Call Me If You Get Lost
Tyler, the Creator’s “Call Me If You Get Lost” tour was the first concert I had ever been to. It was in March 2022, right when concerts were starting to come out of hibernation following the COVID-19 pandemic. I was a sophomore in high school, and my older brother, who grew up listening to Tyler, took me to the show. To put it briefly, Tyler set the bar unbelievably high for a first concert, and every concert I had seen after that failed to reach the standards he set.
The openers for Tyler’s “Call Me If You Get Lost” tour were Teezo Touchdown, Vince Staples, and Kali Uchis. Tyler does an incredible job of including a variety of artists in everything he does, from music samples in his songs to who he brings with him on tour. He brings light to lesser known artists, and he collaborates with artists who are relevant to older audiences (my brother loves Vince Staples) and younger generations (I was so excited to see Kali Uchis!). Both of their opening sets were fantastic. Kali Uchis performed an entire production–costume changes, background dancers, special effects; it felt as though I was at one of her independent concerts and that she was not simply an opening act.
Once the openers were done with their sets, Tyler made a grand entrance by rolling onto the stage in a Rolls Royce. The stage was set up beautifully–the Rolls Royce and background sets were a beautiful shade of light blue, matching the color scheme of the CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST album cover. Song after song, his stage presence did not fade for even a second. Despite Tyler’s amazing performing capabilities, what made the concert unforgettably powerful was the audience. Every person in the audience was inviting, kind, and diverse; you could strike up a conversation with anyone in your section and they were happy to talk to you. I felt a palpable sense of community within the arena that no other concert has been able to replicate. Everyone in the crowd knew most–if not all–of the songs Tyler performed, and Tyler made a conscious effort to interact with the crowd so that we were part of his show. For instance, when he performed “See You Again” featuring Kali Uchis, the audience sang Kali’s harmonious melody while Tyler rapped his verse. The spotlights shone on us instead of him when it was our turn to sing. The combination of Tyler’s stage presence and the audience’s energy made me feel immersed in the music and the crowd in a way that was incredibly fulfilling and connecting.
Oh, yeah–did I mention he drove a speedboat through the crowd? That was also insane.
After seeing his “Call Me If You Get Lost” tour, every concert I attended after that could not reach Tyler’s level of energy. Believe me, I’ve seen plenty of great concerts after his; I’ve been to other rap concerts (21 Savage, Nicki Minaj, and Kendrick Lamar), rock concerts (Bruce Springsteen), and K-Pop concerts (SEVENTEEN, Monsta X, and more). While they were all great, I left each concert with the same feeling: “I need to see Tyler again.”
Chromakopia
The post-concert depression I felt from his “Call Me If You Get Lost” tour lingered all the way until October 2024 when he announced that he was going on tour for his new album, CHROMAKOPIA. I was ecstatic. I purchased two tickets to his Baltimore show for July 2025 as soon as the presale went live, and it became something I looked forward to for nearly nine months.
However, in around May 2025, just a couple of months before I was supposed to see him, I started to see TikToks of people rumoring that Tyler was sick of touring and was not having any fun. They claimed he was behaving weirdly at his concerts and he was not respecting his fans. That immediately made my heart sink; I was worried that I was never going to relive an amazing concert experience again. As I did some research, I found a few news articles that gave me a bit more context to what TikTok was murmuring about. In an interview with Converse, he described that his shows were mentally and physically draining due to his nonstop movement at his shows, a reflection of his tireless dedication to putting on an outstanding performance every time he is on stage. He also does not get tired of his fans, like some TikTokers were claiming–if anything, it’s the opposite. His fans give him the encouragement and energy to continue.
When July 2025 rolled around and it was time to see him, I was in a state of denial during the hours leading up to the show. I couldn’t believe I was about to experience one of his concerts again, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to live up to his own expectations. My friend and I arrived at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore with enough time to see Lil Yachty’s set. As soon as we made it to our seats, I felt the same sense of comfort and connection that I felt at his first concert. There were two people in front of us, one wearing a Judge Judy costume (in reference to Tyler’s song, “Judge Judy”), and the other wearing a pink suit and blonde bob wig (in reference to Tyler’s persona from his album IGOR). They were incredibly friendly and so much fun to sing along and dance with. In between Lil Yachty and Tyler’s sets, the crowd did the wave about ten times. It sounds ridiculous, but it was another moment where the crowd was there to be a part of the community that Tyler had formed for us.
When the lights went down and Tyler made his first appearance, I could already tell that he was about to outperform himself from the last time I had seen him. And I was correct. From the second he took the stage, he commanded the attention of the entire arena. It was just him for the entire performance, no backup dancers, no band–yet he had the presence of an entire ensemble. For the first half of his set, he wore the mask and suit from his CHROMAKOPIA album cover, and he refused to let the fatigue of nonstop dancing take ahold of him. Then, he transitioned to a more casual outfit and removed the mask. He also moved to a smaller stage in the center of the crowd, making the experience more personal. The crowd’s energy was exactly as I had remembered; everyone knew the lyrics to every song, and they were fully immersed in the concert rather than standing idly and filming everything on their phones. Once again, Tyler made us part of his performance by having us sing along to his music; in addition to singing Kali Uchis’ part in “See You Again,” we also got to sing Lola Young’s melody in “Like Him” and rap Doechii’s verse in “Balloon.” When the concert finally ended, my friend and I left the arena floating on a cloud of positive energy, and we rode that post-concert high for the rest of the week.
Although Tyler may not go on tour again because of the physical and mental stress it puts on him, I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to see him twice. If he does happen to go on tour again, I highly recommend that you get those tickets.