Hello, Dear Reader. If you can cast your mind back a few months, you may remember the time we stood in a tightly packed crowd of people for 2 or 3 hours waiting for a Tyler, The Creator show that never happened. Well this time we waited in an orderly queue for 10 minutes, and the show actually did happen, which is a definite step in the right direction as far as both comfort and payoff are concerned.
Since his Theresa May-mandated ban from the UK expired, Tyler has been playing around with the freedom to visit London again – first with the previously mentioned failed Peckham show, then with a merch giveaway in Shoreditch – but September’s three sold out dates at Brixton were the real announcement of his triumphant return. Fans begin to queue at 7am for a spot at the barrier, and 12 hours later when the doors open, the line stretches all the way around the block and then a bit further. If Tyler was worried that a few years away from the country had dulled the appetite for his music, it looks like he can breathe a sigh of relief.
Down the road, recently returned culture bible The Face are holding a pop-up shop where he’s invited fans to ‘grab a magazine / see a shoe’. Inside, there are mags for sale, and a single pair of shoes to see, so we guess it’s an accurate description (with double the advertised amount of shoes). There’s also talks on filmmaking, music writing and a radio workshop, but as the show looms ever closer the room empties out and the few remaining people are left with a free pineapple soda each and some time alone with the shoes (they’re his new collaboration with Converse and no, they aren’t for sale, they’re encased in plastic and just for admiring.)
