Apr 3

Apr 3 Show Review, Photos: Future Brings "One Big Party" With Don Toliver, G Herbo To Oakland

Future
‘Future and Friends: One Big Party” Tour
w/ Don Toliver, G Herbo, Offset Jim, P-LO, Lil Jairmy, Klondike Blonde
Oakland Arena
Oakland, CA
April 1st, 2023

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

Last year, I had the privilege of covering a number of outstanding rap and hip-hop performances in the Bay Area. The “Future and Friends: One Big Party” tour – which stopped at Oakland Arena on Saturday night – continued that run of entertaining performances, with one of the craziest nights of live music I’ve come across in a minute. The Atlanta-based rapper headlined the evening’s festivities, but it wasn’t your typical headlining performance – the tour really did feel like “one big party” as Future was joined throughout the evening by a handful of Bay Area rap icons, fluctuating between performing his own modern trap favorites and interludes that featured the guest spots from artists like Mistah Fab, D-Lo, Lil Kayla, and G-Eazy.

I’ve found it a bit difficult to explain the opening sets from Saturday’s performance, as there were really only two that felt like full-on performances; most felt like a quick artist showcase, with rappers Klondike Blonde and Lil Jairmy – the latter of which claimed to be sporting a $16,000 diamond-encrusted outfit – kicking things off with about three or four quick tracks. The biggest crowd pop came when, to everyone’s surprise, Northern California rapper P-Lo took to the stage, a ball of energy that owned the crowd as he played through tracks from his latest album, STUNNA.

The main opening sets came from the likes of G Herbo and Don Toliver, both bringing their own flair and showmanship to the stage for their lengthy opening performances. Chicago’s G Herbo was up first, showcasing tracks from his 2022 album Survivor’s Remorse to a great reaction from the crowd before Don Toliver took the stage for one of the most anticipated sets of the evening. The Houston-based rapper has recently been in the limelight for this year’s Love Sick album, meeting at the intersection of soulful R&B numbers and club-friendly hip-hop. Decked out in a blue blazer and shorts, Toliver ran across the stage as a backdrop inspired by the album’s artwork illuminated the darkened arena.

Around 9:50 PM, the lights go out, the curtain drops and an oversized mannequin is revealed to be adorning the stage. Throughout the night, video projections will be plastered across it. Future walks as the crowd loses their minds, taking his place on the elaborately-designed “X” catwalk as he launches into a handful of tracks from his most recent effort, last year’s I Never Liked You. A bevy of fireworks light up the stage as the rap superstar utilizes every inch of the stage and electrifies the crowd. It’s one thing to blast “Bugatti” – the 2013 Ace Hood, Future, and Rick Ross collab - through your car speakers; it’s another thing entirely to watch one of its performers bring it to life, the heat radiating from the massive display of pyrotechnics as a crowd of thousands jump together and lose themselves in the moment.

It’s hard for me to believe that Future played for just a little over an hour. With nearly forty songs highlighted, ranging from wild to anthemic selections, it was impressive to see just how much of an impact the rapper has had on the modern landscape of the genre. With a robust selection of both solo tracks and collabs from the likes of Young Thug¸Rihanna, and Drake, Future elicited the largest reaction of the night with the quintessential trap hit, “Mask Off”, followed immediately by Metro Boomin’s “Superhero (Heroes & Villains).

By the end of the night, I found myself exhausted yet completely satisfied with the show I’d just seen. The energy in the building was so thick, the crowd so packed that I was barely able to get down to my seat after photographing; the aisles were swarmed with people losing themselves in the music, drinks in hand, and ready to party into the early morning. In the span of a few hours, Future turned Oakland Arena into the year’s biggest house party. I already can’t wait for the next one.

Future Set List
712 PM
I’M DAT NIGGA
FOR A NUT
PUFFIN ON ZOOTIEZ
Bugatti (Ace Hood cover)
Stick Talk
Move That Dope
Same Damn Time
Love Me (Lil Wayne cover)
Thought It Was A Drought
Gone To The Moon
U.O.E.N.O.
Chosen One
My Ho 2
Honest
Used To This
Where Ya At
Wicked
Freak Hoe
Real Sisters
Way 2 Sexy (Drake cover)
Drankin N Smokin (Future and Lil Uzi Vert cover)
Low Life
Relationship (Young Thug cover)
Fuck Up Some Commas
Married To The Game
My Savages
Incredible
Turn On The Lights
Loveeeeeeee Song (Rihanna cover)
I Won
Wait For U
LOVE YOU BETTER
March Madness
Mask Off
Superhero (Heroes & Villains) (Metro Boomin cover)