On Feb. 6 rapper and Odd Future frontman Tyler, The Creator performed at the First Bank Center in Broomfield with help from friends Taco and Vince Staples.
DJ Taco initiated the night with an energetic set that made the arena feel like an intimate house party. Staples followed up with an intricate light set up which broke off each song with a distorted, apocalyptic clip of a news broadcast. He performed tracks primarily off his recent LP “Big Fish Theory” as well as early favorites like “Norf Norf.”
The main event commenced when a giant purple curtain fell to reveal an escapist set graced with a scenic backdrop including hills and three-dimensional trees. The magical ambiance mirrored the dreaminess of Tyler’s newest project “Flower Boy.” To bring the audience into this world, Tyler gave the illusion of letting go and falling in through the downward arpeggiating synth in the song “Where This Flower Blooms.” The scene was set for an emotional show, but the audience did not forget who they came to see.
After performing a few songs off “Flower Boy,” Tyler was quick to engage with the audience and point out the cold Colorado weather. He sported a bright neon safety vest with matching neon shorts and showcased his leopard print hairdo, which debuted at the 2018 Grammy Awards, where his album was nominated for “Best Rap Album.” In true Colorado fashion, someone from the main floor threw a brownie at Tyler which he was quick to reject and proceeded to throw it back to the audience where many expressed willingness to take the questionable pastry. After that encounter, he then asked everyone if he could perform some of his older tracks which, unsurprisingly, everyone was on board with.
Some of those older tracks included, “IFHY,” “Tron,” “Tamale,” “She” and “48,” songs that Tyler knew would get the audience to rap along with him. He used this familiarity to his advantage when he performed “Fucking Young,” a song about rejecting someone because of their age. In the middle of the performance, Tyler had cued a pause in the music so only the audience would sing the iconic line, “but you’re too fucking young,” to which Tyler playfully reacted appalled by the audience’s remark.
Living in the moment was the overall theme of the show. Tyler had asked the audience to put down their phones—albeit only lasting perhaps one song. Some performances derailed from the recorded versions of the tracks which added a new life to the songs. “911/Lonely” and “I Ain’t Got Time” were highlights of this practice for which he asked the audience to “chirp, chirp,” or rhythmically clap for an extended amount of time—never feeling stale.
Tyler ended the show the same way it began, in a dream. “See You Again,” arguably his softest, most romantic song, was the closer and had the audience swaying along as the scenic backdrop transformed into a starlit sky, which gradually faded Tyler off the stage.
