Mac DeMarco’s strong vocals were in full throttle last night as he performed a rare solo show at the Foellinger Auditorium. Without any additional instrumental backing, DeMarco held together a beautiful, raw set for the couple hundred audience members that spread out through the main floor and balcony.

DeMarco kept his auditorium setup plain, simple and straight to the point. He lugged his own equipment onto the stage and set up his own performance area; a rare sighting for someone that has reached his level of success.

The crowd was small, but DeMarco seemed comfortable with the quiet and calmed audience.

“This is nice. This is a ‘getting to know each other bunch,’” DeMarco said just before opening his first song, “Cooking Up Something Good.”

Though his performance Wednesday differed from when I had seen him with a full band, his attitude seemed much more comfortable and engaging.

After about three songs and the last of his mini-bar sized bottle of Jameson, DeMarco asked the audience to supply him with drinks, happily accepting at least five bottles filled with mysterious fluids. He then carried on into the next song, “Blue Boy.” On the album, “Salad Days,” “Blue Boy” is one of my least favorite songs; however, this was my live favorite song of the entire night. Utilizing the acoustics of the auditorium and solo standing, DeMarco spiced things up with vocal chops that I had no idea existed. His voice was effortlessly sweet and his falsettos were perfectly in tune.

His instinctive chemistry with the audience was evident when he passed off the fog machine button to a standing front row audience member.

“If you get fogged up, it’s these girls in the front,” he said.

His next song, “Annie,” was a close second to a personal favorite. I wasn’t sure how this song was going to pan out because it is heavy on the lead guitar, but he pulled it off, changing the song to be almost unrecognizable. His vocals were vulnerable but strong. He echoed throughout the auditorium, sending a chill of emotion throughout the entire audience when he sang the lyrics, “I’m going down.”

On his final song, “Still Together,” DeMarco talked about his girlfriend, Kiera.

“This is the final love song of the rock n’ roll set. This is a love song for a girl who lives in NYC who I see all the time and her name is Kiera,” DeMarco said.

As the song began to wrap up with the fog machine at full blast, the jokester side of Mac DeMarco that fans are most familiar with began to show. He took off his few layers of clothing and began to crowd surf over the audience with the mic still in hand.

With no trace of any new music, Mac DeMarco is still touring with his albums “Rock n’ Roll Night Club,” “2” and his most recent, “Salad Days.” His solo act was a breath of fresh air and made me become an even bigger fan than I already am.

Frances is a sophomore in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].