My brother invited me to see an Ekkstacy show on March 3rd, 2024 at the Crowbar in Ybor City, Florida. He’s a big fan, but I’m not too familiar with Ekkstacy and his work. But, the show was so much better than I knew it would be. The night was filled with laughter, high energy, and unexpected events. Especially towards the end.
This is my experience.
Before The Start of the Show
We parked at a nearby parking garage, conveniently on the first floor. The walk wasn’t bad at all. We got to look at all the vibrant, local bars on our way there. The Crowbar was a little bit ducked off around the corner of a building. Almost gave off a “hole in the wall” vibe.
When we approached the entrance, for security purposes, my brother’s body was waved with a metal detector wand and my purse was searched. All was well and we were able to go inside.
All ages were welcome, but we had to show our ID’s to prove that we’re 21+ to get a paper green wristband from an employee at the door. Then, we walked into a dark, vampy vibe with soft, blue lighting illuminating from the stage. It wasn’t very big, but the size was accommodating for an up close and intimate experience for everyone involved. The dingy walls were covered in stickers and magazine pages. There was a small bar in the corner that had a nice variety of drinks. It was accompanied by a free water tower and cups, which is a great touch for an event like this.
I was looking forward to getting a drink, but before heading straight to the bar, I needed to use the restroom.
The Restrooms
Both the men’s and women’s restroom doors were open and pretty visible of the inside, which was a little weird in my opinion, just because it’s different, but I’m sure people aren’t paying that much attention anyway. The walls of the restroom were similar to that of the rest of the venue: covered in colorful writings and drawings with markers and tons of stickers. But, the toilets, sinks, and floor of the restroom felt unclean in my opinion.
After leaving the restroom, I decided it was a good time to check out the bar before more people started showing up. There weren’t very many there at the start. It was actually kind of empty. It’s about 6:45pm at this point.
The Bar
There were two bartenders. Love to see an extra set of hands on a soon to be busy night. The one who served me was very kind. I never got their name, but I got a raspberry seltzer and a white tea shot for 14 dollars. I wasn’t allowed to walk away with my shot, I had to take it at the bar. I’m not sure why and I didn’t ask, but I didn’t mind. I paid, tipped, took the shot, then was off with my seltzer to find my brother.
I discovered my brother next to a pole wrapped with decals. We stood and waited for the opener, a band that goes by Alexsucks. I’ve never heard of them, but I’m always open to new material. As we’re standing there waiting, I kid you not, the man Ekkstacy himself, walks right in front of us with a group of people. Down on the floor. I can’t say he was arms length away because he was even closer than that. I don’t think anybody recognized him besides us. It was really interesting to see him casually walking through and then heading to the back room beside the stage.
The Opener, ALEXSUCKS
At around 7:20pm, the opening band, Alexsucks, makes their way onto stage. It consists of one guitarist, one bass guitarist, one drummer, and one lead singer. They looked pumped and ready to play. I didn’t know any of their songs, but I gave them a chance. I was really liking one song they were playing where the lyrics went “I do whatever I want” because that’s kind of the vibe of my life these days, but I, for the life of me, cannot find that song on their discography though. I’ll have to look harder. I’ll come back with an update if I find it.
The band’s energy and crowd work was on fire. They interacted with the audience and put on a great show. I can tell their song, “6 Pack and Cigarettes” was the winner of the group. Before playing it, Alex, the lead singer, was hyping it up by saying “I need a 6 pack,” and then having the crowd finish the lyric by shouting back “and some cigarettes!” Once they started the song, we kept up with that pattern throughout their whole time performing it. I absolutely loved that crowd interaction from up and coming artists. Definitely earned fans that way.
Now, for what you’ve all been waiting for…
The Main Act, EKKSTACY
By the time Ekkstacy came on the stage just before 8:30pm, the venue was nearly full. People were trying to get as close to the stage as possible. I saw phone cameras zooming in very close to his face. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do the same. I mean, we were so close you could see his eyelashes. It was so cool. I have a couple of his songs on my playlist, including “i walk this earth all by myself,” so I was excited to hear my favorites.
A small mosh pit started to form. To be honest, I forgot about mosh pits. They weren’t on my mind either because I didn’t think Ekkstacy’s music would create mosh pits, but I was wrong. Over time, it grew larger and larger. My brother wanted to experience it and eventually dived in for a few seconds while I held onto his belongings.
Ekkstacy played a few songs for a while. His voice sounded great. Later, he and his band ran off stage into the back room. Now it was dark and silent. The crowd wasn’t satisfied, as they started chanting “One more song! One more song!” The chanting was going for a bit. When it started to die down, the opening band, Alexsucks, was standing off to the side of the stage and started raising their hands up and down, motioning the viewers to keep it up, keep going, and get louder.
So that’s what we did.
The chanting continued. “One more song! One more song!” That cycle repeated a couple more times, but Ekkstacy was still in the back room. We all eventually stopped chanting. Then, someone yells, “C’mon Stacy!” (Stacy being the artist’s nickname.) Someone else repeated those words, then began the slow roll into everyone yelling and cheering for Ekkstacy to come back on stage.
Then, lo and behold, Ekkstacy and his band were back on! I wonder if that was scripted for the show. Not necessarily the audience reacting the way they did, but leaving them just hungry enough to get them to.
The guitarist entered first, extending his arms out together, then separating them while saying “Open it up,” into the microphone. The people complied, clearing the ground in the middle of the floor. They started playing another song, thus the mosh pit was built again right where that empty space just was.
Even more exciting and chaotic than the first time, my brother pulled me in when Ekkstacy started singing his song “im so happy.” Now this is where it gets really fun. We got in there at a good time because we managed to be only about 3 or 4 rows of people away from the stage. We were really close and in the middle too; prime real estate. I wish I could show pictures, but I quite literally couldn’t get my phone out to take any because people were rushing up on each other everywhere.
We’re jumping, we’re singing, we’re having a grand ol’ time. Suddenly, someone gets thrown on stage from the mob! They stand up and next thing you know, they throw themselves on top of the herd! That caused a chain effect of individuals climbing on stage and going crowd surfing. Just man after man flying above our heads. I’ve never experienced this in such close proximity before.
Instinctually, I look at the person next to me with big eyes and a wide smile while they make eye contact with me at the same time, physically bonding over the wildness that’s taking place. A second later, I realized I’m looking at Alex! From the opening band! So I look next to him and there stands the guitarist with us too! Where did they come from? I don’t know, but it was captivating.
That was it. The song ended and the show was over.
After The Show
To beat the rush, my brother and I started to head out of the venue quickly. It was around 9:20pm and we were on our way out the door, but I let him retreat while I stayed behind for just a second to get a quick photo with Alex and the guitarist, who just showed up at a table right beside the exit. I ask very kindly if I can please get a picture with them. They said “yes,” and I had the front camera on my phone recording a video because I didn’t want to miss a moment, so I held it up in front of them next to me as they posed with peace signs. I thanked them. They were very friendly. Finally, I left the venue and reunited with my brother outside.
Overall, I had an amazing time. I recommend others to go to a show with either of these musicians playing as they not only performed well, but had great interaction with the audience too. I can’t say this will be the same everywhere, but I luckily had an extraordinary experience with the crowd as well. I’ll be returning the next chance I get.