Clams Casino

The 29-year-old producer came out, at around 12:45am, looking like he just walked in off the street. Shaved head, groomed beard, long-sleeves and jeans; he was nondescript in every way. The man behind the sound that defined much of A$AP Rocky, Vince Staples, Mac Miller, and Lil B’s careers looked like he could be the little brother I never had. Dual projection screens teased the prospect of cool visuals to augment the set, but nothing more exciting than a changing color palette around the CLAMS CASINO XXXII tour logo was ever delivered.

Volpe’s attention was split between the turntable and his laptop throughout the night, with very little interaction with the small, but very diverse (girl in mini-dress arm-in-arm with dude in a Converge t-shirt) crowd of about 200 people. The BasedGod’s absence on this stop of the tour was definitely noticeable, but the lack of an emcee wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Unlike many hip-hop productions, Clams’ material actually benefits from the lack of vocal distractions. With room to breathe, the material is able to shine on its own.

Volpe turned out to be the perfect host of his own material. The set kicked off with “Level 1”, the instrumental track that opens his first proper album of original material. No longer scouring the internet for sounds to manipulate like silly putty, before drowning them in a viscous concoction of his own making, the tracks credited to Clams Casino are now all homegrown. Always the gentleman, the guy behind the keys courted the crowd with a few bangers before inviting us into his personal ‘upside down’. “Norf Norf” and “All Nite” (with Vince Staples’ verses) gave way to the Oxymoron outtake, “Gravy”. A cartoonish Danny Brown came to life during the Adult Swim single, “Worth It”, before A$AP Ferg introduced us to his psycho uncle. Acting as a résumé of sorts, that beginning run of tracks earned him the right to stand on his own.

The Jealous Guys were removed from “Brainwash by London”, leaving the booming skeleton of the track with nothing more than the disembodied haunted screams. The ghost of Björk past could be heard throughout “Illest Alive”; “Treetop” was the sole selection from Rainforest; “All I Need” was Clams at his wooziest; and then we came to the LiveLoveA$AP section of the show, which was ironically prefaced by an admission I never thought I’d hear from someone whose music is the foundation for so many songs about drugs. “I don’t smoke weed anymore,” Volpe stated to the mostly lit-as-fuck crowd, “but I got high just by being in dressing room and it’s too much man.” “Wassup”, “Bass”, and (ahem) “Leaf” followed, all with A$AP left intact, but “Palace” was presented in its purest form and acted as the centerpiece of the night. Lil B’s voice was almost as absent as the man himself, but TheBasedGod’s verses on “Witness” came through as crisp and clear as the rapper as ever sounded.

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With production credits ranging from Mikky Ekko and The Weeknd, to Blood Orange and FKA Twigs, as well as three exceptional instrumental mixtapes under his belt, chances are you’ve heard a track constructed by New Jersey native Clams Casino at some point in the last 3 years. Known for his hazy signature “Cloud-Rap” sound, Clams (real name Mike Volpe) first gained recognition for his production on weirdo-mc Lil B’s single “I’m God.” The experimental track offered a haunting Imogen Heap sample layered with swirling synths and crisp drums that left the Internet waiting for more.
Despite all his music being created digitally, Clams offers a live interpretation of his music at his gigs, rather than the usual producer-turned-DJ affair. Refreshingly he doesn’t hold back the hits during the early stages of the show, launching straight into a rendition of the instrumental for A$AP Rocky’s underground hit “Palace”, before moving onto tracks from his aforementioned mixtapes and a slowed down version of Schoolboy Q’s “Gravy” all created on an laptop and a drum machine.
Despite Clams not offering very much in terms of stage presence, there is something very rewarding about watching him bop up and down as he stares intently down into his machinery, crafting atmospheric beat after beat in front of your very eyes, making this an experience not to be missed.

it was honestly a great show, clams casino brought back some real nostalgia with his music. and the openers were absolutely amazing! would definitely recommend seeing all 3 acts again at future events!

Great show. The venue was small and relaxed, not a completely packed show, giving everyone some room to relax and dance. Sound was good, and the other acts alongside Clams were a lot of fun.