Vic Mensa has an affinity for punk. You can hear it in the ferocious tone he brings to his songs when his target is a lethal racist cop or anyone else who deserves his righteous rage—and his clothes flat-out scream it. Maybe you remember him wearing a Bad Brains T-shirt at Pitchfork a couple years ago? If not, you can find plenty of other examples in his Instagram feed—right at the top he’s posted a shot of an LA gig where he’s got on a Dead Kennedys shirt. Lately he’s been wearing a leather jacket dotted with studs and patches, including one for anarcho-punk heroes Crass. The jacket was made by 93 Punks, a clothing line with some connection to Mensa—he’s been pushing it hard on social media.
For most of Mensa’s stage time, though, he didn’t feel so connected to the crowd. He was pretty alone out there—he brought up a guest for just one song, and though producer Peter Cottontale was playing keyboards, his setup was tucked against the back wall of the stage. Mensa sometimes seemed adrift, especially when he slumped to the ground dolefully at the end of the Weezer-assisted “Homewrecker.” Mensa appeared to perk up when Joey Purp came out for “Down for Some Ignorance (Ghetto Lullaby),” feeding off Purp’s euphoria and returning it with some of his own. But with nobody to bounce off—and especially on some of the moodier Autobiography material—he seemed to be going through the motions. He hit his notes just right told the crowd how much he loved Chicago, but from watching his body language you wouldn’t know he was playing a hometown show.
