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Travis Scott was a carny at his own theme park at his Moda Center show Dec. 22. In between songs, Scott paused to help fans into a shiny, fog-spewing roller-coaster car created for this current tour. The jumbotron screens zoomed in on Scott's sweaty, concerned face as he fastened the seat belts of two thrashing fans before they were sent on a slow ride over the crowd, while Scott rapped "Goosebumps" far down below.
His recent album, Astroworld, and his current Wish You Were Here Tour were inspired by the now-defunct AstroWorld theme park in Scott's hometown of Houston. And, boy, did he milk the concept. Astroworld blends Scott's smeared, technicolor sing-rapping with a dark carnival atmosphere and samples from Houston's deep rap heritage.
The roller coaster was one of two huge set pieces in the show—the other was a scaled-down vertical loop, which Scott he rode around the track and shrieked, "Yeah, yeah!" through Auto-Tune. There were numerous flamethrowers, massive carnival balloons shaped like an astronaut and Scott's own head, a brain-melting light show, and a stadium-sized screen playing a cartoon simulation of a nighttime drive through Houston.
Rappers Gunna and Sheck Wes played small supporting roles at the show—Gunna fleshed out his romantic verse on "Yosemite," and Sheck Wes rapped the brutal fan favorite "Mo Bamba" while Scott death-metal headbanged next to him.
But the large crowd of millennials was putty in Scott's hands alone. When Scott sang a capella, his fans listened. And when he sang his catch phrase, "It's lit!" they went totally apeshit.
