Travis Scott’s national tour, “Astroworld – Wish you Were Here”, has continued to sweep a craze over the country as the rapper brings his third album to a number of different cities.
Fans of Travis definitely expected a great deal from the tour, considering the hype over the album, but they could not have anticipated how Travis would transport his concert goers to Astroworld, a theme park in Houston, Texas – Travis’s hometown – that was demolished in 2005, yet is a beloved memory of Travis’s childhood.
Travis brought amazing special effects to each arena he took over, and Penn State was lucky enough to visit Astroworld right in the Bryce Jordan Center on February 27.
The gateway to Astroworld opened when Travis planted a huge blow-up statue of his head, a trademark symbol of the album, in front of the BJC. Once inside, the audience could see an Astroworld sign leading to the back stage, where a huge loop de loop stood.
Once Travis finally took the stage, he surprised the crowd by taking a ride on the loop, which set the bar for the rest of the show. Lucky audience members even had the opportunity to step through the Astroworld gate and ride the coaster, while Travis performed just inches from them.
The rapper kept the crowd on their toes when he disappeared from the back stage, and appeared on the main stage with a huge circular screen illuminating psychedelic scenes behind him. The circle was like a crystal ball, showing live videos of both Travis and the audience going crazy to the music.
Bright blue and flaming butterfly wings seemingly lifted him into the sky during “Love Galore,” and if you looked up at the screens, the wings seemed to be sprouting from his body.
“I just wanna take y’all on a little trip to where I’m from. I come from a city called Houston, Texas,” said Travis, humbly into the microphone, as two huge screens came down from the ceiling on both sides of the arena.
The screens showed images of the Houston skyline and trippy symbols of Astroworld. The visuals added a personal touch to the show, giving the crowd a look into what Astroworld means to Travis, and ultimately explaining his motivation behind dubbing the album “Astroworld.”
Next on the setlist was “Stop Trying to be God.” During the performance, a white cross was projected on to his chest, and this spiritual image was plastered on the screens. Travis took a step back after this personal part of the show and reminded the audience to wake up and be thankful every day.
Travis brought back the hype with “YOSEMITE,” as a colossal astronaut started to form behind him. The crowd went wild when the spaceman finally reached his full height, towering over the arena.
Lastly, as if the audience needed a reminder that they had just spent the night in Astroworld, Travis hopped on to another roller coaster ride, high above the crowd. The track took the rapper up and down, forwards and backwards, all while he delivered his signature songs to the arena.
When Travis finished his show with his wildly popular songs, “Antidote,” “Goosebumps” and “Sicko Mode,” he didn’t need any special effects besides the energy of the crowd to make the show complete.
One very lucky sophomore, Gideon Eidel, who traveled through Astroworld in the mosh pits of General Admission, summed up the trip for us:
“Travis Scott took the art of performing in the BJC to a whole new level. Through interacting with his fans and environment, it was a once in a life time experience.”
