A$AP Mob brings an army of talent to the Rave

A$AP Mob in Milwaukee on Thursday was both too much and too little, and ultimately it was just right.

The two most popular members of the Harlem-born hip-hop collective — recurring hitmaker A$AP Rocky and fellow critically acclaimed heavyweight A$AP Ferg — likely could have packed the 3,500-capacity Eagles Ballroom at the Rave as a double bill.

Instead, Thursday’s sold-out show was part of a relatively rare joint performance showcasing multiple A$AP members — including A$AP Twelvyy, A$AP Nast, A$AP Ant, and Cozy Boys DJ duo A$AP Snacks and A$AP Lou — alongside frequent collaborators such as Key! and Smooky Margielaa who don’t share the Ramones-style naming scheme.

The result was consistently thrilling and borderline overwhelming. Strength in numbers isn’t a guarantee at a hip-hop show — perhaps you saw the largely listless Migos set at Summerfest in July — but each member of Mob was in engaged entertainer mode Thursday, competing for attention while still complementing each other’s delivery and spotlight moments.

For “Walk on Water” for instance, Twelvyy was down in the pit rapping in fans’ faces, while Rocky triggered a surge of cheers playing to the stage left crowd, and Nast snuck out to amp up folks in the far right corner.

It was a full-on entertainment assault, the presence of so many members allowing for several satisfying full-song performances, the energy ebbing and flowing as rappers took turns making their mark on the material.

So in what way was the show not enough? Largely, time. Setting aside a few swift solo opening sets from undercard players, Mob was only on stage for an hour, despite a massive catalog; this past August alone, Twelvyy dropped an album, Ferg dropped a mixtape, and the collective dropped its second collaborative album.

With a truncated set, several players weren’t able to distinguish themselves beyond requisite swagger.

But even with scores of songs left out of the show, it ultimately was for the best. The collective-wide discography is inconsistent, the group more fixated at times on quantity than quality. Thursday’s hourlong set ensured that Mob never outlasted its welcome, and there was still enough time for a few members to steal the spotlight.

Margielaa’s boyish, AutoTune-assisted tone provided a light, melodic contrast to banger “Black Card.” Twelvyy took full command of his solo moments, his enthusiastic flow adding fuel to the fire for throbbing crowdpleasers like “Crazy Brazy.”

Ferg led the show to its peak, a boisterous Mob flooding the floor burning off their remaining energy, moshing and bouncing through a bouncing, fivesong blitz of “Coach Cartier,” “Work,” “New Level,” “Mad Man” and “Plain Jane.”

And Rocky, the most frequent ringleader from stage opener “Yamborghini High” to finale “Lorde Pretty Jacko Floyde 2,” illustrated why he’s Mob’s breakout star. But alone at the end, rapping a cappella, Rocky proved to be just as commanding.