Concert Wrap-Up: Tyler the Creator Tour

Tyler the Creator released his album, Call Me If You Get Lost, last June. Along with the album, a subsequent tour around the country was announced with Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, and Teezo Touchdown.

After 9 months of waiting and $200 spent on VIP tickets, my highly anticipated April Fools’ Day finally came. Thankfully, the show was not a joke.

With the VIP tickets, I got access to the floor and was able to be up at the very front, watching some of my favorite artists perform their biggest songs, just15 feet away. Teezo Touchdown was the first performer, and it was unfortunate that only a third of the seats were filled at that point because he would end up constructing one of the most energetic performances I’ve ever seen; rocking a black denim skirt, tool belt, nails in his hair, and an array of construction items, there was no doubt he did.. Teezo interacted with the crowd more than any of the other acts by having us yell chants, bring our flashlights up, as well as encouraging the crowd to mosh to songs that you’d never think to shove each other around to, but it worked out. There was also a guitar on stage, which would have you wondering if it was there for decoration or if he would put it to use as none of his songs have an electric guitar. However, during one of his softer songs, he pulled it out and played an incredible song, completely changing the mood and feeling of the song, and it was amazing.

I have been so used to waiting up to an hour or more in between sets, but Vince Staples came out only about 15 minutes later, but that was unfortunately the best thing about his performance.

Taking the stage in the middle of the arena, Vince Staples performed his hit songs like F.U.N, 745, Big Fish, and Norf Norf, yet struggled to get all that much movement from the crowd. Being near the front stage, I was also not able to visibly see much of his performance, but instead watched a lot of it on a giant screen. Vince’s music is great when playing in the car or headphones, but it does not work live, and most of the crowd seemed to agree. I recall a rather big moshpit opening up with only five people actually running around in there. One of my biggest complaints, which may not be his fault, was that the bass was way too loud to the point that I could not actually hear Vince, but thankfully I already knew his songs and could hear a word or sound to know what was happening. I was generally just waiting for the performance to be over.

Kali Uchis’ performance was something you knew she dumped hours into rehearsing and choreographing. Having 4 background dancers really added to her performance and they were excellent. She was able to effortlessly dance and sing without missing a note. This one was less about the crowd and more just standing and looking in awe at the magnificent performance.

For the main performance, Tyler came onto the stage in a crazy looking kind of Rolls-Royce. His set was by far the longest and very entertaining. He played music from every single album he released since the start of his career from She to Who Dat Boy to I Think. The set design was spectacular and was reminiscent of some fancy roaring 20s architecture. From the hand and body movements coordinating with lyrics to the song and jokes and shoutouts specific to the Bay Area, you could tell how much care he puts into every show. I recall him telling a story about a homeless man playing piano by a sewer in San Francisco and when Tyler goes to talk to him he hits a crack pipe and blows it in his face. He then calls it “The most Bay Area shit he’s ever seen”. There was also a Bay Area freestyle he did where he referenced locations and shouted out Oakland legend Mac Dre. It was my second time seeing Tyler, yet was even better than my first.

Overall, the event was well coordinated, entertaining, and is one that I will remember. I don’t believe that it was worth the $200 price tag as you can go to a music festival for that price and see ten times the amount of performers. As Tyler and the crew he brought with him continue to grow into bigger superstars, I’ll grateful to be able to recall the memory of when I was just ten feet away from them.