Danny Brown
November 25, 2025
The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco
Photos & text by Geoffrey Smith II
My expectations were mixed before seeing Danny Brown at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. While his previous albums Quaranta and Atrocity Exhibition had lengthy runs in my car stereo, I was a bit disappointed by his latest release, Stardust. The album felt disjointed, with different producers on almost every track, and an overall vibe more akin to a pop music compilation than an experimental rap album. Even after four or five listens, if you’d asked me what my favorite track was, I’d have been hard-pressed to name one.
But that changed after this show. Context matters, and experiencing the stronger cuts from the album in a live setting felt closer to being at a nightclub or rave than a typical rap show. The structure of the night’s setlist helped with this, too; the beginning of the set was loaded with familiar, fan-favorite material, peaking with tracks like “When It Rain,” “Ain’t It Funny,” and “Scarin’ the Hoes,” which seemed to resonate the most with the crowd. The audience was one of the youngest I’ve seen recently, with a mix of furries, nerds, non-binary types, and just a lot of conventionally-dressed kids having a good time.
But this wasn’t just a crowd of casual fans. The sheer clarity with which I could hear the audience singing along to most songs was astounding, especially in a venue like The Regency Ballroom, which most of my audiophile friends aren’t fond of. “Ain’t It Funny” was especially impressive live, with the DJ repeatedly cutting the track during the chorus so that the crowd could sing along, “Ain’t It Funny How it Happens!” The muted high ends left just the track’s bass to vibrate the venue, which was especially noticeable from the second floor. “When It Rain” had some friendly circle pits taking up a quarter of the audience.
A cover of the Jane Remover cut (with Danny as a guest) “Psychoboost” saw Danny executing three minutes of intense cardio, swinging his arms and legs like Iggy Pop at a hardcore show. Other times, he moved with a mix of slam-dancing and ska-skanking movements. And pretty much the entire audience joined in on this constant dancing. It’s hard to compare the crowd’s energy and focus on Danny to anything I’ve seen in the past decade.
The latter half of the set featured guest vocal appearances from openers Underscores and Femtanyl, as well as San Francisco artist ISSBROKIE. While acts like Frost Children and JPEGMafia weren’t present for their collaborations, Danny was still able to hold things down just fine.
Driving home, the tracks I’d just heard live took on new life, and I appreciated them more as reminders of the live experience and energy I’d witnessed. If you asked me now what my favorite track off Stardust is, I’d have trouble choosing from several contenders.
At the end of the performance, Danny took a moment to thank the crowd, saying, “San Francisco! What the fuck’s up in this motherfucker! I want to thank every last one of you motherfuckers!” He also praised his openers, Femtanyl and Underscores, acknowledging their growing presence in the hyperpop scene: “I listened to their shit all the time when I was on the road… they’re gonna be fuckin’ stars in the future, man. Please, support them. If they only got one fan, it’s gonna be Danny Brown.”
He closed the night with “All4U,” a fitting end to the performance:
