"DAMN." by Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar is an album may be this year's biggest music release, and the tour to accompany it did a great job conveying the same themes and energy on a massive scale. I, myself, had the amazing privilege to see Kendrick perform at the Tacoma Dome in Washington last week.This was my third time seeing Kendrick, as I first saw him at Sasquatch! Music Festival and Pemberton Music Festival in 2015, shortly after the release of his sophomore? studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. However, the act has not gotten stale, and in fact, has only gotten better.
Before I continue reviewing Kendrick's performance, I want to acknowledge the other artists on the DAMN. Tour. During this leg of the DAMN. Tour, Kendrick brought with him fellow artists D.R.A.M. and Travis Scott (the 2nd half of the tour features rapper YG instead of Travis Scott). I also want to warn you that you should expect spoilers from this point onwards.
D.R.A.M. played a very short set, with only six songs. Although D.R.A.M. was the opening act, his songs were accompanied with a live band and some fun, non-invasive visuals (like non-flashing neon signs of girls twerking). I wouldn't say D.R.A.M.'s performance was high energy, but you could tell he was having fun. To end his set, D.R.A.M. played a soulful rendition of his hit song Broccoli (reminiscent of his Tiny Desk concert with NPR), and then played it again with the original beat.
Travis Scott did not hold back as an opening act. In fact, I would say Travis is definitely capable of holding his own as a headlining act. The energy was super high throughout the entire set. Travis doesn't just sing when he performs live; he screams. The auto-tune effect on his voice makes the music much more electric than listening to the studio versions of his music. A few songs into his set, Travis brought out Jack: a flying mechanical bird that he stands on while he raps. Shortly after bringing out Jack, Travis brought a fan onstage, announced to the crowd that this fan was now his brother, and let him stage dive to the opening of Upper Echelon. Travis is the kind of act that is all-killer, no-filler. He played his hit songs, and his best features, such as his popular collaboration with SZA, Love Galore. To close out the show, he hopped off Jack, and performed Goosebumps to a full stadium singing along to every word.
Kendrick's set was very cinematic, more so than any of his previous tours. Like his Coachella set, he was introduced onstage with a short video inspired by martial arts movies, complete with bad voice dubs and stunts from Kendrick himself. After the video, Kendrick ascended to the stage through an on-stage elevator, and the Fox News outro to BLOOD. starting playing. Once the Fox News segment was over, the lights starting flashing and Kendrick began rapping DNA.
During the beat-change halfway through DNA, I realized that I may be witnessing one of the greatest artists of my time. Kendrick's past performances have always been sort of intimate, but at the same time, not quiet in any way. However, this time around, Kendrick has a commanding stage presence, and the entire show is built like a movie. There's stunts and interludes, which is unlike anything Kendrick has done before. The visuals were projected onto the back of the stage, as well as onto a screen that moved around the stage. This was in addition to a large number of flashy light cues, which altogether brought an experience like no other. In between songs, more Kung Fu Kenny videos would play. Halfway through the set, Kendrick appeared in the middle of the crowd (the B-stage) in a light-up cage that elevated him about 10 feet off the ground. This was just one of the many unconventional ways Kendrick performed that night. I won't spoil the rest.
Although Kendrick is now selling out arena tours, he is not forgetting his roots. Just because his performance was cinematic doesn't mean it was not authentic. He played songs from both good kid mAAd city, and To Pimp a Butterfly, and it was apparent the crowd were not new listeners of Kendrick, as everyone knew all the words. During Backseat Freestyle, the building began to shake.
Kendrick closed his main set with his hit single HUMBLE., and it was an amazing sight to see. Halfway through the song, he stopped rapping, and let the audience finish the song.
If you haven't had the chance to see Kendrick Lamar perform live, and you have a chance to see The DAMN. Tour, I highly recommend it. It is a performance like none other.
