The bass pulsed through the room as Don Toliver stood on a catwalk above the stage. Dressed in all black and wearing a large black leather jacket, the singer could only be seen as a silhouette, but with every bass pulse, waves of fire would illuminate him for the crowd.
Below him a globe of death was lit up by spotlights. The contraption is usually found at monster truck rallies, a carnival, or the circus but Saturday night it was the centerpiece of Toliver’s show. As the music swelled two motorcyclists entered the globe and began riding around in circles, using speed to seemingly defy gravity.
“Put your H’s in the air if you from Houston!” yelled Toliver as he made his way across the catwalk at the Toyota Center. Walking behind him a guitarist wearing a white cowboy hat dropped down to his knees and began to play a solo riff as the crowd screamed.
The Psycho Tour is Don Toliver’s biggest North American tour to date, sending the Love Sick singer to 25 cities between San Francisco and New York. The Houstonian also brings along Beaumont native, Teezo Touchdown, and fellow Houston native Monaleo, making this a full Texas event.
The tour supports the release of Hardstone Psycho, Toliver’s fourth studio album from Cactus Jack and Atlantic Records. Since his 2020 debut, Heaven or Hell, Toliver has been building up his profile dropping successful hit after hit. He’s turned his appearance on Travis Scott’s Astroworld into a juggernaut of a career, working alongside artists like El Michels Affair, Quavo, Offset, Baby Keem, James Blake, GloRilla, Brent Faiyaz, Nas, Big Sean, Wizkid, Charlie Wilson, Kaytranada, Hit-Boy, and Toro y Moi.
And just as Travis Scott platformed the singer on his Cactus Jack label, Toliver continues to promote artists from Houston and Texas featuring artists like Tisakorean on his albums and, of course, touring with Teezo and Monaleo. On September 25 Toliver announced that Teezo was dropping from the tour and being replaced by Ski Mask the Slump God and Molly Santana.
The change in lineup didn’t seem to faze Toliver Saturday night as he ran through hit after hit for the screaming audience at the Toyota Center. Toliver’s evolution in music has been an interesting one. While he has always been melodic, his earlier work leaned more toward R&B while his latest offerings feature more grandiose, rock music. That grand sound was on full display Saturday night. This is Toliver’s third headlining tour and it’s evident with how skillfully he was able to move from laid back, melodic hits like “Had Enough,” “No Pole” and “Glock” into high energy songs like “Bandit” and “Attitude.” Toliver also made sure to let the crowd know where he comes from.
“For anyone that doesn’t know, I’m from H-Town,” he exclaimed while quieting down the crowd. “I’m from the S.W.A.T. That’s Southwest Alief Texas. The Weeeeeeest.”
As he stretched out the saying of the direction, members of the audience joined in yelling “west” alongside him. The repping of the SWAT wasn’t the only thing the MC did to represent the bayou city. At one point the lights came down and when the light came back up Sauce Walka ran out to join Toliver on stage. The rapper performed “2 Legited 2 Quited” while leading the crowd in his signature chants of “Ohhh Weeee”.
Don Toliver has fully embraced his rock star ethos, and The Psycho Tour is evident of that fact. From Heaven or Hell, to Life of a Don, to Love Sick to Hardstone Psycho he has shown a musical progression that is sure to keep his fans coming back for more.
Setlist
1. KRYPTONITE
2. TORE UP
3. BROTHER STONE
4. 4X4
5. Cardigan
6. HAD ENOUGH
7. GAG GANG
8. WHAT TO DO?
9. FIELD TRIP
10. No Pole
11. BACKSTREETS
12. NEW DROP
13. CAN’T SAY
14. ATTITUDE
15. Best You Had
16. Embarrassed
17. Private Landing
18. Smoke
19. Lemonade
20. GEEKED UP
21. Swangin’ On Westheimer
22. No Idea
23. BANDIT
24. Too Many Nights
25. After Party
26. TORE UP
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
