Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, often abbreviated to OFWGKTA, more commonly known as simply Odd Future, was formed in 2007 in Los Angeles, California by a group of misfits. The group is lead by Tyler The Creator, and includes raging, serious musical talents like Hodgy Beats, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Mike G, Frank Ocean, Left Brain, Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martians; as well as non-musical members such as Jasper Dolphin, Taco and L-Boy. Members in the group even combine to make a bunch of subgroups.
Never before has there ever been such a talented, diverse group that thoroughly represents the beauty that is individuality, friendship, life, and music. Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All offers the world music that is fun, deep, hilarious, sad, and well thought out. Their members cross genres, generations, listeners, boarders, industries and expectations. They reach the lonely, the hated, the bad a**es, the rebels, and the radical insides of people across the globe, They’re known for their “anti-christ,” “homophobic,” “horror-core” lyrics, but when you truly listen to the words flowing with ease over body rocking beats, you understand that they are more than the hype and names they’re being called. They’re kids, like us, living their dreams, telling their story, finding their own happiness in their way. They are releasing their thoughts, feelings, fears, dreams, hopes, and themselves.
The music industry is in a ratty state right now, and they need the individuals of Odd Future Records to breathe some interesting alternative life into it, before music crashes to the sounds of overly manufactured music.
Obviously I am a fan of all of Odd Future so when I heard that they were performing at the House of Blues in Boston this year, I made sure I had tickets and a plan. I wanted to show up early and get a good standing position, hopefully in the front, and rage out with the rest of the crowd. This was the concert I was looking forward to since I heard Bastard and Earl, it was the concert that was going to make my life. So, how did it go? Here’s the review:
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Audience Attendance: 10/10
Just like at the Sweatshop (Odd Future pop-up shop) or at the House of Blues Hall there was a long line of fans anticipating what many called a definite must have life experience.
Venue: 5/10
While House of Blues Hall is a great location, easy to locate and travel to The House of Blues isn’t a good venue for a group like Odd Future. It is too small for the fans to enjoy, and lead to many people passing out from heat exhaustion. The venue also has levels, so, sadly not all OF fans could rage on the floor with each other. The tickets were clearly over-sold, the floor was filled to capacity with only half the fans inside of the building.
Promotion: 10/10
Every true fan knew about the show. Promotion was amazing for this event, and clearly didn’t let them down.
Timing: 0/20
The show was supposed to start at 7:00 PM, meaning that the doors to the House of Blues were supposed to open around 6:30. Instead, the doors opened at about 7:20 PM, and the show didn’t start until a little after 9:10 PM! This means that not only were fans waiting around forever outside merely wanting to get good seats, but they were packed into the too small hall like sardines waiting for the show to start for hours! Why did it start so late? Tyler, The Creator and Taco had to drive to Target to get underwear, so no one from the whole OFWGKTA went on stage for two hours, waiting for them to get back.
Atmosphere: 5/10
Everyone was pumped, but people were literally harming each other to touch the members’ hands. The venue for some bizarre reason didn’t anticipate the group and the extreme love the fans have for the members. The atmosphere was live, but it was also “kill everyone to get to the front,” which never works at the House of Blues.
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Sound: 3/10
The sound quality of the show was horrible. You couldn’t hear the words of the rappers over the berating music, and most fans left the hall saying that Tyler The Creator was lip syncing and that they had no idea what anyone on stage was saying. I was in the crowd, right next to the stage, and still didn’t even know what songs they were performing.
Performance: 10/20
Some fans left the show saying that the show was amazing, others left the show saying that the performance was unorganized and terrible. When you spend money to see your favorite group perform, you want them to have some idea what they are doing when they get on stage. Some members of the group appeared to either not know their lyrics or not know what they were supposed to be doing at the time. But since most fans did leave the show feeling alive, knowing that they experienced the best concert of their life, Odd Future did a decent job.
Consideration: 0/20
OFWGKTA had NO CONSIDERATION to any of their fans.
They made them wait to start the show while two members got underwear. While Tyler The Creator is the leader of the group, they could have put out other members to start the show, and have Tyler work his way in afterwards when he finally got back. They started the show late, and because of that, the show was shut down by aggravated cops and venue owners. After Jasper Dolphin tried to jump off the second floor balcony on to the floor because the minor was heavily intoxicated, L-Boy tried to save him and got arrested in the process. Odd Future is not liked by any cop in any city, especially Boston, and they should have only raged to a normal extent, so as to not ruin the show for their fans. Instead OF gave the cops reasons for them to shut it down, ruining the nights for many fans who would have done anything to see OF perform. Playing by the rules sucks, especially when you’re a group that is distinctively against it, but letting down your fans is deplorable.
OVER ALL CONCERT GRADE: 43/100, F!
So thank you members of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All for letting your fans down and blaming others for the mess you created. I will never go to one of your concerts again, which sucks because you are the only new musicians who speak to me. Thank you for the ultimate let down.