My beloved Scott Mescudi is in town for the New York leg of his Passion, Pain, & Demon Slayin' tour performing mainly songs from his latest album of that title. Here's my look for the show. I wore a lacy/floral mini skit from Forever 21, faux-garter fishnet tights from Urban Outfitters, my all time fave matte black Doc Martens also from UO, and of course my KiD CuDi T-shirt, which I've had for years, from Hot Topic. I was channeling all Alt/Punk/Emo CuDi vibes for this outfit, but certainly stayed true and kept it comfortable.
For the past week I have been prepping for this concert, not only by listening to Cudder's entire discography but by creating and 18" x 24" potrait of Scott himself on canvas using Acrylic paint. I was able to give my painting to Scott which was one of the greatest moments of my life. See below:
The show overall was such a breathtaking, out-of-body, spiritually awakening experience; at Central Park's Summerstage. Though it is not summer anymore concert goers were luckily met with 80+ degree weather, which felt even warmer while standing amongst a huge crowd. I arrived about 4 hours before "doors open"and there were already what looked like 100 people ahead of me. I was able to maneuver through the crowd and made a whole group of new friends with a bunch of strangers, who I eventually became disconnected from while flooding the concert area when gates were finally opened. The line, or just the huge crowd of people along the path leading up to summer stage, was a rather notable pastime as folks had speakers blasting CuDi's greatest as well as other dope music, and there were other fans to just chat with of course. Fans came out with all kinds of CuDi gear whether it was his custom Bape t-shirt, which he actually wore as well, or tour shirts from previous albums. When the gates opened it was the biggest sigh of relief. The sun's heat met with hours of waiting met with hundreds of people in small space cause a few fans to pass out, they were helped immediately by staff and eventually individuals were asking to be carried out of the crowd just because it was too much. I was able to get upfront but to the very far right being that there were so many people ahead of me. Pushing and shoving were not foreign concepts to this crowd, as soon as Scott came out on to the stage the crowd went crazy. I had my painting with me in my portfolio and was forced to hold it over my head. I eventually was pushed directly to the front up against the barricade and held it on the other side of the barricade for the rest of the show. When CuDi came down to see us all I was pushed so hard my ribs and hipbones felt bruised, however I wouldn't want it any other way.
The stage had a jungle theme with green trees and leaves everywhere, while we were waiting smoke started to fill the stage, throughout the show the lights were the most important aspect with CuDi being lit from all sides and different lighting arrangements for each song, each vibe, each mood. At one point foam was falling from the top of the stage as if it were snowing, and the smoke was going throughout the entire show. Visually we were transported into a different world, you can only imagine what aura the music brought with it. CuDi's energy is so high, open, and free; seeing him live was an experience like no other. As many know, the last we heard from The Lonely Stoner publicly was late last year when he announced he will be checking into rehab for his widely known Depression, and Suicidal Ideation. He has not been active on social media ever since, nor necessarily in the limelight. This was his return. Having spent some time living NYC on the eve of his career, he said he felt like he was back home. The show was the warmest of welcomes. He not only performed some hits from the latest album, he also blessed us with the classics while dancing, smiling, laughing and jumping around the whole time. It was so good to see him truly happy and to feel his energy.
He opened with "Baptized in Fire" the breakout single from "Passion, Pain, & Demon Slaying", with what was one the most explosives entrances. He went on to perform a song I assumed he would usually open with, "REVOFEV" from his second studio album "Man on The Moon Part II: The Legend of Mr. Rager". There is no doubting the energy in that space, it was non-stop, RAGE all the way through, no down time. Other singles from the album he performed include, "Frequency", "Releaser", "By Design", "Kitchen", and "Rose Golden". He threw in some throwbacks, such as "CuDi Zone" and "Pursuit of Happiness" from his debut album "Man on The Moon: The End of Day". He also brought out a surprise guest, his good friend/Day 1, King Chip to perform both "Just What I Am" and "Brothers" from CuDi's fourth studio album Indicud. I was screaming the entire time. He ended with the closer and arguably best track on his latest album, "Surfin'". Towards the end of the song there is a break which is reminiscent of African music with CuDi harmonizing, he took that time to jump off stage and greet his fans. This is when he came down to see my painting and I was able to tell him it was for him and he took it. This was such a surreal moment, I still cannot believe it happened. I was recording a video on my phone while he was performing surfing and I was still recording when he came down. Here's a video clip of the moment.
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