ODD FUTURE at the Phoenix, Sunday, May 15. Rating: NNNN
Had a vivid nightmare last night about a 60 Minutes report on Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. It was about how the L.A. rap group lives beneath the subway, emerging only to stab and eat commuters, the police too spooked to investigate.
But that’s what happens after spending an hour and change in a sweaty sea of people mindlessly shouting “KILL PEOPLE BURN SHIT FUCK SCHOOL,” a handy summary of the Odd Future ethos.
I’m not really a fan of the music. I find their say-the-most-shocking-thing-you-can-think-of formula worthy of long yawn, and am not compelled by the retro-Eminem “intricate” persona frontman Tyler, The Creator has crafted for himself. Plus, it’s always disconcerting how hype transforms (conforms) people into sheep – and the livestock was out in droves for the Wolf Gang, bleating “GOLF WANG” as tension mounted before the group hit the stage.
Now that I’ve established that I am, in fact, your grandmother, I’ll say this – Odd Future know how to perform. Their energy is incredible, especially at a time when Wu-Tang Clan, who they’re often compared to, move around onstage like they’re in zero-gravity conditions.
Minutes after the clock struck 10, Tyler, The Creator’s baritone rang out from somewhere backstage, saying that his voice was wrecked and that he needed help. With the leader in his trademark neon green balaclava and the group’s Left Brain rocking a Calgary Flames jersey, they ran out to one of their constant, ominous, synth-heavy beats (I don’t know what song it was – I don’t like them, remember?) and got down to business.
Within seconds, Tyler was leaping into the crowd. As a friend in line put it earlier, “moshing is back.” He asked what people wanted to hear, saying they don’t really plan their sets, and after allowing everyone to yell out their requests, went into the next song on their set list.
“Lil’ mama passed out here in the front, I hope she aiight,” Tyler said midway through the show. “I was about to do a hype-ass song too but I’d feel like an asshole.” Not long after, the 20-year-old asked the lighting guy for all reds, and bathed in a murderous light, launched into his one hit, Yonkers, doing the same kind of contorted movements seen in the song’s video. It was the highlight of the show.
“Sorry for that awkward performance,” he said afterward. “But when I hear that song I black the fuck out.” Guaranteed, he says this after doing Yonkers in every city they hit.
In all, it was a relentless show. Some left battered and bruised, with battle scars they’ll be showing off at recess today. As for Tyler, who made a huge dive from the rafters shortly before the show disintegrated, he finished with his shoes and hat both stolen by rabid members of the crowd.
“Whoever took the hat off my head,” he closed, “fuck you.”
