Feeling The Vibes: Chance the Rapper Performs at Olympia Theatre
This past Wednesday evening at Chance the Rapper’s show, Olympia Theatre was packed with teenagers and young adults, who were either making out, grinding or running around the venue like schoolchildren. The ambience felt like a high school dance, immature and rowdy, yet fun in a way.
The night had multiple fun moments, including Chance magically gliding from one side of the stage to the other. I still don’t know how he did it. I don’t know if Olympia did something to the floor that allowed him to slide from side to side, but it was magical.
Hours after being interviewed by Montreal rapper The Narcicyst aka Narcy in front of hundreds of students at Concordia University, the Chicago rapper delighted fans with a performance at the Olympia Theatre as part of his Family Matters Tour with fellow rappers D.R.A.M, Towkio, and producer Metro Boomin.
There were adults over the age of 20, including a few Montreal Alouettes players, but if you were a high school/CEGEP kid and you didn’t attend the show, you probably felt like a loser amongst your friends when you heard them talk about it at lunchtime. Kids still do that, right?
Chance’s setlist consisted of tracks from his popular mixtape, Acid Rap, as well #10Day, and finally, his album Surf, as part of the band The Social Experiment. The very first track performed at the concert was a brief rendition of the track, “Family Business,” originally a track from one of Chance’s inspirations, Kanye West.
The final stretch of Chance’s set featured the best tracks and the peak of Chance’s energy, despite his voice growing hoarse and soft as the night went on.
Chance, along with his bandmates, performed a cover of the theme song to the children’s television show Arthur, before he performed another cover to “Family Business,” the magical soul-lifting and gospel-esque “Sunday Candy.” and two tracks to appeal to all the smokers in the building, “Cocoa Butter Kisses” and “Chain Smoker.”
From the chancetherapper</a> show <a href="https://t.co/BAHlzOGZGy">pic.twitter.com/BAHlzOGZGy</a></p>— Julian McKenzie (JulianTheIntern) October 23, 2015
It was a delight to take in Chance’s set, as positive and peaceful vibes were present throughout his entire time onstage. These characteristics seem to follow Chance, especially in his music, despite the fact that he may discuss darker themes at times.
I only had one complaint about his set. He didn’t perform “Juice” off Acid Rap. My lone complaint.
Admittedly, I missed Towkio’s set, but I got to the show near the end of D.R.A.M’s set. I was impressed with his energy and vocals. Of course, D.R.A.M played his biggest track, “Cha Cha”. The fans were into D.R.A.M as he and his crew sprayed the crowd with water.
It was quite telling, however, to see the night’s next “performer,” producer Metro Boomin, play Hotline Bling, the Drake smash hit and supposed remix to Cha Cha. The crowd cheered in excitement and immediately had their cell phones in the air recording the moment.
The producer, who has seen success collaborating with Drake and Future on their joint album, What A Time to Be Alive, among other artists, played tracks he produced to electrify the fans in the stands. At the same time, Boomin also played tracks he didn’t produce, notably from Waka Flocka Flame, Fetty Wap and Rae Sremmurd, while still gaining the appeal of the young fans, and turning Olympia Theatre into a club.
While it admittedly was a shock to see that Metro Boomin was on the bill for the show—I don’t think many music fans would make the connection between Metro Boomin and Chance the Rapper—Boomin did enough to entertain fans during his set, and setting the stage for the main event.
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