Travis Scott ‘Fortnite’ Concert Review
Written by SOURCE on April 24, 2020
We’ve all been in coronavirus lockdown for over a month, and everyone’s bored. How else would you explain people spending a full day debating whether or not French Montana has more hits than Kendrick Lamar?
In the early days of quarantine, some of the Instagram Live performances were interesting, but after watching dozens of them (and struggling through technical difficulties in each), most of us are ready for something new.
On Monday, Epic Games made the announcement that they would be hosting a series of in-game Fortnite concerts with Travis Scott. The pairing made sense. Travis has spent years perfecting the most over-the-top live shows in rap, and the video game setting would give him a chance to indulge in the kind of special effects and theatrics that wouldn’t be possible in a simple Instagram Live stream. If it worked for Marshmello a year ago, it could work for Travis, right? As a bonus, Epic Games also dangled a carrot over everyone by promising the debut of a new Travis Scott song during the performance.
I hadn’t been to a real concert for over two months, and I didn’t have anything better to do tonight, so I downloaded Fortnite on my Nintendo Switch and attended my first video game concert. Here’s how it went.
I show up to the show 25 minutes early, which I realize is more than a little embarrassing. After cycling through loading screens, I drop into the middle of the map and fly to something called Sweaty Sands, where a stage has been constructed over a body of water.
As I wander around the edge of the shore, killing time, I pick up on some similarities to a real Travis Scott concert experience. Finding a spot close to the stage, I turn to my left and find out I’m sitting next to a teenage boy named “Yo Bro Micah.” I can tell he’s a teenage boy because of the high-pitched voice coming through his headset. We stand there for a while, awkwardly looking at each other. Then he tells me to go fuck myself and shoots me in the head with a shotgun.
Great start.
When I respawn, I walk along the beach and come across a group of players who are all wearing custom Travis Scott skins. They’re working together to build some kind of structure to get a better viewing angle of the show. I have found the stans.
I look up and see a large countdown timer over the stage. It’s ticking under two minutes until showtime, so I swim to the front of the arena. Somewhere in the distance, I hear Micah complain about getting killed by someone right as the show is about to start. Justice. Fuck Michah.
As I climb onto the stage, an in-game setting changes, and everyone’s weapons disappear. Now we have the ability to raise flaming microphone stands over our heads, recreating Travis’ most memorable (and most meme’d) concert moment.
Then something begins to happen. The clock vanishes and the roller coaster loop at the edge of the stage starts changing colors and pulsating, like it’s the Eye of Sauron or some shit. Travis Scott is nowhere in sight, but the synths from “Highest in the Room” are blaring over the speakers. Something is coming. Micah is into it. He can’t stop headbanging. Then the song transitions and Drake’s voice booms over the Fortnite islands. “Sicko Mode” is playing. Millions of teenage gamers rejoice.
There’s an explosion. Something hit the stage. It looked like an asteroid or something. No, it’s Travis Scott. A giant, King Kong-sized Travis Scott. We’re all hurled hundreds of feet into the air, far away from the stage. Travis’ massive avatar is stomping around the island, rapping and dancing along to “Sicko Mode.” At the end of his verse, he stops and summons the electric energy of the universe in his palms. Then he smashes it together, rocketing us all into the air again.
The sky turns blood red. The stars are blurring. Travis starts rapping a verse from “Stargazing.” Everything gets darker. Travis turns into some fucked-up version of the Terminator, with electronic sprockets falling out of his face. This is already weirder (and better) than I expected.
The lights cut out. As Travis performs “Goosebumps,” everything turns black, except for wispy strands of colorful light that take the shape of Travis Scott’s body. Energy fields orbit around him. I don’t remember taking acid tonight, but it kinda feels like it. This is cool.
As I’m settling into my trip, the floor falls out from under me, and I’m submerged in water. “Highest in the Room” is reverberating through the ocean, and I watch a giant jellyfish suck the soul out of Travis, who is now wearing a helmet that covers his face. I notice everyone else is gone. I’m alone. Where the hell is Micah? As I’m looking around, I get blown back into outer space. Drake’s voice is back, reminding us all about that “half a Xan” he took that one time.
“Sicko Mode” ends, and we’re all flying through space again. A new song starts. I don’t recognize it. It must be the new one. Travis makes his way through a verse, then another voice comes in. Kid Cudi! I try paying close attention to the music, but a giant orb in front of me is exploding and making weird sounds. This is fun, though. I’ve never experienced a new song like this. Travis yells, “Let’s go!” and the orb explodes. Synths play. An eagle screams. I’m hurtling towards a bright white light. Someone says “It’s lit!” faintly in the background. The universe falls away into nothing.
Are we dead? I’m on the ground again. Micah’s back. There’s no more music. The stage is gone.
Michah shoots me in the face again.
The show’s over, 10 minutes after it started.
Honestly, this was a lot better than I expected it to be. I had seen clips of the Marshmello show, which took place at a stage that more faithfully replicated an actual festival setting. But this was much more surreal and trippy. Travis and Epic Games took advantage of the creative possibilities of the video game format, disregarded the rules of physics, and created something unique.
Travis Scott definitely wasn’t performing any of this shit live, which he hinted at in a pre-show interview, but that didn’t really matter. This was the coolest interactive music video I’ve ever seen. Of course, nothing will ever replace the real feeling of a live concert experience, but we’re in a time when in-person concerts aren’t a possibility. So something like this is a better alternative than anything else I’ve seen during the pandemic.
This was much more fun than an Instagram Live stream.
Travis Scott and Epic Games avoided the temptation to replicate the feeling of being at an actual concert. They knew there was no way they could replace the real thing. Instead, by diving into something much more surreal, they created a new kind of experience that might even be able to complement the real thing in the future (whenever we’re allowed outside again).
I tapped in tonight because I’m stuck inside with nothing better to do, but I’m surprised with how much fun this was. I might even go to one of these again when all of this is over.
