Concert Review: Armand Hammer (Motorco Music Hall)

BY DREW DRAIN

Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon opened the night at Motorco Music Hall in Durham with the kind of presence that makes you reconsider what an opener is supposed to do. He came out as the self-anointed king of Charlotte, and instead of feeling like a reach, it landed as a thesis statement. Within a few songs, he backed it up. His delivery was sharp and unhurried, every bar sitting exactly where it needed to, with enough confidence to let the words breathe without losing intensity.

What stood out most was how controlled the performance felt. There was no wasted motion, no sense of trying to win the room over. He already had it. Midway through the set, he stepped off the stage and into the crowd for a song, rapping from the floor with people pressed in around him. It could have turned chaotic, but he held it together effortlessly, projecting with the same clarity and pulling the audience closer rather than letting the moment scatter. It felt less like a stunt and more like proof of concept. If you are going to call yourself the king of Charlotte, this is how you show it.

By the time Armand Hammer took the stage, the room had shifted into something heavier. Billy Woods and Elucid moved through their set with a kind of deliberate intensity that made everything feel dense and immersive. Their chemistry is less about obvious interplay and more about a shared gravity. Each verse lands like a weight, and the transitions between them feel seamless, almost conversational in a way that rewards close attention.

The set leaned into material that thrives on atmosphere. The beats felt cavernous, with loops and textures that seemed to stretch the room wider, while the vocals stayed grounded and precise. Billy Woods delivered his verses with that signature mix of detachment and quiet urgency, while Elucid brought a more physical energy, pacing and gesturing as he unraveled his lines. Together, they built something that felt less like a sequence of songs and more like a continuous environment.

The crowd responded in a way that matched the performance. There were moments of stillness where people seemed locked in, followed by bursts of recognition when certain lines hit. It was not a show built on easy call and response. It demanded attention and got it.

The lighting, though, had its own agenda. The stage was drenched in deep red and shadow, which fit the tone perfectly but made photography feel like an elaborate practical joke. Trying to capture a clear shot of the duo felt like chasing evidence of a sighting that no one would believe. Every time it seemed like the light might cooperate, it slipped back into darkness, leaving behind something that looked like a very moody abstract painting. At one point it felt like I had accidentally switched careers and become a specialist in documenting silhouettes of mysterious red fog.

Still, the visual obscurity had an odd side effect. It pulled focus back to the music itself. Without the distraction of crisp images, the performance became something you had to experience directly, in real time, without mediation. It made the set feel even more insular and absorbing.

By the end of the night, the pairing made sense. Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon opened by asserting himself with clarity and control, stepping into the crowd and meeting it head-on. Armand Hammer followed by drawing the room inward, building a dense, shadowy world that asked for patience and attention. Two very different approaches; both executed with conviction.

[message]

DREW DRAIN

Andrew (Drew) Drain is originally from Point Pleasant, WV, and he now resides in Chapel Hill, NC with his daughter. Drew works as a financial risk management professional to pay the bills, but his real passion is photography. He started taking photos of his daughter playing soccer as a way to resist the urge to coach her from the sidelines. Time behind the camera developed into a love for photography that he has paired with his love for sports and live music. Follow Drew’s Instagram, @Drew.Drain.Photo or his MaxPreps galleries, to check out more of his work or contact him if you need photos of your favorite athlete or performer.

Read Drew's posts here.