Mac-in’ and Relaxin’

“Everybody relax, enjoy yourself,” Mac DeMarco requests as he and his five-piece backing band settle onto the Stubb’s stage. It seemed like a mixed message from a guy who just used Haddaway’s cheesy Nineties club hit “What Is Love?” as an entrance song, but the marching orders were simple enough.

And from the moment he launched into “The Way You’d Love Her” from 2015’s Another One, it was clear his instructions would be easy to follow. The 25-year-old Edmonton native would, despite any branding to the contrary, keep things at a level somewhere between “chill” and “Netflix and chill” for the packed house on Tuesday.

Slower winds such as “A Heart Like Hers” were received by the crowd just as openly as fast cuts like “I’ve Been Waiting On Her,” a testament to DeMarco’s ability to command a room. But the most striking thing about him is his ability to deliver impressive renditions of his studio work while wholly embracing the slacker ethos. Hearing the jangled guitar haze of “Ode to Viceroy” from its studio polish is one thing, but realizing that DeMarco can flawlessly recreate it while goofing off on stage is another.

That juxtaposition can be neatly summed up in pre-encore closer “Together,” during which DeMarco launched himself into the crowd, was carried all the way to the Stubbs’ VIP enclave in the back, returned to the front, and then resumed the nearly yodeled chorus of the song—which I’m fairly certain most people forgot he was still in the middle of performing. All of this while his shirtless guitarist continually threw his electric toward the top of the amphitheater awning in between impressive licks.

The set, which touched on favorites from each of his four studio albums, clocked in at about an hour and a half, normally too slight to be satisfactory, but it worked with DeMarco’s rapid-fire pacing. And a quick scan of the audience as they filed out showed that they heeded his call. Relaxed? Check. Enjoyed themselves? Double check. And you get the feeling DeMarco did the same.