Photos provided by United Center

Closing out 2023 with the best-selling hip-hop album, which is currently nominated for a Grammy Award, and instantly moving more than half a million tickets gave Travis Scott tons of momentum to take the “Utopia – Circus Maximus” Tour back around America.

Those who sold out all 360 degrees of the United Center on a mere Monday were reminded why he’s arguably the leading rapper in the game, at least as far as right now is concerned, thanks to not only a near decade’s worth of epic singles, but a completely one-of-kind stage spectacle that singlehandedly raised the bar for arena-level artists of any genre.

Granted, this marks Scott’s initial string of dates after the Astroworld Festival tragedy, but the two-hour extravaganza seemed incident free and electrifying from the hype-worthy tip off “Hyaena.”

“Thank God” and “Modern Jam” followed on the mountain-like mound of ancient ruins stretching through the entire arena floor as Scott regularly worked every angle, accompanied by a ceiling-spanning screen ensuring everyone could witness his abundant charisma, which took equal cues from a pool of superheroes and any top professional wrestler making an earth-shaking entrance.

As the jaw-dropping night progressed, backed by merely a sole DJ, so did the steady stream stream of fireballs, smokestacks, heads of gods beaming lasers and a boulder-styled elevator occasionally giving a few lucky fans a lift.

At least half the tracks came from his latest long-player, but there was still a fair share from “Astroworld” and “Rodeo,” plus for those who’ve really been there since the beginning, mixtape tunes such as “Upper Echelon” and “Mamacita.”

Yet it was “I Know ?” and “Fe!n” that probably earned the most enormous pops, the latter performed not just once, but found its introduction reprised five times as Scott pointed towards specific sections and raised the collective roar in each instance.

He saved fellow scream-a-longs “Sicko Mode” and “Goosebumps” for the home stretch, while the subdued by comparison “Telekinesis” transported the masses to a chilled-out galaxy to cool down as the video wall documented the megastar making his triumphant exit.

For additional information on Travis Scott, visit TravisScott.com.

For a list of upcoming Live Nation concerts, visit LiveNation.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the United Center include Madonna (Feb. 1-2); Zach Bryan (Mar. 5-7); Eagles (Mar. 8-9); Olivia Rodrigo (Mar. 19-20); Dan + Shay (Mar. 22); Bad Bunny (Mar. 28-30); Bert Kreischer (Apr. 4); Nicki Minaj (Apr. 24-25); Tim McGraw (May 31); Tyler Childers (Jun. 13); Janet Jackson (Jun. 19); Windy City Smokeout (Jul. 11-14) and Sebastian Maniscalco (Nov. 8-9). For additional details, visit UnitedCenter.com.

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