by Alex Green
There can only be so much pent up anticipation for a concert as dedicated and livid as the Odd Future fan base, and last night proved to be a special event; as fans lined up for hours outside the corridors of U Street Music Hall. Many donned in the collectives’ traditional garb (from a crude caricature of fellow OF rapper Earl, to various demonic cat hoodies) while my roommate and I, dressed in matching sweaters and chino pants, hoped to get heckled by the notably neurotic LA rapper.
As my buddy and I walk into the venue and situate ourselves, the electricity of the room is omnipotent. With about an hour before show time we were already packed in tight, nodding to whatever rap songs came over the speakers. For future OF shows, expect some havoc to be wrought if a Drake song comes on; mass hysteria breaks loose causing the “DJ” to quickly change to The Roots to avoid any complaining.
Fast-forward to show time, as Taco appears out of the back door with a Traktor S2 controller and his laptop as he opens up with a quick set including Kat!e by Carnage and Sosa by Chief Keef to get the animosity flowing through the crowd. After about ten minutes, Tyler busts through spitting with the intensity of his whole posse opening with French! minus Hodgy. Jasper did provide some backing and comedic relief throughout. Other than the occasional heckle, he had no presence other than his feature on BSD. Tyler’s set dabbled through just about the gamut of his work from the early styling’s of Bastard (Bastard, Seven, French!, Blow, A**Milk), Goblin (Yonkers, Tron Cat, Transylvania, Fish), and some newer material including Orange Juice, Oldie, and a few from his new LP Wolf being released on the Odd Future label on April 2nd.
The most enjoyable aspect of the show was how clear the sound system was. At most venues, rap vocals get muddled from heavy the heavy low-end instrumentals making the shows pointless in my opinion. But U-Street Music Hall’s system balances out the high and low ends creating an extremely clear and pleasurable listening experience without taking away how massive the bass is.
Overall, Tyler didn’t disappoint as this quirky and talented producer, label head, director, graphic designer, musician, and pioneer provided the crowd with an exuberance of energy which is essential for the performance of odd future and his collective. As an avid listener of all genres of work, I have a hard time thinking of any other show that can match that intensity.
