Wiz Khalifa & friends smoke out St. Louis with Good Vibes Only

Now, I’ve heard of a ‘contact high’, but I personally think I got a concert high the evening Wiz Khalifa’s Good Vibes Only Tour hit St. Louis. It was my first time ever going to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater and, while I have always heard great things, I had no idea just how massive the venue actually is. As I made my way towards my seat, it felt like I was passing through a miniature music festival: several outdoor bars were stationed to grab drinks as you went through the place, as well as a variety of food trucks and a large hangout section where you could find additional seating or play yard games. 

While I enjoy listening to rap and hip hop, I’ll admit to you that I have only seen a few live shows that land in those genres up to this point.

So, you can understand my surprise when I saw the first few acts throwing pre-rolled joints out to a very excited (and soon to be very stoned) crowd. Large clouds of smoke quickly engulfed the pit of people standing before the stage, billowing upward before fusing with the humid Missouri heat. 

This show was jam-packed with artists performing back-to-back on one of the hottest summer days St. Louis has experienced all year. The first half of the night opened with DJ Bonics, Fedd The God, and Chevy Woods, each bringing an addictive energy to the stage. The excitement really picked up by the time DaBaby took to the stage though. Appearing with an entire crew of backup dancers decked out in Cardinals baseball jerseys and wearing a large pair of Cardinals baseball-themed overalls himself, DaBaby made it known that St. Louis representation was in full flux. He wasn’t on the stage very long before he walked to the back of the amphitheater, where a large crowd of fans circled around him dancing and cheering. At one point, DaBaby leaned down and let one of his fans sing along with him into the microphone before making his way back up front. 

The show changed pace next with Sean Paul, the second-to-last performance of the night.

Born and raised in Jamaica, Sean Paul’s musical talents span across a wide spectrum of genres including hip hop, reggae, R&B, dancehall, and — most recently — Latin music. Even after 25 years of performing, Sean Paul did not once hold back this night. The stage stayed illuminated with a variety of music video clips and psychedelic imagery that paired well with many of his most popular songs. I watched as person after person began to stand from their seats and start dancing, hundreds of voices all singing his lyrics in unison. Despite the heat, his performance is what ultimately kept up the crowd’s momentum.

And, before we knew it, the moment we had all been waiting for had finally arrived. The amphitheater, which was once sparse of people, had been growing in size throughout the evening as and now looked completely full up. The building was dark except for the deep blue glow that emitted from the stage lights, creating a black silhouette of a single mic stand waiting for its voice. Before another moment could pass, the murmur of the audience suddenly turned into booming cheers as Wiz Khalifa appeared from the wings of the stage. 

Sitting in the audience, I observed the crowd around me excitedly taking photos and rapping along, not missing a single word.

Even those in the far back of the amphitheater on the lawn didn’t let the distance stop them from enjoying the moment. The best place to be, though, was obviously the pit right up front; I couldn’t help but be envy of those standing right in front of Wiz, dancing and bopping giant inflatable joints back and forth while lighting real joints. Wiz Khalifa himself was lighting up onstage; it was almost as if he was right there with everyone else, puffing and passing from person to person. 

Khalifa’s set included a great variety of songs spanning across his multi-decade career, rapping with that same intensity and effortlessness as always. Periodically, he would disappear in large waves of smoke that shot up from the stage, bathing in saturated reds and blues from the lights. While I might not have taken part in smoking any weed that evening, at the end of the night, this concert had me feeling absolutely high as a kite as I walked out the venue — just on good vibes only. Now, that’s one hell of a drug!

Photography by Sean Rider

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