Two Eyes on Lil Yachty

In the ever-evolving music landscape, Lil Yachty has carved a unique mark for himself through his genre-bending, distinctly charismatic, and memorable sound. His boundless creativity translates not only through his music but through every aspect of his performance. Yachty’s vision was brought to life through engaging visuals, corresponding lighting, and breathtaking harmonies at MTELUS on September 27th in Montreal. 

Lil Yachty's new album Let’s Start Here is a radical departure from his previous musical style, introducing a psychedelic rock sound that has received critical acclaim. MTELUS welcomed Lil Yachty on his The Field Trip tour, creating a basically perfect concert.

The MTELUS venue greatly improved the concert. There is a balcony and a pit so if you desire to sit or stand, you have a choice. The pit at most rap performances is crowded and tough to navigate, but this was not the case here. The audience was mostly college and high school students, which appealed to me enormously since I am in that demographic. Everyone was kind and friendly, and a couple of them assisted me in getting closer to the front for a better view. 

The performance began with two openers, each creating a different atmosphere for the audience. 

The first was the Concrete Family, featuring Camo, Draft Day, Moe, and Karrahbooo, a group of rappers with music similar to what you could hear on a playlist feauring “iSpy” and “Broccoli.” These songs were the ideal way to kick off the show, with the entire crowd dripping in sweat after their performance– a clear indicator of success.

Then Nick Hakim sang soul and R&B songs. Hakim had obvious talent and a wonderful voice, but his show didn't have the crowd interaction I anticipated. I think that the two openers should have switched places. Right before Yachty came on,it would have been better to have a more explosive or rap opener to get the audience in the right mood. Hakim's set included a lot of standing around, and it was hard to get into his music unless you already knew it.

When Lil Yachty took the stage, his first few songs were off his new album, which created an environment in which everyone was singing along and having a good time.

Despite his appealing performance, his all-female band stole the show. The band consisted of Téja Veal on bass, Monica Carter on drums, Quenequia Graves on guitar, Kennedy Avery Smith on keyboards, and Lea Grace Swinson and Romana R. Sainti on vocals. Each of them was a master of their craft, with harmonies that moved around the music scale like honey, making me genuinely stop and marvel. The show's graphics were equally stunning, and everyone in the audience was singing along to the songs that we had all grown to love. The finest part of his presentation was the transition from relaxed rock tunes to classic rap songs and back to rock songs. 

Yachty performed all of the hits during his rap session. The MTELUS venue has a perfectly long and wide floor and the mosh pit was active and sweaty, but not unsafe. I could easily bounce off people and dance about. Everyone's stance changed organically as the crowd moved. We were easily able to return to the middle of the mosh for the finale of Yachty’s rap tracks, my particular favorites being “Flex Up” and “One Night.” I had prepared for the show by studying the lyrics on a Spotify playlist, but Lil Yachty surprised me. 

Lil Yachty performed the entire new record, which was exactly what the crowd seemed to want. The concert was the right length, and it closed with the song “Black Seminole” (from his album Let's Start Here). Overall, I'd give the concert an 8.5/10. The points I removed are for having two openers, which I believed was excessive and unneeded for a concert of this size. Both openers were good performers, but the concert was for Lil Yachty. I'll argue that the openers have it tough, especially with this crowd, who kept cheering “Yachty, Yachty, Yachty” during their sets. 

I recently attended a Death Grips show, which was excellent. They began 30 minutes after the scheduled start time, had no openers, and no "banter" with the audience in between songs. They went right to business, which I loved. I'll be waiting for another concert to do it for the rest of my life.