The words “best tour ever” are a lot to toss about, especially in the post–COVID–19 pandemic age, but Aminé made those words worth their weight. On March 1, he brought his show, “The Best Tour Ever Tour,” to Philadelphia, performing at The Fillmore alongside openers 454 and Cochise. During his time on a hometown–inspired stage, he brought a lively and colorful energy to the crowd that came perfectly near spring break.
Aminé began his tour shortly after releasing TWOPOINTFIVE last November. The mixtape is soaked in neon colors and hyperpop influences, a departure from his more conventional and grounded album Limbo in 2020. “I didn’t really want to make anything too introspective and sad with this project,” Aminé said to Billboard. “This was more for me to really have fun and dance, and have a really good time. And when we do these shows, I just can’t wait to see the fans going crazy to it. It’s going to be really fun.”
454 and Cochise, both Florida–born artists, began the show and matched the bouncy and psychedelic sounds of Aminé’s TWOPOINTFIVE. Cochise fit in a couple of jokes about Philly food—he complained about stomach issues from a cheesesteak and asked the crowd if they ate them every day—before amping the venue’s energy with his breakout single “Tell Em.”
After the two finished their performances, workers removed covers to reveal the stage design: a corner store, a bridge with a mountain view, a fluorescent Rose Garden sign, a sign for Woodlawn Park, and an oversized labradoodle statue. Aminé’s DJ came out and yelled out to the fans. “When I say ‘best tour,’ you say ‘ever’!” The crowd kept the chant going before the main act jogged out on stage.
Aminé quickly saw his wish for excitement granted in Philly when he started his set with “Mad Funny Freestyle,” the most aggressive song from his latest project. The crowd quickly started jumping and reciting the chorus, which is hilariously just Aminé panting to the rhythm. “Last year, y’all was acting mad funny,” he and the fans belted out before heading into the track’s carnal and over–the–top verse. When the opening song finished up, he welcomed the crowd and gave them another chant to remember—whenever he said “you’re beautiful” to the crowd, they responded with “I know.”
The fun continued with more cuts from TWOPOINTFIVE as the lighting and Rose Garden sign helped convey the peppy atmosphere. As the mixtape’s bubbly lead single “Charmander” played, the titular Pokémon moved around on the sign, its orange contrasting against a bright blue. The lighting and lyrics flew through multiple shades with the song “Colors,” as Aminé rapped about pink, blue, and green. The flurry of hues continued to be thrown across the venue as Aminé moved from bouncy tracks like “NEO” and “Twisted!” to calmer tracks like “Dididumduhduh” and “Van Gogh.” Every once in a while, he would keep the “you’re beautiful, I know,” chant going.
In between the sugar rush of each track, Amine started a tour of the stage to explain the significance of each part and give an amusing insight into his upbringing. The Rose Garden sign was a tribute to the stadium for the Portland Trail Blazers. He pointed to the Woodlawn Park sign and gave a shoutout to his hometown neighborhood. Walking up onto the bridge in the background, he described the prop as a replica of the Broadway Bridge, which he said he drove on a lot during his depressed college years. The Alberta Market to the left was where fans could find “the best fried chicken in the state.” The labradoodle statue was a nod to Aminé’s fan–favorite dog, Oliver the Menace.
After covering the majority of TWOPOINTFIVE, the rapper took things back to earlier releases. At one point, when performing the 2017 cut “Spice Girl,” his DJ seamlessly transitioned the song’s interpolation, the nominal group’s “Wannabe,” into the song itself as Aminé danced around the stage. The DJ had another memorable moment when he mixed Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” into the skeletal beat of the rapper’s early single “REDMERCEDES.”
Toward the end of the set, Aminé directed the crowd’s attention to his patch–covered pants, a staple from previous tours, detailing that each state got a patch and a signature from a lucky fan. His reasoning was both funny and heartfelt: When he’s old and done with music, why not have some interesting pants to show and prove to his grandkids that he used to be cool? Some workers picked a fan out of the front, who went up to sign the Pennsylvania patch and take a picture with the rapper in front of the Alberta Market.
Aminé closed out the night with some big hits. In the dark, he asked for phone lights to come on as a soft synth led him into the start of “Caroline,” the song that kickstarted his career. He stopped singing as the crowd took hold of the lyrics, waving lights around as the voices and instruments built up to the track’s actual beat. By the time it dropped, the fans were wholly unified in the show’s carefree atmosphere and experiencing, arguably, possibly, the best tour ever.
