Future X Metro Boomin arrive fashionably late to entertaining headlining set: Lollapalooza review

High temperatures and frustration are never a good concert combo, and those elements nearly boiled over Saturday night as fans waited for a heavily delayed, ultimately abbreviated headlining set by rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin, who performed for about 45 minutes on Lollapalooza’s north main stage.

“It’s not Rage energy …” joked a fan nearby as concertgoers began jumping the general admission guardrail during the delay, referencing arguably Lollapalooza’s single rowdiest crowd, an infamously massive throng assembled to see political rockers Rage Against the Machine in 2008. “It’s a little more subdued.”

That it was. But some fans being pushed up against the guardrail during the delay began calling out to staffers that a crowd surge from general admission into the VIP section flanking the stage was imminent. As staffers scurried to help fans spilling over the guardrail, no actual security was present. They were busy tackling someone on stage for all fans to see — as stagehands appeared to work on the stage itself in the run-up to the set’s late start.

Once the performance finally began, 30 minutes late at 9:15 p.m., things appeared to calm somewhat, despite a strange energy lingering — but only temporarily.

“Attention, attention. Ladies and gentlemen ..." came the on stage announcement 25 minutes later as Future and Metro Boomin were forced to halt the performance at 9:40, just 25 minutes in. “I need you guys to take five steps back and relieve the pressure. We have to relieve the pressure to resume the show.”

Live images of the performance stopped as the massive screens flanking each side of the stage turned red, reading “ATTENTION: PLEASE TAKE A FEW STEPS BACK AND THE SHOW WILL RESUME SHORTLY.”

The Future X Metro Boomin “We Trust You” tour has been plagued from go, with the duo having already canceled five performances last month. “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” said Future, taking to the Lollapalooza stage 30 minutes late to crushing applause nevertheless.

In opener “Superhero,” pyro fountains soared from the stage as Metro emerged in a White Sox jersey. “Put your hands up into the sky!” he said, counting in the song.

Known for his collaborative endeavors, Future first began working with Metro Boomin on his sophomore studio album “Honest” in 2014, with the producer taking part in cuts like the title track and “I Won” ahead of an even bigger role on the “DS2” album in 2015.

Teaming up on the 2016 mixtape “Purple Reign,” the duo offered up their first two albums together, dropping “We Don’t Trust You” and “We Still Don’t Trust You” this past March and April respectively.

“We gotta go back to the 'DS2' days!” said Metro Boomin, setting up “Thought It Was a Drought.”

The Twitterverse was in full on meltdown over rumors of a possible Drake appearance, which could’ve squashed infamous Future/Drake beef. That never transpired, with energy reaching a boiling point as the duo moved forward with their entertaining set despite the early issues, offering up “Low Life” late.

“I knew Chicago was gonna come out and show up,” shouted Future as the set neared its final moments.

Lollapalooza 2024 in photos