Future

Future & Ty Dolla $ign packed Hammerstein Ballroom (videos, review)

Future @ Hammerstein Ballroom – 2/27/16 (via)

Atlanta rapper Future has been on a serious roll lately. Earlier this month, he put out EVOL, his second full-length release of 2016 and seventh in the past year and a half, and then began a tour which hit NYC for two sold-out shows on Saturday night (2/27). The first was at Hammerstein Ballroom with his tourmate Ty Dolla $ign, and then he played a late show at Stage 48.

I caught the Hammerstein show, which packed 30 songs into a set that basically had everything you’d want to hear. He actually didn’t play anything off EVOL, but did play a few off Purple Reign, his first full-length of 2016 and the one for which this tour is named. He reached back a little to his first two poppier albums for unstoppable hits like “Move That Dope” and “Same Damn Time,” but mostly this focused on that recent prolific run of albums and mixtapes that have had Future sounding harder, sadder and better than ever. We got plenty off of DS2, one of 2015’s best albums, including show opener “Thought It Was A Drought,” plus “Where Ya At,” “I Serve the Base,” “Stick Talk,” “Freak Hoe,” “The Percocet & Stripper Joint,” “Real Sisters,” “Fuck Up Some Commas” and still more. Probably needless to say, but the packed crowd was loving him, yelling every word, nonstop dancing. It was impossible to be in that crowd and not be having a good time.

About halfway through the show, Future walked off stage and the lights went dark, and over the PA you heard the words “DJ Esco, Coolest DJ In The World,” and then, of course, Future’s longtime collaborator DJ Esco took the stage. They played some Future songs over the PA, like “Groupies” and “Big Rings” (with Drake), plus Travi$ Scott’s “Antidote” and more, as Esco ran across the stage, danced, rapped along, threw shirts in the crowd, and kept everyone having as much fun as they were during Future’s main set. Then Esco handed the mic over to Ty Dolla $ign (who’s opening set I sadly got there too late for), who went into his Future collab “Blasé” and eventually brought Future back on stage:

Ty Dolla $ign & Future Hendrix. Blasè #80 #purplereigntour #itsjustdifferent #fresco

A video posted by Shayvonne Tyler (@shayfresco) on

After Ty left, Future ran through more off DS2, and then did a string of cuts off What A Time To Be Alive with “Diamonds Dancing,” “Jersey,” “I’m The Plug” and “Jumpman.” He gave us “March Madness,” a major highlight of the pre-DS2 mixtape run, and then ended with his run of Purple Reign songs, wrapping up with the mixtape’s closing title track (no encore). There wasn’t a dull moment, and it’s hard to imagine a person leaving that show with any real complaints.

Check out a video of most of Future’s set, below. Anyone catch the late show?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGUzFMIa9-U