A night with Earl & Tyler will change your life- & leave you dehydrated. Read on.
So, I’m not the concert type. I’m more of the meet and greet, buy your album & blast it at the highest volume possible kind of girl. No big deal, I’m just not a fan of crowds.
Then Friday I was invited I to the EarlWolf concert at Irving Plaza in New York City.
I prepared myself Saturday morning for what I thought would be a cool, chill night. My friend–who is a regular concert-goer–provided me tips throughout the day as we got ready. I wore next to nothing (sweat gives me anxiety), & we arrived at Irving Plaza eight hours beforehand so we’d be in the front, up close and personal with the OF members. I met some awesome people as the 90-degree heat cooled down to a warm 70, and I was even able to interview a few people who couldn’t wait for Earl Sweatshirt to perform “Burgundy”, & and check out Taco‘s newfound DJ skills. As the time inched closer to 11:30 p.m., we cheered on as skateboarders took to the street to show off their tricks while onlookers–myself included–lined the sidewalk. I even partook in a cooking battle with another fellow Odd Future fan. I won, naturally (shoutout to Lil’ B for teaching me how to cook like a boss).
Then our clocks struck 11:30. As we began walking into the venue, a new feeling began to take over me. “Tonight is going to be epic,” I said to myself. For the record, my last concert was The Scream Tour with Bow Wow & B2K (yeah, I know). I was ready though, water bottles in hand, to experience a concert I knew I’d never forget.
The security guards threw away my water bottles as soon as we stepped inside.
As the crowd continued to fill up Irving, the hotter it got. Fans cheered as the projector on stage announced upcoming shows (OF fans are really into Bill Nye the Science Guy) and the lights dimmed significantly. I stood in the third row, pumped, anxious, and slightly intoxicated, ready for it all.
The Internet’s lead vocalist Syd Tha Kyd graced the stage and began performing, as crowd sang along to her mellow set. “Flashlight” happens to be one of my favorite records at the moment, so it was awesome see her perform live and be in her element. Blinded by the stage lights and on the verge of catching a contact high, I swayed my hands from left to right during her entire performance, kicking myself (metaphorically, of course) for not experiencing this before.
Then she stopped, and the lights went off completely. Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator, collectively known as EarlWolf were getting ready to appear on stage.
Now listen, I’ve been in mosh pits before, but not one of them touched the extremity of the one I was involved in Saturday night. Taco got on stage and began playing hits like Future‘s “Move That Dope” & the crowd went wild, and drew closer. To say that the only part of my body I could move was the arm I left in the air is a major understatement. I was literally stuck between a guy whose hair was longer than mine, and the group of people I stood with in line.
Then Earl came out.
A deafening roar erupted from the crowd. As everyone from the back began to try to make their way to the front, I lost my friend in the crowd and sweat began to cover every inch of my body. As Earl rapped songs from his 2013 album Doris, Jasper hyped the crowd. All eyes were glued to the stage.
Then Tyler came out & sh*t. Got. Real.
I can say for certain now that someone literally tried to step on and over me to get closer to the stage. About 15 minutes into Tyler’s set I was able to rejoin my friend as she found me and pulled me out of the pit, but by then I was ready to find a seat and watch the rest of the show from a distance. Luckily we were able to find a great spot in the front-left part of the crowd, leaving only security–who were semi-consistently throwing rambunctious teens back into the crowd after they crowd-surfed their way to the front–in between us and the exit. Tyler performed “IFHY” and I just knew Pharrell would come out and perform with him, making it the best night of my existence.
He didn’t, of course, but it was definitely the craziest night of my year…by far.
But then my head began to hurt. The tequila started wearing off and I was in desperate need of hydration. I begged the security guard closest to me to grab me a bottle of water from the back while I enjoyed the rest of the concert from the sidelines. Â I was able to catch some great shots of Wolf Gang (or Golf Wang) as they jumped all over the place & performed all of our favorite songs. By 2:00 a.m., however, I literally couldn’t take the heat & made my way outside, and began the long journey home on the train.
Going to an Odd Future concert has always been on my list of things to do before I kick the bucket, & even though I realized I couldn’t hang with the Wolf Gang, that night definitely makes my Top 5 list of craziest experiences, and it’s certainly a spectacle one should take part in at least once in their life.
Were you there & have a crazy story you wanna share? Hit us up on Facebook & Twitter and let us know!
Signing out. I’m still recuperating.
-Kairi C. (@_findingforever)
