Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Sheck Wes: Shockingly long lines to get into the Garden almost deprived me of the opportunity to see the thousands of small children in attendance go completely apeshit for Mo Bamba. Fortunately, I got to my seats in time to witness this extraordinary event. Seeing an Instagram/Twitter meme come to life in front of your eyes is the type of warm, fuzzy moment that makes you glad to be alive. The rest of the set was essentially a heartfelt tribute to Bamba's NBA career thus far: A relatively uneventful 15-20 minutes of action that wasn't notably good or bad. At least we'll have always FUCK, SHIT, BITCH Sheck.
Trippie Redd: It's difficult to describe how split I am about Trippie Redd's performance. He barely rapped or sung when the music was playing, but then proceeded to successfully perform a capella for about 1-2 minutes during every song he played with the exception of "Dark Knight Dummo". If you have the confidence and ability to sing and rap without a backing track, why not do it while you're accompanied by music? Trippie is a talented kid with a ton of potential, but his live shows are going to continue to be frustrating as hell if he continues this super bizarre (and in my experience, unprecedented) practice.
Gunna: To be honest, Gunna had the cleanest performance of the night from a technical standpoint. The sound mix was great, he rolled through every song without any serious hiccups and the laid-back charisma that has helped him become one of the genre's fastest rising stars over the past six months or so was on full display. Only real disappointment was that his set only lasted about 25 minutes. Another 10-15 minutes of melodic trap goodness and he could've ended up stealing the spotlight from Travis on his own damn tour.
Travis Scott: I'll get the petty complaining garbage I just alluded to out of the way immediately: The sound was total shit for the majority of the set. The bass was so loud and muddy that it regularly drowned out Travis' vocals. Hell, the stuff from his pre-Rodeo days (particularly "Quintana", "Skyfall", and "Don't Play") was borderline painful to sit through because of this messy, overwhelming rattling. I have no idea if this was a result of technical difficulties or an intentional creative decision by Travis, but it definitely impeded on the quality of the show.
That being said, an extended run of garbage sound isn't enough to keep La Flame down. Even in the less-than-intimate setting of an arena, he's as energetic and engaging of a performer as you'll find in hip-hop. His goal is for everyone in the room to have a great time and through his passionate, frantic stage presence that turns every track into a rousing affair, he accomplished that goal with ease.
With this being the Astroworld tour, there was also the added fun of having a killer amusement park backdrop for the festivities. The multi-stage setup featuring a Ferris Wheel, roller coaster and funhouse-esque projections was essentially the physical manifestation of what Astroworld is as an album: Sprawling, playful and incredibly compelling. It was the type of sweeping, shameless spectacle that would make his protégé Kanye West proud and ultimately played a crucial role in helping this set overcome its technical adversity to become a winner.
Grades:
Sheck Wes: C
Trippie Redd: B-
Gunna: B
Travis Scott: B+
Setlists:
Sheck Wes included:
Kyrie
Mo Bamba
Live Sheck Wes Die Sheck Wes
Trippie Redd included:
Dark Knight Dummo (opener)
Dark Knight Dummo (opener)
Taking a Walk
Wish (Diplo cover)
Fuck Love (XXXTENTACION cover)
Gunna included:
Shopping Addiction
Chanel (Young Thug cover)
Space Cadet (Metro Boomin cover)
Sold Out Dates
Sold Out Dates
Drip Too Hard
Drip or Drown
Travis Scott:
Stargazing
Carousel
Quintana
Uptown
way back
Mamacita
Butterfly Effect
No Bystanders
Don't Play
3500
Skyfall
through the late night
Drugs You Should Try It
90210
Love Galore (SZA cover)
Skeletons
Astrothunder
R.I.P Screw
Houstonfornication
Stop Trying to Be God
NC-17
ZEZE (Kodak Black cover)
I'm Shipping Up to Boston (Dropkick Murphys cover)
beibs in the trap
Yosemite (w/Gunna)
Can't Say (w/Don Toliver)
Antidote
goosebumps
Sicko Mode
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