4.5 out of 5 stars
In seventh grade, my friend introduced me to Tyler, The Creator’s song “2SEATER.” Ever since then, I have been a huge fan of Tyler, The Creator but have never gotten the chance to see him live until now.
On Feb. 11, Tyler, the Creator performed his two-hour “CHROMAKOPIA” set at Ball Arena. Tickets spanned anywhere from $300 for general admission to around $130 for seats in the stands.
One of the main reasons I rate this concert so highly is that the show started exactly on schedule, with his first opener coming out at 7:30 p.m. Tyler, The Creator was punctual and didn’t make fans wait hours to hear what they’d been waiting for.
Even from the 300-level nosebleeds where I sat, it wasn’t hard to see anything. He performed on three stages. The main “CHROMAKOPIA” stage featured green shipping containers stacked one on top of the other. A lower bridge stage allowed him to walk to his third stage, the living room. On the living room stage sat a couch in the corner, paired with a side table and a second taller table in the center.
Paris Texas was the first opener. Even with few people on the floor, their performance was so upbeat that multiple mosh pits formed anyway. I had never heard any of their music. It was a combined rock and rap style of music that I wasn’t a fan of, but their performance was fun, energetic and enjoyable.
When their set ended, Lil Yachty took the stage. Lil Yachty’s performance was a bit underwhelming. Over and over again, he’d play about thirty-second snippets of random songs that weren’t his and continuously mumbled incoherently into the microphone.
Lil Yachty took a turn from his “hype” performance when he told the audience to take a moment of silence for Juice WRLD. Unfortunately, a bunch of fans from the crowd continued to scream, which brought Lil Yachty to say, “If you yell when someone asks you for a moment of silence, you gonna be ugly forever.”
Lil Yachty’s set ended with applause as he performed “From The D To The A” and raw-dogged the lyrics with no beat.
At exactly 9 p.m., Tyler, the Creator appeared on the “CHROMAKOPIA” stage. He began the set with “St. Chroma,” stomping uniformly, then randomly swinging his body around the stage with no control. Instantly, you could tell what makes him a stellar performer. He sang every single lyric, not missing a word or pronouncing, and he sang everything with energy to elevate the crowd.
His stage presence was made known through his sound, and his costume design. Tyler, The Creator wore the iconic mask and green suit throughout the “CHROMAKOPIA” portion of his set. The costume was precise to the trailer he released on YouTube, and the black and white screen made it feel like I was in that desert stomping into his green shipping container.
His performance with choppy dance moves and fire spewing from behind him combined for amazing visuals and ethereal energy.
As he finished performing the first half of “CHROMAKOPIA,” the bridge stage lowered, and he performed “Sticky” as three mosh pits formed beneath him. Even though I’m not a fan of the song, it was impossible not to succumb to the energy Denver brought.
The next part of the concert was by far the best. He crossed over the bridge to the stage in the center of the arena, which was a recreation of his living room. In the center of the stage stood a record player, and in the corner, a box full of the records he’s made throughout his career. He changed his costume as the lights turned off, returning wearing a cream button-up, brown slacks and a green hat.
Fans screamed as he flicked through the records and picked out “IGOR.” “IGOR’S THEME” blasted throughout the arena as more mosh pits manifested.
This little act of flipping through the albums was so simple yet so novel; it was my favorite part of his performance. It was so fun hearing the crowd scream whenever he would lift up one of his records and lay it on the player.
He played four tracks from every one of his records. He performed “IGOR,” “Goblin,” “Wolf,” “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST,” “Cherry Bomb” and “Flower Boy” in that order.
The final song he performed was, in my opinion, his most upbeat and easiest to rage to, “NEW MAGIC WAND.” The lights turned red as Tyler, The Creator and his fans screamed every lyric.
Another phenomenal aspect of Tyler, The Creator’s performance was how personal he was. He perfected the art of knowing when to talk during a concert, what to say and not saying too much. When the show was over, he finished in true Tyler, The Creator fashion by saying Denver had the weirdest white people he’s ever performed for behind Portland, Oregon.
Tyler, the Creator. Photo by Noah March.