From the green-hued, flame-throwing CHROMAKOPIA stage, to the modest “living room” adorned with a couch and record player, Tyler’s CHROMAKOPIA World Tour made for a wonderful listening experience.
Accompanied by Paris Texas, and Lil Yachty, the night was gleaming with energy, even in Tyler’s brief chip-eating, incense-lit interludes.
Paris Texas: The Adrenaline Appetizer
A solid show needs impeccable openers, and the experimentalist group Paris Texas supplied the goods in demand. Tyler, the Creator is known to promote both small and classic artists as his openers. His CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST Tour featured rising star Teezo Touchdown and queen Kali Uchis. This year’s openers went hip-hop heavy with Paris Texas and Lil Yachty, providing a glimpse of rap’s cutting-edge duo and sure-fire favorite.
The Paris Texas duo, aka Louie Pastel and Felix, is a genre-bending group founded in LA. The two bring buck-wild energy, while their music angrily probes at the traditional rap genre. Recently releasing their two newest EPs in February, Paris Texas was ready to rile up Tyler’s crowd and showcase their latest drops and oldest hits.
The duo had a relatively short set of 45 minutes but were still able to dance through each of their projects with applaudable energy. Playing from their newest EP They Left Me With The Sword, the track “Tantrum” had the mosh pit swarming in circles and the pair drenched in sweat. They also paid homage to the album BOY ANONYMOUS with Stone Age bangers like “FORCE OF HABIT”, taking time to shout out their day-one fans who would recognize the throwback.
The energy was carried through their “MID-AIR” segment, where Felix and Pastel tore up the stage to tracks “Sean-Jared” and their closing track “Lana Del Rey”. It was a great set of songs for prior Paris Texas fans, and perfect exposure for those less familiar. After Teezo’s rise in fame post-CMIYGL tour, it will be exciting to track the success of Paris Texas after leading the CHROMAKOPIA tour with such invigorating confidence.
Lil Yachty: Nostalgic Throwbacks and a “Sun-Lit” Stage
Following shortly after the stage-thrashing duo was Lil Yachty, in all of his iced-out, nonchalant glory. Yachty’s performance covered a ton of ground, tapping into one-off tracks, 2016 favorites, and Let’s Start Here. gems. Early into his performance, Yachty asked the audience for a moment of silence before playing the hit track “Yacht Club” featuring the late Juice WRLD. The audience (barely) complied, as he went on to give a bitter-sweet performance of the Nuthin’ 2 Prove classic.
Yachty capitalized on his older hits by taking a stroll through some of his deeply buried and insanely reminiscent songs. The first piano chords of “Broccoli” oscillated through the stadium while a mixture of laughs, cheers, and recited lyrics filled the arena. It became a 15-thousand-person choir when tracks “Minnesota” and “iSpy” came on, taking patient zero Yachty fans back to the moment they first fell in love. It was a meaningful moment for fans who could belt “One Night” as easily as “A Cold Sunday”.
Moving into Let’s Start Here.
Thankfully, Yachty paid his respects to Let’s Start Here., playing tracks “the BLACK seminole.”, “pRETTy”, and album hit “drive ME crazy!”. It was restorative to hear the “new” Yachty after a lengthy performance of his signature trap sound. Let’s Start Here. was Yachty’s departure from his usual sound into experimental pop and psychedelic rock. The album’s sonics translated beautifully from record to performance. Fans swayed side-to-side in unison with their flashlights lit to “drive ME crazy!”, the album’s golden record. Lights of purple and blue hues melted into one as Yachty rapped the track’s beautiful outro.
An undoubted show highlight was Yachty’s performance of “WE SAW THE SUN!” as a second-to-last closer. The entire stadium was flooded with orange and yellow rays, exposing the audience’s faces for the first moment in nearly two hours. Yachty played this track through (despite a nearly lost voice), excluding the Bob Ross blip. This led us straight into his show-closer of “A Cold Sunday”, one of his 2024 kickoff singles. Altogether, a satiating performance indeed, and a great lead-in to Mr. Okonma.
Green Suit, Mask on, St. Chroma Mantra
Devout fans of CHROMAKOPIA know when the stadium bleeds green, and “You are the light” ensues, the masked-up, green-suited mastermind will shortly be entering the stage. Not surprisingly, the track “St. Chroma” opened up Tyler’s set with its invigorating, foot-stomping 40-second intro. As the “Chromakopia” shipping container lifted, we saw Tyler center stage, with his militant suit and signature devil-horned hair. Cataclysmic sparks and flames kindled his stage as he dove into his first verse.
“RAH TAH TAH” followed shortly after, where Tyler not only hit his verse but danced with zero restraints. He let the crowd have the moment for “I’m a bonafide face seat, box muncher” as he flailed about his stage drenched in sweat. To strike the third CHROMAKOPIA match of his set, Tyler switched the mood from green to red with “Noid”. Flames rose from the main stage with every guitar strum (you could actually feel the heat from the nosebleeds). At the song’s jazzy bridge, the flames quieted, and the audience was left with Tyler’s eerie silhouette standing alone in a sea of red.
The show continued on with a few more CHROMAKOPIA hits, “Sticky” becoming his scuzzy anthem to cross from stage one to stage two. Tyler threw wads of cash at the pit of people below him after Sexyy Red’s verse. The energy of the crowd was electric and ready to be humbled by “Take Your Mask Off”. Tyler led us in with a dimming of the lights and a lengthy piano interlude. He rapped bar for bar, with zero misses, as expected.
Record Player, Spin the Era
After the resounding CHROMAKOPIA intro, Tyler entered his second stage, tidy with a sofa, coffee table, and record player. Tyler sat at his piano, played a bit, and got ready to spin a new, unexpected vinyl. The screens showed Tyler flipping through his records, teasing his numerous eras, and eventually plucking out IGOR. The crowd screamed as Tyler spun the extended intro to “IGOR’S THEME”. He disappeared from the stage only to return in his signature white tee, slacks, and loafers.
The post-CHROMAKOPIA segment felt more like a listening experience in Tyler’s personal space than it did a crazy concert. Tyler invited his audience into the comfort of his home to listen to him spin a few of his favorites, eat some chips, and drink tea between bars. To everyone’s pleasure, Tyler played a few tracks that don’t usually pop out in his performances. “A BOY IS A GUN*” and “GONE, GONE/THANK YOU” had their moment, and sent us off into Goblin territory.
“I’m a fu*king walking paradox” welcomed the audience into Tyler’s beloved Goblin era. Tyler rapped the length of “Yonkers” amongst other catalyst tracks dating back to 2011. Fans were ready for the next track to be a Frank Ocean vocal but, instead, were met with the diabolical “Tron Cat”. This was a Goblin-head’s bread and butter.
It was a refreshing line-up of early tracks, still touching on the evident hit “She”. Tyler then mosied on over to his sophomore and junior projects. He played us some “Tamale” and “Rusty” from Wolf, “SMUCKERS”, “DEATHCAMP”, and “2SEATER” from Cherry Bomb. It was a beautifully diverse, and retrospective segment, paying homage to the early Tyler, and keeping his longtime fans satiated.
Tea-Sipping Interludes
Tyler eventually returned to his record player, flicked to CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, and tapped into his lavish, diamond-studded trunk era. He spun some favorites like “LUMBERJACK” and “WUSYANAME” where he danced around his “living room” in a GOLF le FLEUR* Petalers jacket. Between tracks, Tyler paused to grab a bite to eat and sip a bit of his tea. These were the moments that made you, as a fan, feel right at home. “SORRY NOT SORRY” and the yucky “DOGTOOTH” sent us on our merry way. As quickly as CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST exited, Flower Boy had a brief time to shine with tracks “WHO DAT BOY” and “Boredom”.
The “Perfect Storm” Close
Nearing the end of the evening, Tyler ran us through a blip of all of his past selves. It’s no show of Tyler’s without his favorite track to date, “NEW MAGIC WAND”. As expected, he gave the track a beautifully deranged performance to validate its untamedness. He circled back to the remaining three CHROMAKOPIA tracks. The nightcap included a feverishly executed “Thought I Was Dead”, where Tyler off-roaded his verse, rapping it entirely acapella.
To close out the night, the audience received a colorful performance of “Balloon” featuring Doechii, and our ticket home anthem, “I Hope You Find Your Way Home”. All-in-all, it was a wonderfully curated evening by Tyler, The Creator; an experience packed with green smoke and 15 thousand smiles, making it another successful night of the CHROMAKOPIA World Tour.
