Tyler the Creator grew up (a little) in public last night at the Truman

Tyler, The Creator and his Odd Future crew used to be known for their turn-of-the-decade amalgamation of skateboard culture, left-field hip-hop, and punk-rock energy. Each night of their early tours consisted of screaming superfans and hypebeasts, malicious mosh-pitters and frustrated security guards. Many wrote Tyler off as nothing more than a troublemaker, a provocateur whose 15 minutes were ticking by fast. Yet naysayers have steadily dwindled, and Tyler’s latest album, Flower Boy, is thoughtful and fine-tuned, a crowning moment.

Tyler’s hourlong performance at the Truman on Thursday night contained a couple of select throwbacks and mosh-pit moments, but more than anything it showcased his remarkable artistic growth — which played as an invitation to longtime fans to hear his triumph as their own. “Where This Flower Blooms,” a warm, windows-down jam about growing into your element and blooming into the person you want to be, set the tone perfectly.

Tyler has long professed a passion for several vintage styles of music, but until Flower Boy, he hadn’t fully been able to communicate those reference points through his own, self-produced work. But tracks such as “See You Again” and “911 / Mr. Lonely” finally nail the jazz-fusion grooves and Soul Train flair that Tyler has long strived to incorporate. Some of these satisfying newer compositions rely on instrumentation and collaborators that aren’t present on the tour, but Tyler’s confidence last night more than compensated. Watching him sing and dance his heart out to the music he had always dreamed of making provided its own kind of inspiration.

Just when fans began settling into those grooves though, Tyler snatched them away in exchange for a few full-on musical freakouts — the kind of thing that used to be a big selling point. “Deathcamp” prompted Tyler to twist, flail and contort his body as he hopped across the stage, as did “Tamale” later on. Each member of his loyal fanbase seemed to instantly forgive him for forgetting a verse of the latter. Student debt–owing, Trump-loathing teens and 20-somethings know better than anyone how to laugh at one’s own mistakes and misfortunes. (Tyler also ended “I Ain’t Got Time!” slightly early, due to his asthma flaring up, in trademark fashion.)

Besides the bursts of energy, Tyler took steps to make his 2017 live show a worthwhile experience. Rather than cutting songs short, as many hip-hop performers do, he sculpted his material into more dynamic concert material without coming to a dead stop midsong. Several tracks even contained bits and pieces of music that aren’t on the record.

Other than the power that live instrumentation would have brought, the show could have been elevated by a more colorful stage show. The tour packs a set of lights, a very effective fog machine and a smaller stage for Tyler to retreat to and dance on, but the vibrant album artwork and lyrical imagery on Flower Boy are mostly MIA. It’s an album that deserves a colorful LED screen, or at least a banner covered in tall sunflowers and bumblebees.

As much as Tyler’s music has matured, Tyler himself hasn’t — not completely, anyway. And that’s a good thing. The rapper’s cheerful antagonism remained present at Thursday’s show as he playfully took fans to task over Kansas-versus-Missouri semantics and for not enunciating when yelling at him. One difference, however, came at the show’s close. In the past, it wasn’t unusual for Tyler to end a show by shouting, “Fuck cops.” On this night, he simply expressed his appreciation and told fans to get home safe.

Tyler’s still the same guy, but he’s just grown up a bit. Just like his sold-out crowd.