Do you know that feeling of peace you get when you walk the streets on a stormy evening? The closer we got to the Bell Center, the more it faded. Then, when Travis Scott took the stage, a little before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, a blizzard started inside.
The 20,000 people gathered exploded from the first notes of Hyena, the first song from the album Utopia, launched last July. Although Travis Scott has many successes spread across four other albums and two mixtapes, the Circus Maximus tour is mainly devoted to his most recent release. The two pieces with which he followed, Thank God and Modern Jam, appear in the same order on the disc.
The crowd’s energy never waned with audible spikes to Sirens and God’s Country following. The sound was particularly loud – we were vibrating in place – but when the Houston MC or his DJ, Chase B, asked the audience to make their presence heard, the decibels were possibly even higher.
He arrived with his amusement park, roller coaster hanging from the ceiling and Ferris wheel included. Since press photographers were not allowed, here is our best description of the enormous scene that occupied almost the entire floor: the ruins of a temple of a people who never existed. Bursts of fire and occasional explosions of smoke added heat and noise, although there was no lack of it at all. In great shape, Cactus Jack ran and jumped throughout the concert on the hundred meters of the structure with levels of different heights.
Twice, he invited spectators to experience a moment they will never forget: climbing on the head of a fake statue to fly over the crowd. Trav even rode with one of them!
Let’s get back to the music. The sequence of Butterfly Effect and Highest in the Room was particularly effective. We would have liked a version of more than a few seconds of Mamacita, a song taken from Days Before Rodeo, which dates back to 2014. Circus Maximus was also a big hit, but Echoes surprisingly calmed the audience. I Know, however, was sung in unison. Meltdown kept the pace going, even though Drake didn’t make a surprise appearance. A step further was taken with Topia Twins and No Bystanders, but nothing could prepare us for what was to come.
Then he repeated the exercise 10 more times and the audience kept asking for more – perhaps less so the last time, especially after an inexplicable excursion into the crowd by the artist who seemed worried about security.
It is true that Fein’s fury has few equals. Except maybe this one: Sicko Mode. However, Travis Scott seemed to be running out of steam at this point. The crowd visibly sensed this and lessened their enthusiasm. The rapper dispatched Antidote and Goosebumps, before leaving the stage to the sound of SZA’s voice singing along to Telekinesis. By 11:18 p.m., calm had returned to the Bell Center and it was time to face the elements outside.
