Childish Gambino – The Deep Web Tour 2014

The feelings audience poll.

Childish Gambino created a tour that was not talked about enough, in my opinion. Childish Gambino is an artist that is very interested in and innovative with technology. For his 2014 tour for his album entitled, “because the internet,” Childish Gambino created a live show that not only immersed the audience in the world of the show but included the audience in the show as well. Childish Gambino had Producer/DJ Stefan Ponce open his show. While the DJ played music for the audience, the audience all signed on to the Deep Web Tour app on their smartphones and were then able to interact with the screen up on the stage. The audience members could draw pictures or write messages on their phones using the app and then send them to be displayed on the screen for the entire venue to see. Not only did the audience members participate but Childish Gambino and his crew also sent things to the screen to interact with fans. Not only did this keep the audience entertained, it was an amazing and innovative way to enhance the concert-going experience. As a concert/live show veteran, I will tell you, the worst part of going to see a live show is waiting in the crowd for the headliner to take the stage and this activity definitely made the waiting in the crowd part of the show not bad at all.

When it was time for Childish Gambino to take the stage, that’s when the most interesting and fantastic technological aspects of the show began taking place. On the screen lines began to create a blueprint which then transitioned display the inside of a mansion that completed the scene set on the stage, a party at a mansion. These aspects of the show immersed the audience in this environment Childish Gambino created. He continued to use the screen to influence the mood during certain songs and to interact with the audience again. In the middle of his set, after an emotional song, Childish Gambino had the audience use the app on their phones again to gauge how the audience was feeling at this point during the show with one of the sentiments for the audience to choose from being, “Some type of way.” Below are some photos I took from show from the crowd:

Here the background screen displays giant speakers. Blue lights are used onstage as well, making the entire stage.

Here you can see that there is a pink light shining on the front of the stage while blue lights are used both on and above the stage in the background. You can see points where the pink and blue lights mix and purple appears.

Pay attention to the screen backdrop in this photo. This image looks 3D and gives the effect as if the audience can really see into the mansion/are in it. One of the two chandeliers is also visible in this photo. These details immerse the audience in the set scene.

A second screen was lowered in front of the front row during the show for more special effects and visuals.