Travis Scott Rings in 2017 at SoCal’s Observatory

Joseph Baura

After breaking out on his own and removing himself from simply being called one of Kanye’s protégés, Travis Scott has found tremendous success with his albums “Rodeo” and “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight.” Hailing from Houston, it is evident that the local chopped and screwed culture was a large influence in the development of his sound. As one of Kanye West’s close collaborators, Scott shows glimpses of emulating the obscure, experimental drive of West, but throws in his own twist from the south that is meant to rattle car trunks from beginning to end. To close out 2016, the Observatory OC in Santa Ana invited Travis Scott to perform on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day for back-to-back sold out shows.

Before stepping onto the stage, a ranch-style graphic appeared on the screen below the DJ booth letting the entire audience know that the rodeo was about to begin. With the song “Pornography” playing, Scott bolted onto the stage as soon as the first words of his verse came on. The crowd’s energy could be felt as nearly everyone in the lower section of the venue jumped up and down in unison with Scott as he moved back and forth across the stage. He took the performance back to “Days Before Rodeo” when he performed the songs “Mamacita” and “Quintana Pt. 2.” It was obvious that the venue was filled with hardcore fans of Scott as most of the crowd rapped along as he went between albums.

As it was the New Year’s Eve, Travis Scott asked his DJ to give him updates as to how much time was left until the stroke of midnight. Scott performed the song “Coordinate” for the first time, asking the fans to gauge if he should continue to perform it in the future. Of course, fans responded by moshing in the center of the venue, while others tried to rush the stage from both sides. Scott’s DJ gave the entire venue an update stating that the New Year was set to hit in one minute. As the crowd started to count down, Scott appeared on stage with a bottle of champagne, which he popped open and drank as the clock struck midnight.

Scott closed the show by asking fans what song he needed to perform next. The audience yelled out suggestions, but the overwhelming response was “Goosebumps,” sans Kendrick Lamar. Scott thanked the crowd for making the intro into the New Year a memorable one, and stuck around to oblige fans by using their phones to take selfies.

If there was any show to close 2016 out the right way, Travis Scott at the Observatory did the trick.

Travis Scott brought the rodeo to the Observatory OC on Dec. 31.