Tyler Concert written by Kelsey Lind

Show Lineup: Paris Texas, Lil Yachty, Tyler, The Creator

Genre: Hip-hop, rap 

Venue: The Phoenix Center (formerly Footprint Center), Downtown Phoenix, AZ

Date: 03/12/25

$51 dollar parking. No digital cameras allowed. Three teenage boys having a religious experience while Lil Yachty asks for a moment of silence for Juice WRLD. These were not the defining moments of seeing Tyler, The Creator in concert, but they were certainly stand-outs. 

I’ve seen over forty-five artists in concerts thanks to growing up in a city with a very active music scene. Tyler, The Creator delivered a show where I got to sing and dance my heart out in a way that I really haven’t been able to before. It was fun. Not a single moment felt remotely like a hassle, not even when I was told to go put my camera back in the car, mostly because that $51 parking was across the street from the Phoenix Arena (formerly the Footprint Center). The arena was the biggest concert venue I’ve ever been in, but I never felt overwhelmed, except for when I found out that the water I paid for was $10. I went with three other friends and we got into our lower bowl seats about twenty minutes before the concert started. 

The first openers were Paris Texas, a rap group that was formed in the late 2010s and has been releasing music periodically since. They were my favorite of the two openers with a good mix of alternative rock and hip-hop dominating their sound. I didn’t know any of their songs going in, but after going through their Spotify post concert, my favorite songs are “girls like drugs,” “FORCE OF HABIT,” and “lana del rey.” In my opinion, the floor did not give them enough love and I should’ve been down there to make up for it. One aspect of concert culture that I often see complaints about is the amount of phones that are out and recording at any given time. That’s valid, obviously, but I think that you also have an obligation to at least sway your body around, even if you’re not familiar with who’s performing at the moment. There’s a lack of respect for musicians as artists, not just entertainers and I think that lack of respect is reflected in a dead pit. 

The second opener was, of course, Lil Yachty, who I’ve now seen twice in concert due to circumstances beyond my control. I haven’t been super impressed both times I’ve seen him and I think he works extremely well as an opener. The best song was “drive me crazy!” arguably because it is one of his only songs where it’s easy to understand all the words. Hearing “I LOVE YOU, LIL BOAT” shouted in front of me two or three times from the aforementioned group of teenage boys ultimately enhanced my experience because it showed me that there are people that love Lil Yachty in this world and I’m glad that sort of dedication still exists. 

Our seats were closer to the mini-stage that the openers performed on, and later, as we found out, so did Tyler. He started his set with the majority of his album, omitting only “Hey Jane” while using “Take Your Mask Off” and “Tomorrow” as transitions to the rest of the set. I had the most fun during “Judge Judy,” which was the slowest song of the bunch, but contains callbacks to one of my favorite songs “DOGTOOTH” from the deluxe version of CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. Watching everybody sway in unison was a collective moment, one that I’ll cherish forever. Towards the end of CHROMAKOPIA, Tyler made his way across a raised catwalk, down to the stage the openers performed on. He performed songs from the rest of his discography, letting the audience know which album he was performing by flipping through a crate of vinyls. With each album, the crowd seemed to get louder and louder, cheering as he settled on a vinyl. He performed IGOR, then Goblin, Wolf, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, Cherry Bomb, and a little bit of Flower Boy. 

We eased into the third act of the concert with “WUSYNAME” and Tyler started what might be construed as his “greatest hits.” He performed “Thought I Was Dead” and “Like Him,” where I experienced maybe one of my favorite concert moments: getting to scream the line “bitch, you ain’t Coco Gauff, you can’t serve me.” From there, the crowd sang “See You Again” so loudly it sounded like he wasn’t even miked. Doechii had incredible stage presence from the screens set up around the arena as she delivered her rap. The Lil Yachty truthers in front of us mysteriously did not know the words to “Balloon,” despite the fact they had been rapping along the entire concert. Correlation? Maybe! 

The concert ended with “NEW MAGIC WAND” and “I Hope You Find Your Way Home,” the closing track on CHROMAKOPIA. As we exited the arena in a swarm of people, voices raised excitedly around us, as fans rehashed what was most enjoyable about the concert for them and what song was their favorite. A concert, wherever it is, is ultimately about the community it builds and there was nothing but warmth in the air as we walked through the temperate Phoenix night, sweaty and grinning after seeing Tyler, The Creator perform live.