Live Report: Travis Scott – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Over a decade into his career, Travis Scott has undeniably become one of music’s most prolific world-builders, a visceral force that defies the conventionalities of what we once knew as rap. Melding the influence of trap and psychedelia, the Houston rhymer transforms each work into a wide-screen spectacle, an indulgent dose of ear candy that finds its strengths in off-piste collaboration. In turn, Travis Scott recognises his live performance as an essential counterpart to his catalogue, summoning his crowds as ‘ragers’ who religiously follow his lead onstage, tackling each verse, hook or lyric with dictum.

This year’s CIRCUS MAXIMUS Tour presents itself as one of Scott’s most ambitious stints to date, a blockbuster list of Europe dates that see the artist step up to stadium-sized arenas. When the rapper touches down in London, fans are sure to snap up every last ticket and gear up for the occasion, filling Tottenham’s Hotspur Stadium with a buzzing urgency.

Promptly, the screens flash into action and Scott is followed backstage as he routes over to his entourage. The warped sampling of Derek Shulman’s opening lines to ‘HYAENA’ echo across the crowds, welcoming the contemporary icon to a somewhat post-apocalyptic set design, obstructed by rocky boulders and a veil of smoke. Striking through the track’s pendulum-like production, the rapper raises his arms into a champion stance, savouring the magnitude of the evening. With flames shooting up into the atmosphere, Scott accentuates his entrance with elongated notes of autotune melodies, leaning into his vocal performance with a piercing command.

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Lending his focus to last year’s critically acclaimed ‘UTOPIA’, tracks like ‘MODERN JAM’ discover a new energy amongst Scott’s usual crowd, a marching, Mr. West-esque offering that reaps a hypnotic result. Asserting itself as an album that favours its bullet-proof bangers as much as its deep cuts, the Sampha-graced ‘MY EYES’ is equally spellbinding. Raising the star on a laser-lit podium, the artist divides that track’s performance between still, warbling tones and a moody, futuristic beat switch-up that triggers a quick-fire, defined verse.  Indeed, this feels like a rare moment in the set, straying away from the more physically charged mosh-pits Scott has become synonymous with.

That isn’t to say that the top-shelf hits are missing from the performance, which manages the expectations of day-one fans and the mainstream listener. Flitting between early breakthrough anthems ‘Upper Echelon’ and ‘Mamacita’ into palatable crowd pleasers ‘BUTTERFLY EFFECT’ and ‘HIGHEST IN THE ROOM’, the artist weaves between each track’s key hooks and drops, throwing himself into the venue’s booming sonics. The highly addictive ‘FE!N’ unleashes a menacing grin from the protagonist, a need-for-speed thrill that earns itself reload after reload. Rumour has it that the track alone took over Madison Square Gardens for twenty minutes straight, and rightfully so.

Featuring guest appearances from Ice Spice, Lil Baby and a confident, stellar performance from Central Cee, CIRCUS MAXIMUS TOUR highlights the universal breadth of Travis Scott’s catalogue. In an attempt to wrap four albums’ worth of material into an hour-and-a-half show, the artist thrives when he is given enough space to truly explore his material, paying close attention to the intricacies of his craft. Despite feeling at points rushed-through, there’s little that can deter the crowd’s roar, who continue to solidify Travis Scott as a generational artist. 

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Words: Ana Lamond

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