Wow, can we all take a breath now?
In an energy-soaked performance that included two renditions of “Can’t Hold Us” and some awesome crowd surfing episodes, the dynamic hip hop duo of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis unleashed a torrent of hits Wednesday night in their hometown of Seattle.
The occasion happened to be T-Mobile’s “Uncarrier 5.0“ event, which included unlimited data for music streaming and a new “test drive” program for prospective customers to try the Bellevue-based company’s network on a loaned iPhone.
But the performance — which occurred on the eve of Macklemore’s 31st birthday — was no staid corporate gig. Hundreds of T-Mobile employees — most wearing some form of T-Mobile’s signature pink — danced, sang and screamed as Macklemore belted out tunes such as “Cadillac” and “Thrift Shop.”
T-Mobile CEO John Legere watched much of the action from the side of the stage, donning an old-school Sonics jersey with Macklemore emblazoned on the back.
Macklemore and Legere seem to have struck a close alliance, ever since the hard-charging T-Mobile boss was famously tossed out of an AT&T-sponsored Macklemore concert earlier this year at CES.
“Sometimes you play a show like this. You play a show for a company and the crowd is like… The crowd sits down, and they are talking to each other and they are eating bread with fancy spreads and stuff. Not T-Mobile. No,” said Macklemore to the crowd.
Macklemore praised Legere, noting a $50,000 donation the CEO made to Lewis’s foundation 30/30 Project. “John, the CEO here at T-Mobile, has shown us a ridiculous amount of love, time and time again,” he said. The singer joked about T-Mobile’s unlimited data, and encouraged the T-Mobile employees to forget that their boss may be standing behind them.
“We came here tonight to have a God damned celebration. Who is with us?” screamed Macklemore.
I think they’re loving @macklemore here at #uncarrier5! pic.twitter.com/yHKY1xaaHs
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) June 19, 2014
Photos via Kevin Lisota.
