The Under the Influence Tour has kickstarted their summer tour with artists Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, B.O.B. among others playing their hit anthems at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Thursday night in Irvine, California.

Cameron Jibril Thomaz, more commonly known by his stage name “Wiz Khalifa”, strode onto the stage with quick fluidity. Dressed in simple white pants sagged to display his Calvin Klein boxers, Khalifa went for his usual topless stage attire with the customary gold chains swinging around his neck. 

Hair spiked with tinged dreads, he rapped the lyrics to several of his hit songs with surprising precision and sound-a-like to the original recordings.  Among his popular tracks: “No Sleep”, “Roll Up” and a fan favorite of his cover of The Weeknd’s “Remember You”

Confetti burst through the air during the crowd favorite of “Black and Yellow,” showering the stage and crowd. The true star who stole the show was a large white blunt mascot swathed in cloth and a smiley face, dancing on the stage throughout song performances particularly filled with references of weed.  

In a true ode to the “Under the Influence” fashion, the concert was heavily themed to make not-so-subtle hints pointing toward their love for Mary Jane. The sound and light system on the stage pulsed in varying shades of green and yellow and smoke machines shrouded the stage with not an air of mystery but a lighthearted reverence to smoking bud. 

The crowd was composed of healthy mix of teenagers and college students, eager to celebrate the breezy summer night. Snapbacks and Chuck Taylor sneakers galore, and the telltale smell of marijuana wafted through the stands of the stadium. Liam Wilhem, a 17 year-old student from Trabuco Hills, arrived at the concert with friends decked out in his Taylor Gang t-shirt, black and yellow TG varsity jacket and a standard pair of red Chucks. 

Bryan Richardson, a 21-year-old graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, comments that B.o.B. came through and got the show started earlier in the day. “He really got the crowd going when he ran through the stands during his performance. A$AP came on after and had crowd going crazy. There were fireworks going off in the back of the theater to make things even crazier. They were easily the best two artists of the night and made the show.“

Khalifa invited his infamous Taylor Gang posse to make reappearances on the stage throughout the night as he performed his hits, all dressed in coordinated outfits of white and black. Several of his band members wore black hooded sweatshirts featuring the block letters “TGOD” on the front, no doubt reminders of their group namesake. 

Taylor Gang is a reference to Khalifa’s longtime group and posse, which he started in high school with a group of his friends. The name originated from the uniform Chuck Taylor sneakers they all wore, which were a common sneaker of choice among all the attendees of the concert last night. 

The group came onstage had the entire crowd cheering and chanting “Taylor Gang, Taylor Gang” as Khalifa announced they would be giving a pair of autographed Chucks away to the best fans he saw in the stadium that night. Judging by the crowd’s responding energy and screaming, it was clear they all thought they were serious contenders for the prize.

Wiz and his company of A$AP Rocky, Trinidad James, B.o.B. among others recently kicked off their two month long Under the Influence Tour just two nights ago in Mountain View, California. They will be trekking across the country through mid-August, making stops in Colorado, Texas, and New York, finishing their tour on at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati Ohio. 

Read more of NT's show reviews here.