In celebration of Logic’s stellar debut album, the Maryland MC has been riding out on a world tour. On Tuesday, he brought the sold out show to Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theater. A near deju-vu for fans who witnessed the While Wait Tour at the same venue a few months prior. However, with a new album under his belt the show was guaranteed to have a fresh feel.
Michael Christmas – Shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
Kicking off around 9pm, Boston based newcomer Michael Christmas took the stage. His first time on tour, the 20 year old emcee seemed at ease on stage despite the lack of experience; taking breaks between each song to interact with fans, introduce music and crack jokes. His humble demeanor, self-deprecating humour, charisma and dope flow won the crowd over with ease. I overheard several people wondering “who is this guy? He’s dope!” He had several dope tracks but ‘Michael Cera’ was one of biggest cuts of the night and had everyone rocking with him.
DJ Rhetorik – Shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
Next up DJ Rhetorik took the stage proclaiming “My job is to get you turnt up”. He did just that, sparking the set off with some hip hop classics from DJ Kool and Dr. Dre before bringing in big tracks from Snoop, Kendrick, A$AP Ferg and more. Providing narration throughout, he had a fun back and forth while familiar party anthems had everyone grooving and in good spirits. Paying homage to the 6, Rhetorik rinsed out a ton of Drake tunes including several off his new mixtape. Hearing ‘Tuesday’ while out on a Tuesday was fitting and timely as it could be. Most impressive was when the DJ eased up the commentary and went in on the decks, mixing Baauer’s ‘Higher’ into Styles P then Kanye’s ‘Get Em High’ and ‘Dark Fantasy’. Convinced the crowd couldn’t get much higher it was time to let the bitch breathe and prepare for the main event.
During the intermission it was awesome to see Michael Christmas chillin’ at the bar shaking hands with fans, crushing shots and announcing “it’s my first time drinking legally, I’m only 20.” He was approachable and down to earth having comfortable conversations with fans. It’s always great to see artists on the same level as the listeners and his chill vibe definitely won him some new fans.
Logic – Shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
When Rhetoric retook the stage fans knew it was on. Queuing up ‘Soul Food’ the beat began to build. Just as it dropped Logic bounced across the stage dropping bars from end to end with immense energy. As the track came to a close Logic took a break to preach his message of Peace, Love and Positivity. After giving fans the game plan he dropped a couple of the hardest album cuts including ‘I’m Gone’ and bonus tracks ‘Now’ and ‘Alright’.
Logic – Shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
Throughout the set he took breaks to engage the crowd which included singing happy birthday to a lucky fan (which was backed by the entire venue) and solving a Rubik’s cube in less than two minutes, while introducing his team. Keeping the night unique Young Sinatra dropped a freestyle that included name dropping the “t-dot” and breaking into an incredible double time flow reminiscent of Jay Z’s early sound. For the longtime fans he dropped some of his most well loved mixtape cuts including ‘Ballin’, ‘On the Low’, ‘Roll Call’ and most notably ‘Dead Presidents III’.
Logic – Shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
Bringing it back to the album, Logic performed two of the best tracks ‘Nikki’ and ‘Gang Related’. The latter garnered one of the biggest reactions of the night. First when Rhetorik hit play and the haunting vocals flowed through the speakers, but even more so when Logic bodied the final bars acapella (which are the most intricate part of the song). Considering the tour is named after his album it was no surprise that the show closed with album’s finisher ‘Till the End’. As the stage lights went down chants began with fans begging for an encore. I overheard some fans prepping to leave complaining that he didn’t play the album’s title track. After a few short minutes Logic returned to the stage to give fans exactly what they asked for. It was the perfect close to a stellar show. If you get the chance, don’t miss one of the game’s greatest new stars in the midst of his ascension.
For more pictures from the event check out our full photo gallery.
