How ICP Concerts at The Gathering Have Evolved

The Gathering of the Juggalos is a mecca for fans of horror rap duo Insane Clown Posse. Once a year, this gigantic festival that features a handful of ICP concerts and an enormous number of other horror rap performances takes a Midwestern location by storm, as Juggalos in the tens of thousands arrive for 4 days of horror rap music, friendships that can only be made at The Gathering, and the best ICP concerts of the year. There’s much about The Gathering that draws in Juggalos from around the world: helicopter rides, Ms. Juggalette beauty pageants, Faygo showers, oil wrestling, partying, and of course the intense concentration of the world’s best horror rappers all giving concerts in the same place at the same time. But would Juggalos still flock to The Gathering if there was no ICP concert involved? Of course the ICP concert isn’t the only good thing about The Gathering, but it is the one event that Juggalos most look forward to every year. Has it always been this way? The Gathering first took place in the year 2000, and the ICP concerts there were indoors. Many Juggalos today undoubtedly prefer the outdoor festival settings as opposed to the indoor settings back then, but seeing how it was early in The Gathering’s existence, it’s safe to say that Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope hadn’t become festival planning experts yet. However, even though the outdoor setting may be preferable for those who wish to roam about freely, enjoy the weather, and see other groups perform The Gathering, it’s impossible to replicate the epic feeling of an indoor ICP concert. Check out some of the footage from The Gatherings that took place indoors in the early ‘00s if you don’t believe me. An arena packed full of Juggalos in every direction gives the event a greater magnitude than can be achieved in the outdoor setting. Also, the stage for the indoor ICP concerts were enormous, and the guys used some creative thinking power to devise awesome sets and stage plots to take advantage. If you were a Juggalo in the front row at any of The Gatherings that were indoors, not only did you get to witness the acting and storylines come to life in front of your very eyes, but you also had the treat of getting sprayed with truckloads of Faygo, having the bottles launched off mini trampolines into the crowd, and seeing the fervor of other Juggalos and ICP members up close and personal. The indoor ICP concert advantage is also helped along by the fact the Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope were younger and more energetic back then, a fact that while slightly sobering, does not mean that the level of performance from Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J isn’t amazing for their age and history. When Juggalos attend the ICP concert at The Gathering in 2012, however, you will be in for a treat. This year’s festival takes place just days before the release of ICP’s first album in three years, The Mighty Death Pop! The guys are going to be playing songs from it and making sure you have a good enough time that you go and buy their album ASAP. Something tells me it will be just like the old days of ICP concerts at The Gathering! Resource Box Juggalos wait anxiously for the ICP concert at The Gathering every year, and the guys never disappoint. This year, they’ll be hyping up new release The Mighty Death Pop! to the maximum. To learn more about The Mighty Death Pop! and The Gathering, please visit http://www.hatchetgear.com/bands/icp.html.