Listen 4
Photo Credit: Emily Berkey for Okayplayer
Photo Credit: Emily Berkey for Okayplayer
Aminé has had an impactful 2017, so Okayplayer was on-hand as he made his triumphant return to his hometown to perform at The Roseland Theatre last night.
Obscene amounts of glitter littered the sidewalk outside of The Roseland Theatre in Portland last night. Teens huddled under umbrellas and jackets as the rain attempted to literally wash away their shine while they were waiting for the doors to open for night two of Aminé’s Glitterpop shows. The coat-check-person dried their money with paper towels as the attendees forfeited their soggy coats, revealing beautifully over the top outfits of anything glimmery they could find.
Some of the fans had been to the previous night’s show, like Dario Larky, a 17-year-old who explained, “This is Aminé’s hometown. He left it off the tour so I’ve been anticipating it, and when tickets went on sale I had to go to both shows. Yes, it’s the same concert, but it’s two experiences,” while others were there experiencing the absolutely bananas glittery event for the first time.
Aminé made hometown history with the Glitterpop shows. He sold out a large venue in his hometown, two nights in a row, which is a first but definitely not a last for hip-hop artists from Portland. “GLITTER POP IS SOLD OUT BOTH NIGHTS. ALL YOU BULLIES IN HIGH SCHOOL IN PORTLAND CAN REALLY SUCK MY DICK,” he tweeted the night before the first show, rightfully excited about selling nearly 3,000 tickets to his fellow Oregonians.
Zack Villere opened the show, performing tracks off of his recently released album Little World and was followed by the duo Injury Reserve. Ritchie With A T performed in a silver glitter hoodie, matching du-rag, and topped the look off with a bedazzled beard. His rapping cohort, Stepa J. Groggs ripped his shirt off half way through the set, revealing a plush torso slathered in glitter, and their DJ Parker Corey sported a pink sequined skirt. The audience cheered each opener on, their faces plastered with excitement and, you guessed it, GLITTER!
Before Aminé hit the stage, his younger sister Tinbete expressed gratitude for the moment, “I’m very proud of him. I got emotional yesterday watching it. I teared up. My mom cried. My parents were here yesterday but tonight they’re babysitting my cousins so my other cousins could come,” she explained. Night One of Glitterpop was the first time Aminé’s parents saw him perform.
Photo Credit: Emily Berkey for Okayplayer
Backed by a four piece band and a massive marshmallow-looking inflated “Good For You” sign, Aminé took to the stage in a head-to-toe glittered ensemble. Sans shirt, Aminé donned a pearl and clear gemstone doused jacket, silver chain, glitter patchwork pants, glitter converse and a fanciful menagerie of blueish glitter and pearls across his eyes. He approached the mic and announced, “When I say ‘you’re beautiful’ you say ‘I know’... ‘you’re beautiful!’”.“I KNOW!” screamed the crowd. With that positive affirmation lingering in the thick, muggy air, Aminé dove right into his material. The audience sang along, hands in the air, hands on their hearts, and of course, hands on their phones as he performed the majority of Good For You.
Just when it seemed as though the legal glitter quota had been met, heaps of rainbow confetti erupted from canons as Aminé performed “Caroline” and again during “Spice Girl,” setting the audience into a deafening uproar. They were losing their shit.
As he did on every stop of his Tour For You tour, Aminé pulled an audience member onto the stage to add a patch to his “tour pants”. Each city on the stop had a designated patch and the audience choose what the patch said. Night One of Glitterpop chose to write “Fuck Gentrification,” while Night Two’s audience chant-requested “FUCK TRUMP!”. Although Aminé agreed with the audience’s choice, he explained that Seattle already chose that saying, so Portland night two chose “Black Lives Matter” instead.
After performing every single one of his hits, Aminé ended his set the same way it began. “YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!” he declared. “I KNOW!!” the audience screamed back. Speechless, Aminé threw a heart up with his hands as the audience showered him in now raspy yells of adoration for their hometown hero.
As the venue’s lights turned on, the young crowd shuffled across the confetti littered floor of the venue and reclaimed their damp coats to brave the very rainy and very glittery Portland streets.
Check out the best moments from Aminé's "Tour For You" stop in Portland below:
Emily Berkey is a Los Angeles-based writer and photographer from Portland. Her work, including her ongoing project Rap Dads, can be found on her website. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter @Emily_Berkey.
