A$AP Twelvvy, the grand opener of the night, slipped out in front of viewers to considerable applause. Plenty of people were still filing in and many front row audience members managed handshakes or dapped it up with the rapper.
Throwing it back to the classics in his arsenal, Twelvvy belted out a charged “Xscape.” The growing crowd was still getting settled. But despite his down-to-earth performance style and approach to the audience, his seriousness and allure was established early. “Strapped,” Twelvvy’s smooth second selection, got people hopping and waving hands just before more aggressive songs like “Jay Reed,” “Child’s Play” and “Hop Out” jolted the crowd to life.
With “L.Y.B.B. (Resolution),” the bouncing vibe peaked and the audience was feeling A$AP Twelvvy’s music to its fullest potential. Those familiar with the chant sang along and those that weren’t eagerly learned. The song also marked the onset of a hazy smokescreen of marijuana in the venue.
After a short intermission, A$AP Ferg’s “Trap and a Dream” instrumental crept up on the audience. He popped onto the stage as the first of his booming bars played, and immediately his powerhouse opener had the still-teetering audience back on their feet. Ferg spent little time in getting into his own performance, throwing in committed dance moves and wrist flicks.
There was hardly any breathing room between each track. “Coach Cartier” had the crowd jumping, with the onslaught of trap-heavy hits “Mad Man,” “Mattress REMIX” and “One Night Savage” following. Ferg broke the seriousness up in between with a small break for a cake toss and crowd-integrated celebration of his DJ’s birthday.
A$AP Twelvvy came back out to tackle “Hella Hoes” together first in an amazing stomp-out, but a long moment of silence was called quickly after in the name of the late A$AP Yams. Breaking off from the only memorable seconds of silence in Barton Hall, the legendary “Yamborghini High” snapped on.
Ferg ran on “Run It Up,” dropping the instrumental portion of it entirely at one point to go acapella on the track. Even without the musical backing, Ferg seemed intent on satisfying the audience through his sheer presence. “Shabba,” yet another crowd pleaser, had a handful of mosh pits encircling the room. And high hands, ricocheting chests and foot stomps stayed plentiful in the following “New Level.”
Another break from Ferg’s set came in the chilled out “Hood Pope.” But the long-awaited fan favorite “Plain Jane,” came around for a strong finish. The immense energy flourished within the crowd once more as shoulders clashed on all sides. Moshes, fullsteps and the belligerently drunk came back to life until the end of the song. By the end of the night, it was clear that A$AP Ferg put in “Work” to take Barton Hall to a whole “New Level.”
Cory Koehler is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at [email protected].