There is a giddy kind of atmosphere outside Eatons Hill Hotel, as the crowd begins to form ready to see Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt members of the LA rap collective Odd Future perform. Performing as Earlwolf, Brisbane was their last stop on their 4 show tour around Australia.

It seems controversy seems to follow Tyler around, with many petitions from outside groups and government officials to cancel the show. To Eatons Hill Hotel credit, they still carried on with the show and provided an excellent venue at that. It will be no surprise to see many more artists turning to the venue with its excellent layout and quality.

There was a rather lengthy wait to see any Odd Future members on stage. After a near 2 hour wait, the much loved Taco jumped on stage clapping to the crowd pumping them up for the show ahead. Taco played a short DJ set full of classic crowd pumpers with DMX – Party Up making the crowd go wild. Taco got the crowd involved instantly, giving high-5’s, throwing water, or giving everyone the finger, everyone was pumped.

Taco’s set came to an end when Tyler and Earl with fellow Odd Future member Jasper Dolphin ran on stage belting out ‘French!’ from Tyler’s first album Bastard followed by ‘Sam Is Dead’ with little to no pause between. From the get-go the crowd was screaming out the lyrics and bouncing around. Following these songs, Tyler spoke to the crowd speaking highly of Australia and how much fun he has had. You could really tell he was sincere and actually loved Australia, he told the crowd to go wild and enjoy the show because he never comes ‘down here’ and don’t know when he will be back, or even if he will be allowed back.

The total set was just full on, rapping off all off Tyler’s three albums (Bastard, Goblin, and Wolf) plus the Odd Future Mix tapes, with well welcomed favourites of – Tron Cat, We Got Bitches, Bimmer, IFHY, Domo23, Tamale, and Yonkers. Tyler really knew how to put on a show, letting the crowd scream out the lyrics and giving the crowd the finger when trying to take photos of him, his stage presence is amazing to watch.

It is hard not to look past the lyricist of Earl and his performance but he seemed like he was struggling to get through with coughing fits in between songs. Nonetheless, he still smashed out the crowd favourites – Earl, Whoa, Chum, and Drop. With this he previewed some new material from his upcoming album of Doris with songs of – 150 Molasses, Burgundy, and Hive. At only 19, Earl is a one of a kind rapper which in years to come will no doubt have his own solo headline world tour.

Rapping and bouncing around on stage is only half the performance at any Odd Future show, they are known for their interaction with the crowd and doing what they want. Brisbane was no different, with Tyler taking selfies on other people’s phones, wearing ridiculously small glasses thrown from the crowd, judging what people were wearing, and shaking hands with people being dragged out by security. His love for his fans is undeniable.

In all, the show was a total chaotic mess that worked. No one knew what to expect and what was coming next, and at some times in the show even Tyler and Earl felt the same way. They went with the flow and made sure everyone was having a crazy time, and the crowd did with non-stop moshing and bouncing. In some ways it’s a shame that controversy follows Odd Future around, as I can’t see Tyler the creator being welcomed back into Australia again. Finishing the show telling the crowd to enjoy the last song of ‘Sandwitches’ telling the crowd how much he wants to come back next year if he was allowed. I hope he does come back as his show was one crazy party I would love to experience again, and I’m sure everyone that missed out would love to as well.

- P.

Photo Credits: AAA Backstage