"Clear the stage ... CLEAR THE STAGE!" Those words echoed around the ears of punters exiting the Powerstation last night as A$AP Ferg's third Auckland appearance ended in riotous scenes.
After an intense 55-minute show, a super-aggressive display that had crowds moshing throughout and constantly clamouring for more, the drenched Harlem rapper waved goodbye and walked off stage, probably in search of the nearest shower.
But his Kiwi fans weren't ready to go home, swarming the stage to join Ferg's sidekick Marty Baller, who tried to keep the party going but quickly got overwhelmed with all the extra attention on his slight shoulders.
Ferg tends to make people act a little crazy, and by now, his Kiwi fans are used to full on performances by the 27-year-old. His 2014 debut proved particularly memorable when he arrived on stage in a straight jacket and gas mask.
There were no props but his sold out Thursday night show was just as intense. He emerged wearing a Pulp Fiction T-shirt and camouflage jacket, and kicked off with the chest beating sonics of Let It Go and Dump Dump from his breakthrough debut Trap Lord.
Those songs haven't lost any of their aggressive energy, and when Ferg started spraying the crowd with champagne during the pile-driving misogyny of Hella Hoes, it felt like the sheer manic intensity might top his two previous appearances here.
But the set's first half got a little bogged down with some less impressive A$AP Mob fare, with songs like Bag First showing why Ferg's fist-pumping rap anthems and thuggish wolf yelps have made him the second biggest name in the 13-strong troupe after mob boss A$AP Rocky.
But Ferg turned things around with a second half that included plenty of fare from his more thoughtful second album Always Strive and Prosper: the jaunty Skrillex carnival of horns and sirens that is Hungry Ham, the positivity of Strive that's weird on album but works in a live setting; the summer cruise of Psycho and the pummelling thuds of New Level.
That last one includes Ferg rapping, "All my n***** start a riot". Judging by that stage invasion, it's a line which some of his Kiwi fans took a little too seriously.
