My Experience at The Kid LAROI’s End of the World Tour (Part 2)
After ericdoa’s performance, approximately a 15-minute wait, and a dramatic curtain drop, Laroi began his setlist with his song “Let Her Go.” Throughout the show, Laroi was constantly engaging the audience. After “Let Her Go” and before “Diva”--a fan-favorite and the next song he performed–he traded hats with a fan in the audience, and wore it for a large part of the performance. After a few songs, he read a poster in the audience that read “F YOU GOODBYE GOT ME THROUGH A TOXIC RELATIONSHIP” (“F You Goodbye” is a song by The Kid Laroi). Laroi expressed his gratitude for the fan by inviting him on-stage to perform the song that got him through the relationship. After giving the fan the microphone to explain the story of the relationship and how the song impacted him, the iconic guitar riff of the song’s intro began to play, and Laroi performed the song with the fan. Laroi proceeded to invite another, slightly younger fan on stage later in the show. After explaining he had talked with a fan before the show and promised to let him request a song, a ten-year-old boy with safety ear muffs stepped on stage.
Another aspect that made his performance more engaging was his awareness of the audience. About halfway through the show, Laroi invited a special guest on stage, whom he described as “an Atlanta legend.” Within minutes, rhythm-and-blues singer Usher took the stage and as one would expect, the crowd erupted. Usher, an Atlanta native, is a large part of Atlanta culture, so inviting him to perform was an incredibly intelligent decision that helped Laroi engage the audience further.
The highlight of my time at the show was Laroi’s performance of his most popular song, “STAY.” It was the last song in the setlist, so the energy throughout the venue was intense. So intense, in fact, that Laroi actually leaped into the crowd and surfed atop our heads for around a minute–I even got to touch his hair! As incredible as this interaction was, I pitied everybody who was in other parts of the venue, specifically, those in the upper level of Coca Cola Roxy that weren’t involved in the mosh pit. Throughout the show, Laroi was bringing people from the floor on stage, and the people who were sitting up top–who ironically paid more for their seats–were largely left out. To my surprise, Laroi was aware of this too, and for the show’s surprise encore, he rather magically appeared in the upper back level of the venue to perform the real last song of the night–”WITHOUT YOU.”
My time at Coca Cola Roxy was truly transformative. Obviously, the night was incredibly fun–I was able to experience my first genuine moshpit, listen to my favorite music, physically interact with somebody I idolize, and be a part of a community with those around me. However, the most important aspect of this night was that it made me realize the importance of human interaction in music. I have attended performances of artists considered to be wider-known than Laroi in larger venues with more fans, however, I can attest that those concerts were characterized by the music, whereas Laroi’s concert was characterized by the experience. While some may believe this to be a silly criticism because people pay for concerts to hear music, I argue that we buy tickets for a different reason. I argue that what makes shows of artists like Harry Styles, Tyler, The Creator, and The Kid LAROI so appealing is that the shows are engaging for the audience. Creating a connection with listeners builds respect among an artist’s supporters to the point where even people who are entirely unfamiliar with that artist’s music have a beyond-enjoyable experience. The Kid LAROI and ericdoa demonstrated their understanding of this throughout the performance, and that made the night among the most memorable in my life.
