Steve Lacy has not had the perfect tour, to say the least. His fans, at least the ones attending the concerts, have done everything from interrupting his show for a family video to throwing a whole camera at him to, what could be the worst sin of all, going silent after the most popular verse in “Bad Habit” because they didn’t know the other words. It’s easy to see how this has made Steve uneasy and added a burden of stress on his performance. On October 25th, I was curious to see if there would be an incident at my hometown Warehouse Live, but I was pleasantly surprised with good vibes, good vocals, and good music – everything a concert should be about.
Foushee, best known for her mega-hit “Deep End,” was the show’s opener. This crossover didn’t make too much sense until I realized she coproduced Gemini Rights, and after hearing her angelic voice, I knew she was more than deserving of the spotlight. She left, and Steve’s entrance was delayed by an hour and a half for an unexplained reason – my expectations for the show rose steadily. Lacy seemed anxious at first, moving around a lot and testing the crowd every so often. He eventually reached a point of comfort, and even talked about the tour’s incidents, saying “the good stuff never goes viral.”
The audience shined during “‘N Side,” “Static,” and “Dark Red.” But the best moment of the whole concert, in my mind, was Lacy setting up crowd-only vocals on “Infrunami,” while he only plays guitar – similar to his role in the Odd Future band, The Internet, where he got his start. This was his ultimate plan to weed out the fake fans, but from the deafening sound the Warehouse Live audience produced, it appeared he didn’t have much to worry about. It’s truly hard to paint a picture of the crowd’s energy – it truly was a “you had to be there” type of concert. I felt a sense of positivity and togetherness. I use a “Woodstock Scale” for concerts to base the vibes on, and this concert just felt very carefree. I enjoy going to concerts because they relieve my stress pretty easily, and this one was particularly helpful.
I attended the concert with my friend, Haylie Graham. I chose to go with Haylie because she has been a long-time fan of his, and I know how much she would appreciate this experience in comparison with anyone else.
“I started listening to Steve back when he first started making music in 2019,” Graham said. “The first Steve song I heard was N Side, and I literally fell in love with his voice.”
Lacy has seen a noticeable progression in popularity since then. January 2020 statistics showed him with 2.6 million Spotify listeners – he’s currently headed for 32 million this month. Although this surge in popularity has had its negative effects, Lacy’s vocal and musical talent deserves to be displayed on a national stage. He has also produced songs by some of my favorite artists – J. Cole’s “Foldin Clothes,” Kendrick Lamar’s “PRIDE,” and Tyler, The Creator’s “911/Mr. Lonely.” Having accomplished all these things at the youthful age of 24 makes me anxious to see how Lacy fulfills his massive potential in the coming decades, and I can only hope I’ll be blessed to see him again in concert.
All Photographs by Aaron Rodriguez
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