Bryson Tiller shows he is “back and better” with his 2023 tour after six years
By Joulisa Francis
After a two-year hiatus from his last album, “A Different Christmas,” the R&B singer quickly drew fans’ attention after announcing his “Back and I’m Better” tour in March. Upon approaching the Fillmore, I was shocked at the line being wrapped around the building— with more fans quickly rushing out of their vehicles to join the wait. It was as to be expected since Tiller’s last tour was six years ago, many fans were excited to see what the singer had in store.
The Fillmore venue continued to get packed in with numerous fans waiting in anticipation. The opener: DJ Nitrane, entered the stage energetically, ready to get the crowd going. He flooded the venue with trending R&B and rap songs by popular artists, including SZA, Brent Faiyaz, Drake among others. He also threw in some oldies but goodies songs for longterm R&B fans, such as “Love” by Keyshia Cole. Through the setlist he curated, he maintained the crowd’s energy and enthusiasm throughout the hour he was on stage, constantly asking us if we were ready to see the main performance of the night.
When DJ Nitrane left the stage, I noticed the props the crew used to set up the stage: four arcade game consoles. I assumed he was matching the “retro” concept of his tour, but I believe more stage props could have added to the fan experience. Bryson Tiller came out immediately after a brief 10 minute intermission with his recent song, “Gotta Move On,” which caused fans to go into a frenzy. The first thing I noticed was the obvious lack of singing, unfortunately only hearing his real voice for ad libs he would add throughout the performance. Although the majority of the audience seemed to simply be excited to see him in person, some fans pointed this out towards the end of the show. However, his setlist was great. Tiller performed a mix of his most popular songs, some gems from his previous albums and even new music for an upcoming project he announced to be working on. The atmosphere was laid back as he glided along the stage, seemingly letting the music do the talking for him.
As different songs played, the background screen would change to different colors and lighting to match the aesthetic. My personal favorite part was during the song, “Sorry Not Sorry,” when the screen and arcade machine changed to show various retro old-school combat games. It definitely drew my attention back into the concert, as his energy was also higher compared to the other songs. TIller’s stage presence was lackluster at first, as some fans around me complained about not being able to see him because he would be singing with his head down and not facing the audience. Later on, he improved as he began walking around the stage more, pointing at and interacting with various fans. At one point, Tiller stopped the show to help dehydrated fans who were passing out, which was a great thing to do.
Tiller ended the performance after exactly one hour with his song, “Right My Wrongs,” which left fans emotionally chanting the lyrics with their flashes from their phone on. Fans did not expect him to leave so soon; as the song ended, they waited anxiously for more. After saying a brief thank you to the fans, Tiller extended his arms to do the peace signs and yelled, “Peace!” before quickly exiting the stage. I was a little shocked at how quickly the performance went, as most fans were still waiting until the stage dimmed. Quite frankly, I expected a more passionate performance since his music is mellow and soulful. However, since he has not performed in many years, I can only hope his next tour for his new upcoming project will be more energetic as he adjusts to performing again.