Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
Thursday, May 19 at Sonar (Baltimore MD)
In a few months, Odd Future has gone from internet-fueled cult notoriety to the verge of world conquering stardom, hyped by the media and masses as the controversial current definition of youthful rebellion and musical cool. The group’s immense popularity and the media hype surrounding them has been proven valid by the group’s leader Tyler, the Creator’s excellent new album Goblin reaching number five on the Billboard Album charts in its debut week. The massive success of singles like “Yonkers” and “Sandwiches” on youtube has forced the industry’s hand and allowed the group to obtain hard to achieve national hip-hop radio play, when only months before the industry wouldn’t touch them. Odd Future was riding high Thursday night when they played Baltimore’s Sonar, capping off a week of unprecedented success with a show that is perhaps one of the most energetic spectacles this writer has ever seen.
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
Thursday, May 19 at Sonar (Baltimore MD)
In a few months, Odd Future has gone from internet-fueled cult notoriety to the verge of world conquering stardom, hyped by the media and masses as the controversial current definition of youthful rebellion and musical cool. The group’s immense popularity and the media hype surrounding them has been proven valid by the group’s leader Tyler, the Creator’s excellent new album Goblin reaching number five on the Billboard Album charts in its debut week. The massive success of singles like “Yonkers” and “Sandwiches” on youtube has forced the industry’s hand and allowed the group to obtain hard to achieve national hip-hop radio play, when only months before the industry wouldn’t touch them. Odd Future was riding high Thursday night when they played Baltimore’s Sonar, capping off a week of unprecedented success with a show that is perhaps one of the most energetic spectacles this writer has ever seen.
Before Odd Future even hit the stage, the sold-out crowd was already filling Sonar with chants of “Fuck Steve Harvey” and “Free Earl,” as crowd surfers took turns jumping off the monitors into the exuberant audience in wild anticipation of the madness to come. Flocks of kids in Supreme gear waited next to buttoned up hipsters and mainstream voyeurs, as the capacity crowd swayed back and forth, cramming themselves closer and closer to the stage and building the tension. A sort of rambunctious chaos that has long been relegated to punk and metal shows was now spilling forth unto the popular masses through the Wolf Gang. Sonar exploded when Syd The Kid, Odd Future’s engineer and DJ, hit the stage, playing get-hype anthems like Waka Flocka Flame’s “Hard in the Paint” and a few selected tracks by notably absent OFWGKTA member Earl Sweatshirt as she got the audience ready for the main event. They responded in kind, with a sea of pumping hands and packs of teenagers breaking into full-on mosh pits.
Then came the voice through the PA: the deep asthmatic growl of Tyler the Creator imploring the audience to help the under the weather producer and MC start the group’s set. He slowly recited the opening verse to the Goblin track “Sandwiches” as the audience shouted the lyrics back at the empty space in front of them. Pandemonium erupted as the beat dropped and the Wolf Gang stormed the stage, leading the audience in what would be nearly two hours of nonstop energy and mass hysteria. The group’s members flung themselves into the crowd and gutturally shouted out the lyrics to their songs, which were echoed verse for verse by the crowd for the entirety of the show. Girls done up in their club best fled the floor crying, panicked by the relentless tenacity of the audience in their attempts to meet Odd Future’s energy level.
The members of the Wolf Gang performed a variety of tracks from their already-large collection of recordings, giving each member a chance to shine. As Odd Future members Left Brain and Hodgy Beats stalked the stage during their Mellowhype track “64,” a constant wave of crowd surfers spilled over the barricades. Security had their hands full dragging middle finger waving fans off the stage, while the group embraced the chaos all around them with enthusiasm. Weed-loving rappers Domo Genesis and Mike G offered a mild respite from the constant madness of the night by leaning into their own mellower sounds. Each time Tyler came onstage, the energy level in the room quadrupled. The high-socked MC led mass freakouts to uptempo bangers like “My Bitch Suck Dick” and “Transylvania,” shouting out his verses from on top of the audience and shooting menacing, psychotic glares at those pressed up against the stage. Then came the inevitable “Yonkers,” a track that loses nothing with repetition due to growing popularity. It found a sick Tyler bathed in blood red stage lights, rolling his eyes into the back of his head as he recited his lyrics while the packed house lost its collective shit in front of him. The set ended with the rebellion anthem “Radicals,” which led the audience into an immensely satisfying chant of “Kill People, Burn Shit, Fuck School.” They spent the last reserves of energy left in the building demolishing themselves in writhing sweaty masses as the members of Odd Future leapt off of monitors and tore across the stage. During one of the last verses, Tyler jumped out into the crowd, landing with such force that he caused the area where he landed to collapse in upon itself, dragging the entangled crowd around them down to the floor. Tyler kept the mic to his lips as he spit, surrounded by the throngs of fans pushing to get closer to the now nearly inescapable and charismatic MC.
As the song ended and the house lights went up, Tyler made a quick exit. The audience maintained its energy, shouting “SWAG! SWAG! SWAG!” over and over as the remaining members of Wolf Gang stood triumphantly on stage, clearly aware that they had just killed it. Believe the hype.
Words by Alex Criqui
Images by Erik Fox
