‘Never Alone in a Crowd’ with Oliver tree
“Never Alone in A Crowd” Oliver Tree at The Aragon Ballroom
Oliver Tree - Aragon Ballroom 1.13.24
Written by Nicholas Alexikakos
est. 5-7 minute read
The lights dim, and the crowd hushes to the almost-quiet anticipation as an obnoxiously bright pink couch is wheeled to the center of the stage. A lonely man sits by himself with his back to the crowd. Aragon Ballroom waits with bated breath before he speaks: “The show is cancelled. We aren’t playing for you tonight. There are NO refunds. No, no, stop screaming, I am NOT playing this show. Nope. Sorry. There’s just too many fucking posers in the crowd tonight.” He falls silent. A giant TV remote appears, and he turns the screen behind him on.
WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SHOW OF ALL TIME - OLIVER TREE
When Oliver Tree set out to create the stage design and tour theme for Alone in a Crowd, his latest album released on September 29th of last year, his vision was massive and, to some, definitely improbable. A concert that is also a movie that is also a TV show that is also a play that features stand up comedy and dangerous* live stunts is not an easy task to take on, let alone accomplish (*note: not that dangerous, although he did almost fall off of a stage prop). Yet somehow, Oliver Tree made it work.
The Alone in a Crowd Tour kicked off on January 13, 2024, in Chicago, IL at the Aragon Ballroom. I’d been a fan of Oliver Tree and his music for several years at this point; I’d found “Hurt” from the 2020 hit Ugly is Beautiful on a Spotify playlist and had immediately fallen in love. This tour was to be my first time seeing him live, and I was ecstatic. I’d missed previous chances to catch one of his previous “final” tours. I’d heard, too, from my friend that he is an incredible performer, and there’s no greater truth than seeing is believing. However, all of that, and even the few videos I had seen online of his previous runs, had not prepared me for the wild two-hour-long journey through Oliver Tree’s discography I was about to embark on.
ACT I, STARRING CORNELIUS CUMMINGS
The show opens with an on-screen introduction to Cornelius Cummings, Oliver Tree’s stage persona for the Alone in a Crowd album cycle, following about ten minutes of various other commercials of Oliver’s characters. Cornelius is introduced with an official diagnosis “severe case of Main Character Syndrome” before a news report from Chad Chadwick (yet another Tree character) interrupts the program. The screen splits with a breaking news report before Oliver— dressed as Cornelius, with a bright pink overcoat that matches the couch and a black bob paired with skinny sunglasses— begins performing.
The energy of the crowd amps up and does not drop from the moment “Miss You” starts playing. Behind Oliver and his band (who are also dressed as Cornelius Cummings) is a constant stream of footage from the music videos that correspond with the song being performed. It’s not hard to understand why: Tree “Bounce”s all around the stage to engage with different sections of
the crowd while doing the Robot, and it’s impossible for the crowd in front of him to not siphon his “Essence” and lose their minds.
But almost as quickly as Cornelius came, he disappears into the dark sitting on the couch he rode in on.
ACT II, STARRING SHAWNEY BRAVO
A brief commercial break for Slime Energy Drinks (not to be confused with Prime Energy Drinks) is shown before introducing Shawney Bravo, Tree’s persona for his 2022 album Cowboy Tears. Off-stage, a voice demands the crowd to turn on their cell phone lights. The lights go up and reveal the band, now dressed as a sheriff and two cowboys, before something incredible happens.
Tree— clad in Bravo’s signature denim jacket with fringe, denim cowboy hat, and (admittedly) ugly blond mullet— is wheeled on stage... sat atop a plastic cow. In the middle of “Cowboys Don’t Cry,” the cow spins while Tree is standing up on the saddle. There was not a silent ticket holder in attendance, be it because everyone was losing their minds at the spinning cow in front of them, or because everyone cried along with Bravo’s character as he sheds his “Cowboy Tears” over a lost love.
The cow is then abducted by aliens, signaling an end to Shawney’s segment before a commercial about pickles is shown on screen.
ACT III, UGLY IS BEAUTIFUL
Arguably Oliver Tree’s most well-known character, Turbo is introduced to the crowd as “everybody’s main character” who was “born to be an icon” (according to his mom). The house lights raise to reveal Oliver and his band back on stage in the iconic pink and purple windbreaker, JNCO jeans, pink dollar store sunglasses, and bowl cut as they launch into the final hour of the evening.
The infectious energy Tree had during Act I returns. He owns the stage and knows exactly what he’s doing with it. The gags and giggles aren’t sacrificed, though— after a brief intermission, Tree and one of his bandmates are given comically large (as in, bigger than either Tree or his bandmate) guitars that they proceed to play “Miracle Man” and “Cash Machine.” Tree abandons his instrument halfway through the latter song to bring more energy to Aragon Ballroom, leaping across the stage so intensely his bowl cut lands on the floor.
There is an intermission of sorts during Act III where Tree plays video games with an even larger SNES controller that is confiscated after his death in-game. He follows his epic defeat with an equally epic performance of his two biggest hits, “Life Goes On” and “Hurt.” The performance was so energetic, in fact, that Tree lost his JNCO jeans around his ankles before the end of the night. He didn’t let that stop him, though. He just jumped out of them and finished the show in his underwear. A true performer, dedicated to the craft. The crowd matches his energy, too, finishing the song out for him acapella with as much fervor as humanly possible after having watched him jump up and down, pantless and bald, on a bright pink couch.
The show ends with a bow from Tree and his band before rolling credits on screen that took, legitimately, another ten minutes to get through. (Yes, I watched the entire thing. Happily.)
“OLIVER TREE IS DEAD”
I can confidently say that I have, without a doubt, never been to a concert like Oliver Tree’s Alone in a Crowd Tour in my life. Tree’s showmanship and devotion to not only his craft but his fans as well are unparalleled, and it’s clear that behind the goofy personas and silly album promos he does is an artist unlike any other in the scene.
I was not prepared for the amount of stage production that Tree had. The weather in Chicago was unrelentingly challenging, and I can only imagine that there were pieces of his show that were cut due to that (for example, there were no scooter tricks that I’ve heard others experienced after the Chicago date), but even with missing pieces and inclement weather, the show was above and beyond any expectations I had walking in. The fake commercials for Slime and Goatigro were hilarious, as were the segments introducing Turbo, Shawney, Cornelius, and any segment in between. The stage props were on brand and flowed with the performance in a way that enhanced it and didn’t feel like it was just there to be there. Tree himself was energetic, funny, and he was damn good at hyping the crowd up and keeping it hype. The walls echoed as we all sang back at him. I have never had such a visually fun time at a show.
I would recommend anyone to see Oliver Tree at least once if they can. Even if you only know/like one or two songs, the effort that Tree and his team give and the lengths they go to in production alone are worth the cost of the ticket. You’ll pay for a concert, but you’ll walk away having danced through the experience of a lifetime.
Stock Image of Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL