As someone who has spent a decade writing about concerts, not to mentioned over two decades of attending them, I have reached a point where I deconstruct everything happening before me and ask myself whether or not what is or is not working would help other artists. The answer is more often than not yes, as long as those artists exist within the same genre. What works for a rock band will not necessarily work for a rap artists and vice versa, but that is not a rule written in stone. The important thing is to learn as much as you can, experiment when possible, and always be doing your best to adapt to changing trends without sacrificing your artistic integrity.
This week I had the opportunity to see Migos. If you’re unaware of who Migos are allow me to summarize their career with this:
Migos spent the last few years building their brand on their strength of free online mixtapes, but earlier this month they revealed their debut album, YRN: The Album, will finally be released this June. To celebrate, the trio decided to hit up SXSW for a string of high profile shows during events sponsored by some of the biggest brands and publications making an appearance in Austin. I happened to attend the group’s Thursday evening set at Mohawk, which for the entire week has been known as the ‘House of Vans,’ and upon my arrival I began picking apart everything I witnessed. Here is what I learned…
1. It is very easy to have way too many people on stage. In fact, the only people you need are the people in your band. One or two dancers and/or hype people are fine if it fits your sound, but you do not need twenty-five people to at your side while you’re trying to perform. Not only does it take up a ton of room on what is likely already a tiny stage, but it takes the focus off you and your music and places it on to the people you brought with you. It’s good to keep your friends close, but keep the celebration for the after party and spend your precious set time engaging with the people who spent all day waiting to see you.
2. Don’t be afraid to open with whatever song you’re currently trying to promote. Migos are known around the globe for the platinum-selling hit “Versace,” but that song was never even teased during their time on stage. Instead, the crew opened with their YRN single “One Time,” and then worked through a string of choice cuts from their acclaimed catalog. It was immediately clear that not everyone know the words to “One Time” yet, but the energy was so high from the group having just hit the stage that it didn’t matter. This was the set people had been waiting for all day. This was the moment that would change their lives. This was memory making event and Migos decided to use it as a means to make people care about a single that honestly doesn’t live up to the strength of their previous work. That’s good marketing.
3. Stay active. This goes along with my comment about keeping the people on stage with you to a minimum, but at no point during your set should fans catch you standing still with both arms at your side. Amidst the insanity of having nearly 30 people standing with them at SXSW, there were numerous times the trio could not have looked less enthused to be performing in front of nearly 1000 people, mostly all college aged, who were all going as wild as the tiny club space would allow. This immediately took me out of the moment, as I felt it was not something Migos cared about, and I suddenly found myself have a lot less fun while watching the rest of their set. It no longer felt like we were creating a moment, but more like they were waiting for the check covering their appearance fee to clear.
4. It’s not the length of your set that counts, but what you do with the time you have been given. Every set at SXSW is short, even if you’re someone like Migos who have fans willing to spend 8 hours in Texas heat without shade to see you perform. Twenty-five minutes (or less) is not an unusual length for a set at festivals like this, nor is it that an uncommon length for a supporting set on a three or four band bill. Migos made the most of this time by stuffing as much music as they could into their allotted time. There was never a dull moment, despite the fact many people on stage were clearly winded before the group’s set came to an end. The fans had high expectations and the group did everything in their power to exceed them.
