If you snapped a focused picture at Danny Brown's May 3 El Rey Theatre tour stop, you have tripods for arms.

Right at the first notes of opener ZelooperZ's set, the crowd launched into a perpetual state of chaotic movement. ZelooperZ, hailing from Detroit’s alternative hip-hop scene and a member of Brown’s Bruiser Brigade, supplied more than ample bangers for a pack of ravenous moshers. At one point during his performance, ZelooperZ shoved his way to the center of the pit where he stood – eyes closed, mic clutched – amidst the wake of his receptively amped audience. 

Following ZeelooperZ's set and an intense but ultimately static showing by Lakewood-native Aston Matthews, the crowd was hungry for a balls-out headlining performance from Brown. Skywlkr, Brown’s frequent collaborator and resident DJ for "The Old Danny Brown Tour," dropped a Waka Flocka Flame "Hard in Da Paint" intro for the Motor City emcee, who proceeded onto the stage to bring maximal ruckus to his LA stop.

Backed by a soundtrack of classics from Brown's "Old" and "XXX" LPs – along with a gaggle of random singles (e.g. "Jealousy" and "Express Yourself") – the El Rey rapidly transformed into a boiling pot of sweat and, well, pot. "AND I SMOOOKE," Brown squawked at his constituency during a fiery rendition of “Blunt After Blunt,” to which the audience replied, "BLUNT AFTER BLUNT AFTER BLUNT AFTER BLUNT AFTER BLUNT AFTER BLUNT," right on cue.

Weed wasn’t the only thing in the air last Saturday, as attendees were often spotted soaring from the stage into the steamy abyss of crowd-surfing hands. There was so much jumping that half of the audience must have been airborne at any given moment. Moshpits sporadically bubbled and disseminated throughout the crowd. This reviewer awoke the following morning sore in more places than he’d care to disclose.

The crowd was full of skinny, kinetically buzzing teenagers blended with beefy and shirtless thirty-somethings–a mother’s nightmare. But, for a fan of heavy bass, high energy, and/or "hardcore" shows of any genre, "The Old Danny Brown Tour" is a dream come true, one worth witnessing as Brown continues to make his way around the U.S.

Highlights: "Express Yourself," "Side B (Dope Song)," "Bruiser Brigade," "Dip"

Reach Staff Reporter Ben Benjamin here.