“Lit” is a word casually thrown around nowadays, like how to describe a bar is on any given night, or when you find out someone brought queso to the party. But if the Lil Uzi Vert concert this Wednesday, November 2nd, at the Uptown could be described accurately in one word, “lit” would absolutely be it.
When I got to the venue, there was a collective mass of people easily 1000 deep waiting, seemingly all day, for doors to open. Once this happened, these troopers, mostly composed of high school aged kids, didn’t relent a molecule of their excitable energy. For three hours, these kids gave everything they had to openers and DJs, spinning the same generic hype rap tracks you’d expect (Commas by Future, Antidote by Travis Scott, etc. you get it) [Side note: “Father Stretch My Hands” is a surefire way to hype up a crowd, no bones about it.]
I’m still taken aback by these fans raging as hard as they did to songs they could hear on Spotify. It became evident that it wasn’t the songs hyping them up though, it was the inevitability of them about to see the hottest young name in hip hop right now, Lil Uzi Vert, the 22-year-old from Philadelphia.
Right off the bat, Uzi blasted through the absolute banger “Do What I Want,” instantaneously starting the party. The crowd bounced up and down with hands in the air like one collective bunch. It was like there was a trampoline in the pit and all of them double-bounced at the same time. The lights and music surrounded them in an effervescent glow. Their energy compiling with their fellow youth and feeding off each other’s hype.
Lil Uzi played through all the hits, and all the crowd favorites. When he played his biggest hit to date, “Money Longer,” there was a unanimous sing-a-long to every. single. word. Uzi could have sat in a LazyBoy and drank hot cocoa while this group of fitful youngins shouted his words to the sky. Uzi’s cantankerously twitchy beats and whopping bass shook the place and made me thank my lucky stars I remembered ear plugs. [Side Note: This concert made me feel older than the old man in “Up”]
It was a remarkably short set for Lil Uzi Vert. If my count is right, he only performed for a total of 35 minutes, and only eight songs, which whizzed by in a blur of energy and turnt-up-ness. He played the songs the crowd wanted to hear, but I think everyone could have been down for another 30 minutes at least. Every song he sang, the crowd sang back every word. Every song was met with dozens and dozens of camera phones in the crowd, documenting every move of this 5’2” giant of hip hop.
When Uzi kicked into “You Was Right,” the night went from lit to a completely new level. I’d call it legendary, if I didn’t want to save that word for something a little more, proven. However, seeing someone like Lil Uzi Vert performing his heart out to the most eager and hungry crowd I’ve seen in a long time, was pretty legendary.
Lil Uzi Vert is on a totally insane level of success right now. He’s barely been in the game and he’s already won fans out of so many people, and influenced countless more to do music like him. He’s an inspiring figure. He’s a showman who hasn’t even begun to hit his true stride. This kid could be one of the biggest names in pop very soon. Only time and continued success will tell, but what I do know is that to see him at this point in time, with the hype surrounding him now, It was a show I’m incredibly glad I went to, even if I felt like a geezer with a prosthetic hip.