Pabst Blue Ribbon was the bartender’s special Saturday night, so of course I bought two. It was my first time having a PBR, but I have a feeling most of the people there had put back a few in their life. The streets were dimly lit and most of the buildings were boarded up. Nestled in a cozy, yet unique, spot east of downtown Tulsa, the Eclipse was the perfect spot for the show. The crowd was typecast for what you’d expect to see at a Grizzly Bear show, but this wasn’t an indie act. It was the homecoming of Tulsa’s own

Johnny Polygon

.

It was an experience for me, and I’m sure it was for Johnny as well considering that it was his first show back home since releasing his latest album

Rebel Without Applause

. The set started with

I’ve Been Runnin

, which turned up the crowd and got them jumping. After hyping up the crowd, Polygon delved into some joints from his new mixtape

Rebel Without Applause

. The first was

There Go Johnny Polygon

, making sure that everyone in the crowd knew who he was. He actually explained to us that he used to be called Menus 1, pronounced Menace One. Frustrated with constantly being called Menus, he changed it to Johnny Polygon after his birth name John.

After hitting us with the cuts like

That’s You

and

At It Again

, JP brought out his singing skills and hit us with some of my personal favorites from

Rebel

. As it turns out, it seemed to be the crowd’s favorites as he performed

Riot Song

followed by

Get Over

. which had the crowd swaying and singing along. “I ain’t never feel strong about anything more than I feel about rap,” rapped Johnny.

I was a fan of Johnny going in, but after the show I can say that I became a bigger fan and an even bigger supporter. Johnny Polygon is ready to show the world what he has to offer, and people are beginning to listen to his message. At the same time, he’s letting the world know what Tulsa and the rest of Oklahoma has to offer. Next time Johnny Polygon is playing in your city, I recommend checking it out. Even if you aren’t the biggest fan, the experience is something else, especially with the hipster girls and Pabst Blue Ribbon specials.