Ryan's Review: A Concert by Odd Future

In my 18 years of life so far, I can say I've been to a reasonable amount of concerts. Some louder than others, some rough, some not so rough, a dance party here or there, the basic things. Then, this past Friday, October 21, I took the trip down to Boston to go see Odd Future. I arrived to the venue at about 4 and there was already a line by the door. It wasn't anything too outrageous but there was a good amount of people. There wasn't much going on for a little while, the occasional glance from one of the members out of a window, the occasional flipping of the bird out of said window to the line, tour managers scurrying about, we even got to see two members, Jasper Dolphin and Taco, come out of the bus to do some work too. Then, at around 6, Tyler, the Creator showed up in a black Mercedes van. He flipped off the two beeping cars behind his van and stepped onto the bus. The crowd went nuts. A few minutes later Tyler appeared again throwing a free hat into the street. The kid who got it

literally dove for it onto the pavement. At around 6:30 we were let in and about an hour or so later the show started. Boy, did I not know what I had

gotten into.

The set began with the group's dj Syd playing a really hardcore set of songs ranging from rap to dubstep. It was more of a sampling of songs though, it was a dj set for kids with ADD. The last song she played was an abbreviated

version of "N****s in Paris" from Off the Throne which led into a fiery opening from members Left Brain and Hodgy Beats (aka Mellowhype). A few minutes later they were joined by Tyler. I have never seen a bigger rush of people run towards one spot. I was instantly swept away in the madness of it all, so much so, I needed a bouncer to pull me out of the crowd.  The set continued, each member of the group taking their turn with each song and absolutely killing it. Chants of "wolf gang", "swag", "free earl" among many others were abundant that night.

Tyler also happened upon a stuffed toy wizard that was thrown on stage by the crowd, he was deemed "Harold". "Harold" came to an untimely demise about 3/4 of the way through the show when Hodgy Beats ripped him open and threw him over the crowd, which caused a flurry of small styrofoam bits to fly all over the crowd. The songs that hit the hardest that night were a few of the Mellowhype tracks, Domo Genesis also killed on his songs, but nothing beat the energy and delivery of Tyler's songs. The ones that he demolished with were "French", "Sandwitches", and of course the crowd favorite "Yonkers". For the first 30 seconds of "Yonkers" Tyler didn't even have to say a word, he just had the audience recite the lyrics, it was epic. The biggest surprise came when they performed a song that they literally thought everyone hated, "B***h Suck D**k". During this song, the crowd went crazy, strobe lights were flashing like they were going out of style, and Tyler even took a stage dive into the middle of the crowd. The chaos and fun that ensued with that song pretty much could sum up the whole show nutshell.

The show ended on a sentimental note with the almost ceremonial playing of the song "Earl" which is by Earl Sweatshirt, the only member who can't tour because him mom won't let him until he turns 18. As I exited the Royale onto the streets of Boston I could still hear shouts of "Free Earl!" and "Wolf Gang!" ring through the air. I stayed a little while to see if I could meet a member or two and get  few words but it was to no avail. This concert is still one I will never forget. If you ever have an offer to go see and Odd Future show you would be crazy to pass it up. It will be one of the funnest nights of chaos you will ever experience.