Live Review: Odd Future (OFWGKTA) @ The Vogue Theatre, Vancouver – October 3rd 2011

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (Odd Future) fans in Vancouver who were heading down to The Vogue to see the California based rap collective were greeted by a long line that stretched down the block on Granville St., around Smithe St. and past the entrance to Ceili’s. An all ages sold out hip hop show get’s those kind of delays at the door. Once we all got inside it was clear that there was not a single ticket left for the show.

We all know British Columbia has some of the world’s best weed. People plan trips for it. Rappers rap about it. You & I know it first hand. The infamous BC Bud had an impact on the show this time around. A friend of mine got to the venue early, before most people were inside and he admitted it already wreaked of weed inside. Considering that the only people inside the venue was staff and Odd Future leads one to believe that the herb was being smoked in large supply by the members of OFWGKTA. Then, surprise, surprise the show was delayed by an hour. Was the herb to blame? Unconfirmed, but likely.

Once DJ Syd came out onto the stage the crowd erupted, then once she actually dropped some beats they went even crazier. She blazed through a list of the most popular beats in the world right now. She even blasted Odd Future members remix of the track Drop. The energy never dropped (see what I did there) all night.

Tyler The Creator rolled out onto the stage with the rest of Odd Future on a skateboard clad in a Team Canada hockey jersey. This was not the only jersey on stage though. Domo Genesis was rocking a Burrows Canucks jersey and another member had a Victoria Vipers jersey. But hey, this isn’t about the fashion on stage, it is about the music itself.

The cast of rappers that were on stage throughout the night changed. Sometimes there was 2 members on stage, sometimes it was 3, but the one constant was the newest addition to Odd Future, that being the stuffed cat named Tyrone that was tossed on stage during the show. Tyler has soft spot for cats; visible by the massive Shark Cat banner behind the stage. Tyler leaning down to Tyrone and said “We were missing one person on stage & this one is for him” then the group launched into the track Cool by Earl Sweatshirt.

I’ve been to The vogue on many nights and I was surprised at how well the sound crew handled the night. From the moment that Syd dropped her first beat, to when Tyler & his crew left the stage there was barely a handful of audio issues. Oddly enough, the one issue that was noticeable was quickly fixed by Tyler. While Hodgy Beats was performing his mic dropped to almost no sound but Tyler swooped in and passed Hodgy his mic & the showed rolled along.

The debate will roll on for months, maybe even years but in my book Tyler the Creator is the leader of this Odd Future movement. It is clear in most media, it is clear with the awards and it was clear on stage that Tyler is the leader. Yes, the group shared time in the spotlight, but it was Tyler that stole the spotlight. He was loosing his shit dancing to others rap and when his verse would come up on collabo songs the focus of the entire room switched to him. Hate on me if you want, but Tyler is the best rapper in the group and will continue to prove that going forward.

The night ended when the group kicked into a rendition of the Tyler the Creator track “Radicals”. With the lyrics “Kill people, burn shit, fuck school” ending off a concert on a school night I couldn’t help but laugh as I left The Vogue. There is and was a lot of hype around this group and this performance in Vancouver. Very rarely does they hype get filled, but Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is doing just that on their Gang Wolf tour.