Insane Clown Posse was not a band I ever expected to see in my lifetime, especially if you would have asked me in my younger years. Between their goofy carnival-sounding production, overly edgy lyrics and imagery, trailer trash fanbase, their beef with Eminem; the list of reasons not to like them upon first impression is endless.
As time goes on and Juggalos get older however; the perception of Insane Clown Posse has changed drastically over the years with Vice’s documentary about their Gathering Of The Juggalos festival, their collaborations with Danny Brown and more recently Jelly Roll, and their song Miracles becoming a viral sensation upon its release. ICP are the black sheep of music as a whole, and the world has mostly decided that we were a bit too hard on them over the years.
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I decided I wasn’t doing my due diligence as a music journalist if I had never experienced them live, and being as they never visit Southern California; this was one of the few chances I had. House Of Blues Anaheim made the ridiculously insane decision to book them right before Halloween on October 22, 2025 and I knew instantly that this was a carnival I had to be in attendance for.
I was actually unaware of this before attending the concert; but apparently Insane Clown Posse were banned from most Southern California venues for a period, with their last time coming out here being in 2019. Even on this visit they opted to play House Of Blues Anaheim and Riverside Municipal Auditorium rather than any LA venues, and I could not have been happier with this decision. I wanted an authentic juggalo party experience which is absolutely not something you would receive on the same level in Los Angeles proper.
It’s no secret that Orange County and the Inland Empire do have a bit more of a stereotypically white-trash crowd than what you would find in LA, and I wanted to see long-term juggalos going wild and showering each other in Faygo rather than a bunch of LA hipsters ironically in attendance “for the meme”. I personally hate the idea of treating any music like a “meme” or a “guilty pleasure”; these are artists devoting their life to the craft of music, and few performers are more dedicated to world-building than ICP.
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The scene upon arriving to House Of Blues Anaheim was actually much more mellow than expected, being almost completely empty outside as most juggalos in attendance had already been inside for hours to see the openers of Psychopathic Records alumni, just showing how dedicated their fanbase really is to the entire world that ICP presents rather than just them exclusively. It was completely different inside however, with the House Of Blues being filled with people in clown makeup rabidly trying to get merch before ICP’s set started. I know the trend of clown makeup is pretty popular with Gen Z at punk shows lately, but the feeling is much different when you’re completely surrounded by clowns. The lights dimmed as everybody shouted “ICP! ICP!” with the giant letters on stage flashing and the suspense in the air was like a bomb waiting to explode.
It was a completely surreal moment as Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope of ICP approached the stage in their glow-in-the-dark shirts, which really sold the carnival image and shows that a little bit of showmanship can go a long way. They have the presence of legends. Maybe not legends in the lifestyle I have lived, but they are absolute rockstars in every sense of the word and in that moment; they felt like the most important celebrities in the world.
They opened with their 1995 track The Show Must Go On, being the oldest song of the set and instantly servicing the diehard fans. The song absolutely rips and upon first listen, you may not even guess that it was Insane Clown Posse. It instantly reminded me that there was a moment in the 90’s where ICP were a pretty big deal upon Southern Hip-Hop enthusiasts, having collaborations with Three 6 Mafia back in the day. While it was the perfect song to open with for the diehard fans, it also was for casuals like me in attendance who are used to a more conventional hip-hop sound.
They jumped right into warming the crowd up even further with Hokus Pokus, one of their biggest songs and one of the very few I actually knew before attending. The energy in the room was magnetic at this moment, and I lost my shit just as much as everybody else upon hearing the iconic intro “Serial Slaughterin Stranglers, Jugging Juggling Juggalos, Folded Fat Floppy-Titty Freaks, I-C-fuckin-P’s in the house” and I lost my shit even more when I realized it was the Headhunta’z Mix used in the music video rather than the album version.
I think the fact that I’m even breaking down the different versions of one of few songs I knew by them shows just how complicated ICP lore is and how easy it is for their fanbase to become obsessed with it. I was a bit bummed that they cut the third verse and I didn’t get to scream along to “I met Milenko, He gave me three wishes. That night, I fucked 3 fat bitches!” with Milenko being a scheming devil-like figure in their lore of The Great Carnival, essentially the bible of juggalos. Insane Clown Posse are a religion and juggalos are a cult, but they definitely aren’t a gang like the FBI insisted throughout the 00’s.
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Even though Hokus Pokus was one of the few songs I knew beforehand, plenty of the next tracks were so infectious in a crowd setting that it felt like I had known them my whole life. They just kept getting more goofy as well; My Axe and Fuck The World followed with the latter’s ridiculous lyrics standing out as the duo just say “Fuck ___” about numerous topics like disco, the police, The Beastie Boys, Celine Dion, pre-schoolers, chickens, ducks, The Berlin Wall (both sides), The West Coast, Oprah. Nobody is safe from ICP’s wrath on this one. Again, the crowd setting made this song an instant classic where it may have been something I dismissed by just listening at home. Insane Clown Posse and their juggalo army really need to be seen in-person to “get it” and I’ll be the first to admit I still don’t fully get it; a fair amount of their fans probably don’t either.
What came next, I had only heard about in legends and myths. I had only seen this in documentaries and old Woodstock 99 footage of this and I still wasn’t prepared. The Faygo Break. The duo already had evil clowns coming out from behind the stage to spray bottles of Faygo on the crowd at moments, but I had stayed safe until this moment. The Faygo Break however, had me completely drenched in the value-brand soda and I wasn’t anywhere near the front. It was everywhere and you couldn’t escape it, with security and photographers even wearing ponchos for the entire concert. The whole experience really did feel like being an outsider looking into a strange religious ceremony that you’re trying to grasp but can’t. You’re either participating in the ritual, or you should get the hell out of there if you want to avoid getting soaked in their Holy Water.
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The Faygo Break really did indicate that The Next Act of their set was beginning, as it focused on more of their later material opening with CPK’s (Crooked Preacher Killers), a track that embodies everything an ICP-hater would dislike about their edgy horrorcore sound as the duo rap about dismembering sexual predator preachers (quite the 2004 topic, really showing the group’s age). Again; it’s probably not a track I would throw on while I’m chilling in my room, but the Faygo fumes in the air really had me feeling more open-minded. This segment of the set was very horrorcore-heavy with other spooky edgy classics like Boogie Woogie Wu and Tilt-A-Whirl, but the Halloween season could not have been a more appropriate time to experience these juggalo classics. I was fully immersed in the insanity at this point and then, another Faygo Break.
The Final Act of ICP’s set was focused more on their more groovy funk-influenced material (which I didn’t even know existed, but it makes sense considering their location and timing in the 90s) and it really did feel like they were winding the night gradually to avoid any unruly protests from the juggalos there. The night ended with two of the last songs on their magnum opus album “The Great Milenko”, being Down With The Clown and Pass Me By. The latter has such an atmospheric energy and group vocals that almost resemble Bone Thugs N Harmony in how serene the ambiance is.
I was really hoping they would come back for an encore with Homies, one of the only other few songs I know, but there was surprisingly no encore at all with how perfectly they wrapped a bow on the whole evening. The party wasn’t over yet though, with juggalos slipping and sliding through the massive puddles of Faygo that filled the venue floor. I don’t even want to think about the diseases they caught, or how long clean-up must have taken for the venue that night.
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Insane Clown Posse at House Of Blues Anaheim wasn’t just another concert. It was a window into a life I have never lived and a culture that has consistently been misunderstood throughout its history. They truly are a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see live, especially if you live in Southern California where they rarely visit us. ICP are much more than just a novelty, and they do have some incredible works in the hip-hop genre if you can open your mind and your heart. It really takes the experience of seeing them in-person live to open yourself completely to them, but it’s worth taking the pilgrimage and being soaked in Faygo in order to do so. Whoop Whoop.
Words by Danny Ryan
Photos by Chris Mounts
