Lil Nas X was a strange concert, but I would go again

Photo by William Norwood

The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium lit up in rainbow lights before the Lil Nas X concert.

The Lil Nas X concert at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Oct. 23 began in a strange fashion: When the lights dimmed, a random mysterious egg appeared in the middle of the stage. Moments later, a stage crew member pulled the egg off stage, right before the curtains raised to reveal Lil Nas X standing in the spotlight. The whole arena erupted into screaming and shouting — after all, the great Lil Nas X was there, in the flesh.

The show was incredibly good, but also strange. While the show itself was definitely an enjoyable experience, I do not know whether I would pay more than $80 to attend it — but considering I got the tickets for free, I was happy to go.

The concert was split into three acts, with a different set and outfit for each, mimicking a musical. Every three or four songs, an alien would pop up on the screen talking about the “amazingness of Lil Nas X, and the human species.” It certainly was an odd experience.

He played 12 songs in his set, and an encore of his new song “Starwalking,” the League of Legends anthem. My favorite performances were “Industry Baby,” “Montero” and “Sun Goes Down.”

“Industry Baby” was exciting, and the whole arena erupted, rapping along. Lil Nas X ran around the stage, pumping up the crowd, while dancing along to the choreo.

For “Montero,” Lil Nas X followed a lot of the storyline portrayed in the original music video. In the performance Lil Nas X was twerking on stage and suggestively dancing with his backup dancers, while wearing devil horns. He was unapologetically himself. 

The set for “Sun Goes Down” consisted only of a bed placed at the centre of the stage, with Lil Nas X simply singing. The song deals with suicide and wanting to run away from your responsibilities, and he delivered a powerful rendition. 

This is one of my favorite Lil Nas X songs, and his performance only grew my respect for him as an artist. His ability to dance his heart out and sing, especially in person, is something to admire.

Despite all of these great parts, Lil Nas X was only on stage for about an hour total. But while the concert was relatively short, his high energy and ability to hype up the crowd made it an experience to remember.

The concert was somewhat of a realization of how big Lil Nas X is as an artist. Lil Nas X is one of the biggest names in the music industry, and I am excited to see him when he tours again. 

Oh, and I still have no clue what the random on stage egg and aliens were for.