I had the pleasure of attending the Philly show on Sunday, March 6th, 2022. The first rule of concert etiquette is to go with someone who shares the same love for the artist you’re going to see. I don’t have time to put you on to all the songs during the car ride there. Come hip or stay home!

Anyways, I absolutely loved the concert overall. The first thing I especially noticed was how large and diverse the crowd was. Just from pulling up into the parking lot, I knew I was going to have a good time. There was nothing but good vibes from everyone, lots of happy smiling faces. I love how Tyler the Creators concerts brings out different ages (mostly Millennials and Gen Z) and different races. I went to my first Tyler the Creator concert back in 2019 for the IGOR tour, so I already knew what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed the first time, so I definitely wasn’t disappointed this time.

Parking was $30 at the Wells Fargo Center. We stood in line outside for probably 10 minutes or so before the doors opened around 6:00pm. Going through security was fast and easy. We passed on the opportunity to buy merch cause honestly, it didn’t look very appealing for the prices they were displaying. The T-shirts they were selling on the inside looked just like the shirts the bootleggers were selling outside. No ma’am. We used the restrooms and got food before heading to our seats. I hate having to get up during concerts and movies to go use the bathroom, I will literally hold myself the entire time because I be damned if I miss something, so I always try to go before. The burger and fries we had was delicious, no complaints there.

The concert began PROMPLTY at 7:00pm. It’s the punctuality for me. First up was Teezo Touchdown, he opened the show. I had no idea who he was till I was reminded that he’s featured on the song ‘RUN IT UP’ by: Tyler the Creator which is one of my favorite songs on the latest album. Teezo got the crowd hyped, he kept the crowd engaged and entertained. He was funny and charismatic. He performed some of his popular singles like: ‘I’m Just a Fan’, ‘Careful’, and ‘SUCKA!’. I low key went home and looked up all his songs the next day because I literally didn’t know any lyrics. Teezo’s sound is like some sort of emo rap, very out of the box.

Next, there was a short break and then at 7:30pm, Vince Staples started performing on the middle stage. Fun fact: I don’t like doing GA (general admission) because I need the option to sit down, so I’m thankful we had really good seats. Vince was cool, he performed his popular songs as well. I was just waiting for him to call perform ‘Law of Averages’ which he finally did towards the end. It was kinda hard for me to fully hear his lyrics though. I’m not sure if he was too close to the mic, if the sound system was too loud, or what. It was also entertaining to watch the people in general admission dancing around without a care in the world.

After that, was the beautiful Kali Uchis. The crowd was screaming a little too loud for her NOT to be the main star of the concert. I couldn’t tell who was loving her more- the men or the women. She looked great and sounded pretty good. She was actually dancing and doing a little choreo in between. I was expecting her to be standing there looking pretty but nope she was moving. In addition to performing her own songs, she performed songs she was featured on as well like: ‘Drugs N Hella Melodies’ by: Don Toliver, 10% by: Kaytranada, and ‘SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY’ remix by: Amaarae. I thoroughly enjoyed her set.

Now for the main event (which started promptly at 9:55pm): the lights went off; the stage lights came on, and it was showtime. All you heard Tyler say was “The sun beaming’” and the crowd went wild. Everybody was up out of their seats and my heart was pounding with excitement. I felt pure joy. Tyler came out on stage driving a classic fly ass aqua blue car and rapping the lyrics to ‘Sir Baudelaire’. I was surprised he opened with the first song on his album, that was pretty amazing. He always starts with a banger.

The rest of his set flowed beautifully after that. He did fast rap songs first, then slowed it down but he always hyped it right back up again. He moved around between the stages, he used different props, and scene changes. The stage and production crew did their thing and it showed. I didn’t notice any lighting issues or any other faults. I really loved when he incorporated his old songs from previous albums into his performance. ‘See You Again’ ft Kali Uchis and ‘SHE’ ft. Frank Ocean always gets the crowd going cause it’s so nostalgic. But my favorite song that he performed would hands down be ‘New Magic Wand’ from the IGOR album. Tyler said it was his favorite song to perform as well. Words can’t even describe how that song makes me feel hearing it live but it’s surely an out of body experience. The only thing I wish was different about his set was that Teezo Touchdown and Kali Uchis should have come out to perform the songs their featured on with Tyler, that would’ve been the icing on the cake. I mean, they were literally backstage.

March 6th also happened to be Tyler’s 31st birthday, which made the concert night even more special and memorable. Instead of letting us sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him, he told us to BOO him and tell him he sucked, it was so funny! I admire his sense of humor. You can tell he really likes his fans. I’ve never seen him give a half ass, lazy performance. I love how he’s so unproblematic and unbothered. He really has a good aura about him. Tyler the Creator is the type of artist that you want to spend money to see.

In conclusion, this concert made me feel alive. It was the greatest release of dopamine that I’ve experienced in a long time. It was intensely pleasurable. I’m still young but the experience made me “feel young again” if that makes sense. The concert conveyed happy good vibes, freedom, and black boy joy. No one was angry or fighting each other, we were all singing and dancing together. It lowkey nearly brought me to tears. The whole experience reminded me of simpler fun times. Would I want to see Tyler the Creator perform again for the 3rd time some day? Absolutely!

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You can view clips from this concert in my ‘Events’ highlight on my personal Instagram page.

Till next time,

Featured image courtesy of Top Five Records