Ken Carson/Destroy Lonely ATL Concert Review

On Friday night, I attended a concert with some friends of mine, and I wanted to document my experience. The concert was for rappers Ken Carson & Destroy Lonely on their North American tour. Both of these artists gained notoriety once they signed to Playboi Carti’s imprint, OPIUM. It’s only fitting that they get to go on tour together. It all took place in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Center Stage Theatre. This is both of these artists’ respective hometowns and also the last date on their tour. So knowing that in advance, everybody in the building was full of excitement, especially the performers.

Surprise Performance

For all new concert go-ers, I always recommend showing up late. Concerts never start on time, and once again my intuition was right again. I showed up at the perfect time and only had to wait a maximum of 15 minutes for the show to start. As opposed to everyone else, who waited at least an hour. After the DJ did his usual crowd-warmer routine, it was finally time for the first performer, or should I say, performers. We were given a surprise performance by fellow OPIUM signees, Homixide Gang. I should’ve anticipated that they were going to perform. Even though they did not even list the duo on the bill for the show, they rocked out as if it was their show. Their performance for their single “DAMN” was electrifying and might be my highlight of the night.

Grade for Homixide Gang’s performance: A-

After a small intermission, it was time for Destroy’s set, and it was also impressive. He has the best music catalog out of all of them, especially for performing. His discography is the perfect balance of hype and “feel-good” music. My only complaint about his set was that I felt he skipped over a couple of his essential hits, such as “Miley Cyrus” or “Pop Shit/Xtra”. But I guess that is expected when you aren’t the headliner. In hindsight, I wish he was because I was enjoying almost every moment of his set, especially when he performed “F.U.N.”

Grade for DestroyLonely’s performance: B+

Main Event

Last, but not least, Ken Carson closed off the show with his set. If you are unfamiliar with Ken, he’s known for making “rage music” that is perfect for moshing. At 22 years old, my mosh days are over and they reminded me of my old age being at this show. I wouldn’t stand a chance on the floor with those high-energy teens. Luckily, I had a seat and wasn’t forced to be a part of the madness like most shows. Out of all the performers, Ken’s set underwhelmed me the most. He didn’t directly interact with the fans and was lacking in stage presence. To be fair, he was likely gassed from the lengthy tour. But damn, I expect the more from the headliner. Like I said before, it was good to see him perform his early hits like “Run+Ran” and “Yale”.

Grade for Ken Carson’s performance: B-

Overall, I enjoyed myself at the show on Friday. Anytime you attend an Atlanta show, you know the crowd will be hype, and sometimes it’s impossible to match their energy, especially with a young ass audience. After this experience, my fingers are crossed for a full-blown Opium tour, with Playboi Carti as the main headliner. That would be a legendary tour, especially as the other members continue to build their individual fan bases.