Back for his second time at the Yuengling Center on Saturday, March 19, Tyler, the Creator took over Tampa with displays of fireworks, immersive sets, and captivating music.
The Call Me If You Get Lost (CMIYGL) tour, named after his latest 2021 album, created an atmosphere that viewers fell into upon entering the arena with no signs of ever wanting to leave.
Tyler began the show by rising out of the stage in a 1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith, standing out of its sunroof rapping to the first track to CMIYGL, “SIR BAUDELAIRE” featuring DJ Drama, who narrates both the album, and the show.
Backed by a projection to appear he was driving through the hills, he pulled up to a mansion where his chauffeur escorted him out of the car, revealing his first set- a mansion facade that Tyler would later walk through and around while performing to the crowd.
The track was followed by the next two on his album, “CORSO” and “LEMONHEAD”.
Tyler then set time aside to talk to the crowd about Tampa, the weather, and how every person at the Chick-Fil-A he visited looked like Nate from Euphoria. It was the audience’s introduction to his familiar humility and humor.
“To everyone who came tonight, truthfully, thank you we really appreciate it,” said Tyler. “Shoutout to y’all having the worst seats in the house, [pointing towards nose bleeds in line with the sides of the stage] I see you, and I love you too, I think.”
After his time performing in front of the mansion set, his chauffeur appeared again, escorting Tyler front and center, where a small replica yacht emerged from under the stage to carry Tyler to his second location.
The second stage was decorated with sand and grass to mirror a beach.
While sailing over, Tyler performed another track from his newest album, “WUSYANAME”, and raced fans who sprinted alongside him for a good spot at this next stage.
“The show was a great theatrical production,” said Nick DelRio, a fan who had previously seen Tyler perform at the Ritz in Ybor in 2014. “It was dope to see him be given a whole playset to do whatever the f*ck he wanted.”
Upon arrival at the beach, he exited the yacht, and continued on with his hit track, “Boredom” off his 2017 album, Flower Boy. It was after the performance of some of Tyler’s biggest tracks here that he dedicated a portion of his set to his early fans.
“I’ve been doing this for a long f*cking time, and it just wouldn’t be fair if I forgot about the early sh*t… the base of it all,” said Tyler.
He then performed a mashup of his songs “She”, “Smuckers”, “Yonkers”, “Bimmer”, “Rusty”, and “Tamale”. The tracks chosen were from Tyler’s earlier albums Goblin (2011), Wolf (2013), and Cherry Bomb (2015).
For some fans who have been listening to Tyler long term, this section meant a lot.
“The show was absolutely amazing, I felt like a grandpa being 26 compared to everyone else who was like 19, but I think it’s undeniable that Tyler is one of the best live acts in music right now,” said Dominic Pitts, a fan at the show who has been following Tyler since his release of Goblin.
Tyler then boarded his yacht once more and sailed back to the stage singing “I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” before continuing the remainder of the show at the main stage.
It was here, after delivering a taxing performance of “Who Dat Boy” filled with flames, flashing lights, and a projection of A$AP Rocky in the windows of the mansion, that Tyler revealed his current physical condition to the crowd.
“I’m gonna let y’all in on a little secret, not even a secret, dude, I feel f*cking terrible, I’m sick as f*ck right now… but I’m trying my best for every single f*cking person that came to this show for real,” said Tyler.
This only impressed the crowd more.
“I was shocked to hear that Tyler was sick and that just made it all the more impressive…it takes a lot to have tens of thousands of people completely enthralled and screaming your lyrics back to you,” said Cora P., a fan in the crowd.
Tyler pushed on to close out the show with three tracks off of his 2019 album Igor, “I THINK”, “EARFQUAKE”, “NEW MAGIC WAND”, followed by a track off of CMIYGL, “RUNITUP”.
The performances were compounded with more flames, cascading walls of sparks, and fireworks, fronted by Tyler’s signature spastic dancing around the stage. His performance was surrounded by jumping and moshing on the stadium floor. Tyler kept up with the energy by taking hits from his inhaler between songs.
He then turned to the crowd and closed with a thank you, before picking up his two signature suitcases for the CMIYGL album, waving goodbye, and exiting through the front door of his mansion.
Tyler, the Creator is joined on the CMIGYL tour by Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, and Teezo Touchdown. The show continues towards the west coast of the U.S. before traveling through Europe and Australia later this year.