Has Eden Park bitten off more than it can chew?

Travis Scott is bringing the rage. It could test the limits of Tāmaki Makaurau’s premiere stadium.

It has successfully hosted the cosy acoustics of Billy Joel and Ed Sheeran.

It has accommodated the gentle reggae-rock of Six60.

It has coped with the high-wire acrobatics of Pink.

Since Eden Park negotiated with its irate neighbours to host six concerts a year, the Mt Eden sports stadium has even been able to tame the curfew-breaking antics of Axl Rose and his reformed Guns N’ Roses.

In October, Eden Park faces its biggest test yet.

Travis Scott, the rapper on stage at the time the Astroworld festival tragedy took place, is going to be unlike anything Tāmaki Makaurau’s premiere outdoor concert venue has seen.

As was announced on Tuesday morning, Scott will play here for the first time on October 31. That’s when his Circus Maximus tour, the one currently raging around Europe, arrives down under.

When I say rage, I mean rage.

Scott’s show’s are bruising spectacles of unrelenting anger. The Houston rapper, one of the world’s biggest, stalks around the stage, barking orders at his fans, demanding they give him as much energy as possible, and then he gives it back, double-fold.

He calls his fans “ragers” for a reason.

A bit of catharsis at a concert can be a good thing.

But there’s a giant question mark hanging over Scott ahead of his tour here.

It comes from Astroworld, Scott’s Houston music festival where, in 2021, a performance got completely out of control.

As Scott’s headlining set was being streamed around the world via Apple Music, including into my West Auckland home, a terrifying crowd crush caused a “mass casualty” event in which 10 people died.

Here’s Natalie Hollis’ account of that night, as told to Business Insider:

“I was stuck between ginormous men — screaming that I was going to die, I can't breathe, I need help. People refused to help us. There were other people trying to escape who were holding the back of my head, ripping my hair out trying to stay connected to me so they could get out with me. Everyone was crying and screaming. … When we got out, all we could see was hell. Some people had broken bones. Others were passed out.”

This person, who spoke to Rolling Stone ($$), blames Scott for not stopping his show:

“If he would’ve stopped the concert, or paused it, people would have settled down and the situation could have been assessed a lot better. If he could see someone was passed out, he could’ve seen something should’ve been done. This started from the very beginning of the concert. So it went from about 9pm, that’s when I passed out. And went on till about 10.15, 10.30.”

Lawsuits still hang over that event, questioning how much of the carnage Scott was responsible for.

Yet his career hasn’t just survived, it’s thrived. He released his fourth album Utopia in 2023 to mostly positive reviews. He resumed touring, launching his Circus Maximus tour in October last year. It’s that tour we’ll be getting here in just a few months.

I’ve trawled through his European performances and Scott’s shows remain full-on spectacles that include heaving moshpits, hyped fans, and whatever this is.

It includes a gigantic apocalyptic concrete structure that spreads across the venue and gives Scott a platform to scream from, jump around on, and bark orders from.

Some nights Scott performs his most hyper song ‘Fein!’ up to seven times.

So the question has to be asked: is Eden Park ready for this?

I asked them exactly that and received this reply:

“The security protocols and the management of crowds at every event held at Eden Park, along with the venue setup and stage configuration, prioritises the safety, security, and well-being of all our patrons while also optimising the fan experience.

“When planning for a large-scale event, including a concert, our event management team collaborates closely with the hirer, New Zealand Police, Hato St Johns, FENZ, and health and safety experts to develop and implement a comprehensive operations management plan that includes best-practice crowd management strategies and safety protocols.

“This process involves conducting a detailed risk assessment to identify proactive measures for mitigating potential risks.”

It sounds like they’re on top of it.

But here’s the thing.

I’ve been in a Travis Scott moshpit, and I’ve experienced the kind of unhinged behaviour his music can inspire.

In 2016, before Scott was due to perform a sold out Powerstation show he cancelled at the last minute, I flew to Sydney to see him perform at Metro Theatre, a venue about twice the size of the Powerstation.

At the time, Scott was affiliated with Kanye West, then the world’s biggest rapper. He had several hit singles, including ‘Antidote’ and ‘Goosebumps’. Advance reports were that his shows were full-on spectacles of rage.

He did not disappoint.

Scott ranted at the crowd.

He raged at security.

He threw fans and management off his stage.

I remember marveling at the anger that radiated from him as he stalked around the stage.

I remember gasping at the ferocious moshpit I was too scared to fully embrace.

At one point, Scott crowdsurfed over the front rows then performed ‘Pick up the Phone’ directly behind me.

Open the Mosh: Travis Scott at Sydney’s Metro Theatre in 2016. (Photo: Chris Schulz)

It was intensely thrilling to see an act with so much promise, one clearly destined for stadiums, perform in such a small venue.

At the time I wrote: “It was like someone locked Drake in a cage for three months and fed him nothing but raw beef.”

But even back then there was a danger to Scott’s performance, an unpredictable feeling that anything could happen at any moment.

We now know what happens when appropriate safety measures aren’t taken to contain his shows.

Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner has promised Scott’s Eden Park performance will be “truly historic”.

Please let it be for all the right reasons.

Travis Scott performs at Eden Park on October 31; presales begin on July 29.

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