Ariel Smith Photos
Staples.
Vince Staples pulled through College Street Music Hall on Tuesday with Armani White and Buddy for the New Haven stop on his “Smile, You’re on Camera” tour. The show didn’t start until 7:45, but upon doors opening at 7, concertgoers promptly rushed to the front and pressed themselves up against the railing to ensure they’d be close when Staples finally came on stage.
First up, however, was Armani White, a West Philly rapper with an indomitable energy and a similarly memorable yellow puffer coat, offering us verses from his song “Onederful” while throwing water bottles into the crowd and demanding a mosh pit (the crowd obliged). After his set, he quickly returned from backstage to greet the crowd, running along the edge of the pit and earnestly grasping hands to thank people for coming out.
Buddy.
The Compton rapper Buddy, up next, brought a similar vitality, literally leaping the three or so feet from the stage to the rail holding back the crowd to perform “Shameless,” holding on to a proffered hand for tenuous support. We all expected he’d climb down at the end of the song, but he simply turned on his heel and vaulted back across the gap, starting his next verse without losing a beat.
After Buddy’s set, we waited until 9:15. The screen behind the stage blinkered on with a sepia-toned projection of us; as the crowd caught on, people began waving and jumping up and down.
“Smile,” said a voice, “you’re on camera.”
The openers had been well selected for their energy; Vince Staples careened around stage while performing with a zeal that would’ve left most other people bent over and gasping for air halfway into the first song. We got a lot off of Big Fish Theory; “BagBak” and “Rain Come Down” made it into the beginning of the set.
After the first four songs — just him, the microphone, and the screen, everyone thoroughly entertained — the screen turned off, and he stood still for a performance of “745.” There was no mistaking this for a lull, however, because as soon as it ended he leapt into “Big Fish,” covering the entirety of the stage. The screen behind him displayed multiple monitors, most of them pre-recorded displays of other crowds from the tour’s stops, cheering and taking photos.
In the back, the guy doing sound was moving his entire body with the beat; it was altogether too good a show to hold back.
