Flatbush Zombies at Red Rocks (10/30) Concert Review

The independent rap trio, Flatbush Zombies performed at Red Rocks October 30 with Earl Sweatshirt as their main opener. The stage was decorated with tombstones, joined by a DJ booth off center and the lights were ever prevalent in classic Red Rocks fashion. Earl was their main opener, but there were plenty of others who showed up to perform.

The trio is also a part of the rap supergroup, “Beast Coast”- made up of rappers from Brooklyn, New York. “Beast Coast” member Nyck Caution was the first artist on stage. Caution performed a mix of his solo work, and his work in “Beast Coast”. He put on a fun, interactive set and had even ran into the crowd at one point.

Teezo Touchdown is a performer in every aspect of the word. From the characters, to the costumes and even down to his microphone- which was buried in a bouquet of flowers. His set opened with his hype man, “Coach” on stage with a mascot. After Coach riled up the crowd in search of Teezo, he took the mascot head off and began to rap. In the “second act” of his performance, Teezo left the stage, only to reappear in a suit. The ladder portion of his set was seemingly more vocal focused, as Teezo sang more than rapped. His songs were a bit more melancholy, and more personal. His hair was styled in his ever famous silver nails and braids. Overall, Teezo put on one of the most entertaining sets I’ve ever seen.

Reason was next to take the stage, and he had me eating out the palm of his hands. After shouting out his label, “Top Dawg Entertainment” multiple times, his gratefulness and love of rap could be felt around the amphitheater. As he made way through his set he continued to show love to the people that got him to where he is. Before his hit song “Show Stop” played, he shouted out Kendrick Lamar for hopping on the track and doing the ad libs. Not only did Reason perform, he proved his skills and further cemented himself as a respectable rapper.

Young M.A. was the second to last opener. She had women from the audience come up on stage to dance with her. One brave girl flashed the 9,000 people in the audience, which received some of the loudest cheering of the night. Upstage was a screen with interchanging graphics and Young M.A. ‘s set featured clips from her music videos and her more well known tattoos, such as “God’s Gift” on her neck and “My Brother’s Keeper” on her arm. All in all her set was hype and a lot of fun.

By the time Earl Sweatshirt had found himself on stage, the sun was set and the air was cold. While his music isn’t as hype as the other openers, Earl found a way to make his 45 minute set compelling. He made his way with jokes and bars and shouted out Flatbush and Young M.A. multiple times. Earl was comfortable on stage, not using gimmicks or having a hype man. He stood alone on stage- besides his DJ, in a bright blue jacket and opened himself up to the crowd. He was a great predecessor to the highly anticipated trio. After four long awaited and entertaining hours, Flatbush Zombies took to the stage. Meechy Darko, Erick Arc Elliott and Zombie Juice came out- each in costume, and the crowd absolutely erupted. Meech, dressed as Dennis Rodman, spoke to the crowd first, making sure we were ready for their show. Juice vocalized throughout the night, decked out in an all red suit with fringes. (Still not sure what his costume was supposed to be) and Eric brought his bars, while dressed as a character from “Squid

“I can’t believe we really created a rap classic.” Meech said to the other two while on stage.

“I don’t know if they want to hear it. Do you think they want to hear it?” Juice prompted, which was answered in cheers from the crowd.

“Palm Trees” lit up the amphitheater, and simultaneously hundreds pulled out their lighters to light up themselves . The trio even took a second to work their way through a joint of their own. “Palm Trees” was released in 2013, on the “BetterOffDead” mixtape, produced by Eric (as are most of their songs). This was the first major success the group saw, and was the first push towards their fame today.

The chemistry between the three was palpable, as they continued to work off each other on stage. They each bring something different to the group, and it so clearly works.

Concert Review & Photos by Kiara Demare

Art by Briee Truax