Travis Scott’s Astroworld: “The Greatest Show On Earth”

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Photos and article via Lily Sanders 

Travis Scott is undoubtedly one of the most talked about rap stars of 2018 (or some may argue, of all time)- whether it be his cosmically explosive album Astroworld that dropped last August, the 3 Grammy Nominations accompanying the hit “Sicko Mode”, his collaboration with Nike, or even his relationship with Kylie Jenner, there’s no denying that he’s at the top of the game. And for good reason, as the man is nothing short of an absolute creative genius.

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Photos by Lily Sanders

Luckily, we got the chance to experience his vision firsthand last weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for his December 8th stop on the Wish You Were Here tour. After an unfortunate cancellation of the December 9th Milwaukee date at the Fiserv Forum due to production issues, (with a rescheduled date TBA), it was clear that this show was not to be missed. Therefore, it was important to get a preview of just what Milwaukee is in store for.

A balloon archway featuring a banner reading “WELCOME TO ASTROWORLD, MINNEAPOLIS MN” welcomed the excited crowd at the Target Center’s main entrance, while an inflatable, giant, golden Travis-head rested outside the venue- a presumably strange sight for those unfamiliar with Travis Scott or the dreamy, Astroworld concept (which, according to XXL Magazine, stemmed form Travis’ remorse at the real life Astroworld Six flags amusement park’s closing in his hometown of Houston).

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The theme-park atmosphere proved to draw quite a crowd, as the 19,536 capacity venue was completely sold out, completed with packed-to-the-brim general admission pit. Sheck Wes kicked off the night with a bang, hyping up the crowd and singlehandedly starting about a half-dozen mosh pits with his single “Mo Bamba”. Georgia-based rapper, Gunna, followed, with highlights of the set being the room echoing his hits like “Sold Out Dates” and “Drip Too Hard”.

At around 9pm, Travis finally took to the stage, appearing with thunderous screams at the very back of the pit on a smaller B-stage as psychedelic visuals appeared on the screens and special-effects smoke spread across the floor. This tour in particular has had nonstop talk bout its over-the-top production, and it became blatantly obvious why the very second the show began. He began with a passionately-fueled rendition of “Stargazing”, an obvious fan-favorite off of Astroworld, as the B-stage fired off cannons of fire and smoke on the heavy beats and clean-cut verses.

A ferris-wheel like ride also graced the floor, a contraption which Travis himself even rode, as well as a several blessed fans from the pit.

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Disappearing from the smaller stage, he re-emerged on the larger, main stage to perform even more crowd-favorites like “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” “NO BYSTANDERS”  ‘Through the Late Night” and “biebs in the trap”, all the while silhouetted by hallucinatory graphics on the screens (which perfectly reflected the trip subject matter in his songs).

Travis managed to cover pretty much the entire course of his discography in the 31-song setlist, even bringing back hits from his very first tapes Owl Pharaoh and Days Before Rodeo for the diehard fans.

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Tying together the amusement-park tribute, Travis even had a functional, working rollercoaster over the general-admission section, which he rode over the crowd to the B-stage once again, rapping the whole way.  Further highlights included the cover of SZA’s “Love Galore” as well as Kodak Black’s banger “ZEZE”.

While the entire show itself was incredible enough to make any viewer feel as if they were in another world, the insanity arguably peaked during the final song- Travis’ Grammy-nominated “SICKO MODE”. The stadium’s energy was utterly moving, and Travis’ enjoyment  and pride were blatantly obvious as well, everyone in the room was truly having the time of their life.  He humbly thanked the room for not only bringing him to No. 1, but also for the success and Grammy nominations of “SICKO MODE’.

 

And then, just like that, the show was over and the stadium and its patrons were jolted back to reality and out of the psychedelic realm Travis had fabricated for them.

With the amount of time, effort, and creative genius that was obviously put into his show, Travis Scott is raising the bar the highest its ever been for other touring performers. However, no matter how hard anyone may try, Astroworld may not be topped.

Milwaukee is most definitely in for the treat of a lifetime, and fans will be counting down the days until he graces the 414, making us all wish we were there.

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