Travis Scott went, yes, sicko mode last night at Sprint Center
You can count on one hand the number of American musicians whose careers have advanced as quickly as Travis Scott’s has in the last two years.
In 2018, the 26-year-old Houston rapper appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, had his first child with reality star girlfriend Kylie Jenner, and released what became his first number one song — “Sicko Mode” — on an album that also charted at number one, Astroworld. His 2019 isn’t exactly off to a slow start either; this month has included performances at the Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl halftime show.
Scott’s sold-out Sunday night show at Sprint Center dwarfed his ambitious 2017 outing at the Uptown and, by the looks of it, was a semi-religious experience for thousands of young fans in attendance. Many a wallet was emptied for tickets and pricey, tastefully tie-dyed merch. Carnival games were set up in the concourse; winners got ticket upgrades. A small handful of kiddos even got to ride the slow-moving (but fully functioning) rollercoaster cars suspended above the floor — the perfect Make-A-Wish-type moment for a hypebeast of any age.
The first handful of songs Scott performed weren’t singles. He let the fans’ excitement and the massive production — the theme park rides, pyrotechnics, custom video screens, and all — do the heavy lifting early on. After this build-up, La Flame began to let some hits fly. “Mamacita,” a throwback single featuring the defunct Rich Gang duo, and “Butterfly Effect,” which Scott dropped the night of his last Kansas City show, sparked mosh-pit free-for-alls. (Scott’s trap-inspired party anthems could be the perfect soundtrack to a future attempt at a Woodstock ‘99-style festival.)
Scott is inarguably at his best when he’s chauffeuring thousands of fans from one outer space- or Wild West-themed banger to the next, but it would be preposterous to expect that for a full 80 minutes. “Skeletons” — a wavy, Kevin Parker-assisted psych rock ballad — and “R.I.P. Screw” — a well-deserved tribute to one of his hometown rap heroes — allowed Scott a chance to catch his breath. The final 10 minutes of the show will likely be retold by grandparents to their grandchildren (at least the ones that survive climate disaster) decades from now. Scott clobbered fans over the head with three of his biggest hits: “Antidote,” “Goosebumps,” and “Sicko Mode,” emptying every last auto-tuned scream from his lungs and every last step, kick, and bounce from his sneakers (which I couldn’t quite see, but would guess were Adidas).
Travis Scott didn’t touch any souls with his lyrics, nor did he achieve any astounding new vocal feats. But at the end of the day, he helped us all go sicko mode. The most sicko mode. Together. And that’s all anyone could’ve asked him for. (Really though, it was great.)
♦
