union Transfer. Plus, seeing Death Grips for the first time was in itself a legendary experience. All in all, it was one of my favorite shows ever.
Needless to say, we were waiting with bated breath for another opportunity to see Death Grips. So, deciding to go to the Terminal 5 show this year was hardly a debate. However, what we found in New York was a very different scene from Philly a year before.
Maybe it was our hype that brought us down. The Terminal 5 show was totally sold out, so we wanted to get to the venue early in order to secure a spot close to the front of the line (and maybe have a shot at grabbing a tour shirt, if there were any). Unlike the first show in Philly, we were in line hours before the doors opened in New York. As a result, we found ourselves in about the third row by the time the show started. This would be our downfall.
Within seconds of MC Ride coming out, the crowd started crushing toward the stage. At that moment, right at the beginning of the show, the front was perhaps the worst place we could be if we actually intended on staying together. Almost immediately, the crowd thrust my friends and me apart. It was impossible to hear one another over the din inside Terminal 5, especially in the third row. We were screaming out to each other, but we may as well have been in space.
By the time we were all reunited after about 20 or 30 minutes of searching the venue, our energy was spent. One of my buddies, a guy over a head taller than me, was practically trampled by the crowd after he was pushed to the floor. We wouldn’t find his shoe until after the show ended, which was truly a miracle. Another one of my friends left New York that night with a broken hand. As for the rest of us, escaping the pit and reuniting posed its own unique set of obstacles. We were drenched in sweat, exhausted, and phones were useless, so we tried to stick together for the remainder of their set. They would play for about ninety minutes in all.
Obviously, the best part of the show was Death Grips themselves. The worst part was the crowd. It became pretty difficult to actually enjoy the show after seeing what happened to those I came with and the trial of finding them again. It probably didn’t help that this sold-out show was all-ages. The point is this: don’t expect too much from the front at a Death Grips show. Even if you don’t start there, it won’t be hard to make your way up there after the crowd gets past the first song. Otherwise, don’t have any intention of staying with your friends.