In Nationwide Arena on Oct. 28, Playboi Carti didn’t just take the stage; he took the entire venue.
This adolescent tour wasn’t just about him; it was about the fans who had long awaited his return since a canceled show and a previous tour for a different album several years back.
The night began with acts from the Opium collective, of which Playboi Carti is a part. Apollo Red, Carti’s cousin, who also happens to be the only one not born in Atlanta, Georgia. Was the opener for this legendary show.
His short setlist did not disappoint, for the crowd was small but mighty in their pushes toward the front as he left the high-rise stage and onto the front barrier of the crowd. The next crew in the collective, Opium Label, is Homixide Gang.
Homixide gang is a two-person rap group that knows how to control the crowd with shouts of the gang’s own name over and over again. Destroy Lonely then followed suit, and to be honest, he wasn’t too good. He is still a young performer who creates catchy songs with impressive production, but he is not particularly interested in engaging with the crowd. This was no surprise for me because I had already seen him once in the Newport venue, not too far from Nationwide Arena, about a year beforehand. However, Ken Carson has the arena lit up.
If there were to be a scale of 1-100 for the energy in the crowd, I’d have to give it a 101. The mosh pits started to open up, and men and women alike started to throw themselves around to the thump of the 808s throughout Carson’s set.
When Playboi Carti himself emerged from the smoke, the arena fell silent for a split second, and then erupted into screams and shoves. The average person would’ve thought something went terribly wrong. Nope, the only thing going on was Carti’s performance of his hit opener “POP OUT” off his newest album “MUSIC”.
Centered as the stage were two commercial-sized trucks that the entirety of the Opium label would stand on and cheer on as Carti went bar for bar on songs from albums old and new. The vibe was mysterious, dangerous, yet so inviting and energetic.
Through the fog, you could see dark figures waving across the stage with their baseball bats with flashlights that were stuck to the end. This gave it the look of a prison goon combined with a police officer on the lookout.
In the crowd, there were two matte black Chevy trucks. These two trucks were rumored to be where Carti would stand during other shows to close out. As the show’s energy started to thin on the cold Tuesday night, Carti suddenly disappeared.
People couldn’t even start to guess where he was. Some thought he was traveling under the stage into one of these previously mentioned Chevys, but no, he could be seen completely parallel to the commercial-sized trucks that were serving as his stage. The sight of him as he was held up by the crowd was angelic as the beat started to rise for the one song people claim to have waited their whole life for.
The hit song “24 Songs” by Playboi Carti is unlike any other piece of his work. The music is slow, performed in his normal voice. He performed it unlike any other song he performed that night. Carti reached out and gave handshakes to fans, he lifted his Hannibal Lector-esque mask to reveal a grin while the lyrics spilt out of his mouth.
Fans and Carti alike embraced each other as if they were lifelong friends and just listened to the music. Nomosh pits and no yells from the crowd. No one ran to Carti, just a slow fluid wave toward the back of the arena, where he relocated in the stands.
Although this show was intense, the fans assisted one another in the crowd, while others provided them with water whenever the heat of the bodies in the arena became insurmountable. The show wasn’t just music; it was an experience to carry with my friends and me. The smoke, the lights, the kindness of those in the crowd, everything was bigger than life itself.
The way the Opium Label brought Nationwide Arena into his own personal dreamworld is certainly no one will soon forget.
