There is nothing cooler than seeing live music from an artist that you love.

I have been a fan of JPEGMAFIA for nearly a decade at this point, going all the way back to his debut album, Black Ben Carson. I've collected plenty of his vinyl, and I always look forward to whatever experimentation awaits us as an audience on each new record. So when I found out that he would be kicking off the Experimental Rap Tour in my hometown of Spokane, Washington, I marked the date on the calendar and rushed to grab myself a ticket.

The tour highlights Peggy's sixth album, EXPERIMENTAL RAP, which dropped in May of this year with redveil and matt proxy tagging along as openers.

The show didn't just overdeliver; it was a reminder of just how special live music is. It was a Tuesday night full of live instrumentation, crowd surfing, mosh pits, and, of course, Peggy's iconic rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."

I sat in the VIP section of the upper area at The Knitting Factory, which gave me the perfect vantage point for people-watching before the show. You could slowly see less and less of the floor as bodies packed together and the crowd began to bubble up with excitement.

Ahead of the show, a man behind me celebrated his 45th birthday and talked about how grateful he was to see some live music. Listening to people talk about music (even if it means eavesdropping) is one of my favorite things to do.

The show began right at 7:30pm with Minneapolis native and newly-turned 20-year-old matt proxy. He had a youthful energy that immediately snagged the audience's attention. He performed a wide variety of tracks, including multiple cuts off his debut album trojan horse.

This is proxy's first tour, and you can feel the excitement in his performance. There's a sense of urgency on stage to prove that he belongs and an undeniable rockstar energy that radiates off of him, from his constant movement around the stage to the energetic vocals that had the crowd jumping up and down.

The highlight of his set was his remix of "530" by Ye (formerly Kanye West). He shouted out Ye for giving him his blessing to perform the track, and Ye's influence on his high-energy stage presence is clear.

The most impressive part of his performance was his ability to play these ear-crushing anthems that made the ground shake while still being vulnerable in his lyrics. He walks a fine line, and he does it well. Underneath his chaotic exterior is a pain that he clearly finds therapeutic to perform.

It won't surprise me one bit when matt proxy winds up headlining his own tour down the road in my city. He has loads of potential as an artist, and at 20, he has all the time in the world to improve as a performer and musician. He was the perfect opener for the tour and maximized every second that he had on stage.

After proxy left, there was a palpable jolt of electricity that had spread throughout the audience. The crowd grew louder, and they made it clear that they didn't want the music to stop.

Next up was Maryland rapper redveil. His Tiny Desk concert from this July is one of my favorites in the history of the series, so there was no doubt in my mind that his set was going to be incredible. And, to nobody's surprise, he was an absolute treat to listen to.

He had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he arrived, performing a variety of cuts off his latest album, sankofa, as well as music from earlier in his discography. His soulful instrumentals sounded gorgeous blaring over the loudspeakers, and one of the coolest moments of the night came during "pg baby," when the crowd chanted "I can tell you ain't about a win!"

My dream came true of hearing “Brown Sugar" live toward the midsection of his set. It's my favorite track in his entire catalog, and finally getting to hear it in person was an absolute joy.

His progression as an artist continues to amaze me. At just 22 years old, he has already shed some of his creative influences (such as Earl Sweatshirt) and come into his own as a musician. Even as a teenager, his talent was evident, and now he will have the opportunity to inspire the next wave of young talent that is coming up behind him.

His charisma comes through in both his music and his personality. I never once wanted to look away, nor did I ever stop smiling. He also took time after his set to meet fans and sign merch that they had brought to the show.

Once redveil had completed his set, he hyped the crowd up, asking if they were ready for the main event of the show. The crowd roared, chanting "Peggy!" over and over again, which drowned out the music playing on the speakers ahead of him coming out on stage. Once the lights went out and his band members entered, the crowd exploded like a surprise entrant at The Royal Rumble when Peggy made his long-awaited appearance.

Outside of my obvious excitement with the music, I had been especially curious how JPEGMAFIA would go about talking with his audience for the opening show of his tour. After being combative with his own fans just a few short months ago and randomly sparking up a beef with Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist, I wondered what he would have in store.

He arrived in all black, including the hat, and started performing "Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot." The crowd lit up, and you could feel the excitement as everyone wondered what he had in store.

The coolest part of the show for me was Peggy completely disregarding the tracklist that was taped at the top right of the stage. He would frequently take a glance at it, walk over to the DJ, and request that they do another song instead. There were times when he would outright choose to move songs around, even if the track had already been a few seconds underway.

Maybe it was Peggy feeding off the crowd, maybe it was him still sifting out how he wanted this tracklist to go with it being the first leg of his tour, maybe it was a mix of everything. Either way, it was a cool experience to see an artist craft their setlist together in real time. It felt like he was a quarterback calling audibles ahead of snapping the ball. Nobody had any idea what track would come up next, and that made the experience even more fun.

The performance in general was unlike anything that I had ever seen. The band behind him put on an absolute clinic. With these riffing guitars and loud, ringing drums, it made every song sound like a remix. My brain would recognize the track that Peggy was performing, and the band would turn it into something completely new.

When I go to see music live, it's those moments that I want to experience. Listening to an artist just play their own track in the speakers while they walk back and forth across the stage is fine. But it's times when you can see an artist totally transform their work that make it so special. It feels like an intimate experience with an artist that you could only enjoy by going to see them in person.

One of my favorite moments of the show included Peggy performing "HAZARD DUTY PAY!" and, instead of letting the soul sample carry the instrumental, you heard these rock-inspired guitars make a vrooming noise on the track with these loud drums. You would only get these brief moments of silence where you could hear The Winans' voice in the background from the sample. The live performance took one of my favorite tracks of all time and completely reinvented it.

Another bright spot was the slowed-down version of "1539 N. Calvert" that featured more singing from Peggy, effectively turning it into an r&b track. Was that something I knew that I needed? No. Is my life better after hearing it? Absolutely.

He also joked with the crowd by saying that the upcoming song he was going to play was for a community that means a lot to him. He proceeded to take his hat off, rub his head, and "BALD!" started playing over the speakers.

As referenced earlier, the best moment of the show was undeniably Peggy's autotuned crooning performance of "Call Me Maybe." Holy shit. The official cover and clips simply don't do it justice. Seeing this cover done live would have been the price of admission alone.

If I were to nitpick one thing from the show, it was the pure shock that came with Peggy and redveil not coming together to perform "Kingdom Heart Key." Hilariously enough, when I saw Danny Brown at the same venue for the Quaranta Tour, he performed the track without the other two. Seemed a bit odd, but I guess in some weird way I have seen the track.

Before wrapping up his show, Peggy took a brief moment to thank his fans for being there and reiterated his love for them. In many ways, this feels like a time when Peggy can step back, acknowledge his mistake, and use this tour as a way to embrace the people who have supported him over the years.

He closed the show out by performing "Burfict!" with its loud horns blaring through the venue, thanked his fans, and told everyone to "stay tuned," potentially alluding to new music on the way.

If JPEGMAFIA and company are coming to a city near you, I would run, not walk, to get yourself to a show. In a digital age, it's a special feeling to be around people and nerd out over liking the same artist. Music is a universal language and connector, and this tour is a perfect encapsulation of just how special live music can be.