The line for Kyle’s concert wrapped around the block outside Vinyl in Midtown. The rain, much to the dismay of the visibly excited audience, began to drizzle down. Everyone’s hair and/or outfits were mildly ruined, but their excitement and mood remained undampened. People had been waiting for hours outside the Vinyl, a part of the Center Stage, to see their beloved Kyle grace the stage with their favorite songs.
Kyle, or SuperDuperKyle, a member of the rap collective, SuperDuperCrew, decided to bring his month-long Smyle tour to Atlanta, one of seven cities he chose to perform in. His sophomore album, “Smyle,” released October 2nd was well received by his relatively small, but dedicated fanbase. His sold-out November 5 concert at Vinyl, a small, intimate venue with the tiniest stage I’ve ever seen and a 229-person legal maximum capacity had a pretty small floorspace and bar and a cute little seating area away from the stage. People from all over came to see Kyle. Beside me and enduring the painful four-hour standing marathon, was a group of boys who came all the way from Macon to see Kyle.
Kyle and his rapper wingman Brick (or SuperDuperBrick), made sure to mention at least three times during the concert that Atlanta was one of their favorite cities, in general and to perform in. Brick, in particular, was a big fan of the Atlanta based dances, such as the Whip, Nae-Nae, and Atlanta artists such as Future. They complimented the energy that Atlanta always brings to a concert and were thanked with numerous “ATL, H*E” chants from the crowd (some of which were unfortunately started by the rhythmically impaired who couldn’t necessarily find or keep a steady beat).
Kyle’s set was a beautiful thing. His energy was incredibly high during the entire concert and his vocal performance exceeded even his energy level, which is not common in most concerts. Kyle and Brick’s choreographed dance routines were among the most entertaining things I’ve seen at a live concert. They stage dived and Kyle crowd surfed as he traditionally does. He placed his surfboard in the hands of crowd members, stood on the surfboard and literally surfed the crowd. It was glorious thing to witness. He was so happy that he never quite stopped telling us. We could tell he enjoyed performing and everyone in the crowd had forgotten about the pushing, the annoying tall person in front of them, and the aching pain in their joints and put all their energy into Kyle and his performance.
Opening for Kyle was Elhae, an Atlanta based rapper, and Jacquees, a singer from Decatur, performed in the middle of Kyle’s set. Jacquees’ performance was pleasant, given that I had never heard of him or any of his music. Elhae was a bit more painful to listen to after his first few songs, both literally and figuratively. His set felt very long and it took its toll on everyone’s ankles. His songs after the first few were rather static and unimpressive.
Kyle’s most popular songs were “Really? Yeah!” “Don’t Wanna Fall In Love” and the energetic “SuperDuperHero.” I enjoyed his entire set, and as a new fan I was extremely impressed by his performance skills and familiarity with his audience. It was fun and energetic and worth every ounce of sleep that was lost, since a majority of the audience had to go to school the next morning. Thanks to the intimate venue, Kyle was great at interaction and was definitely not the standoffish, distant performer and this quality was greatly appreciated.
