Denzel Curry performs at the Warfield in San Francisco on April 10, 2022. Matt Pang/STAFF

SAN FRANCISCO — With the recent shift in artistic direction Denzel Curry took on his new album, Melt My Eyez See Your Future, his fans at the packed Warfield must have wondered how it would inform his performance on stage. As it turned out, his new openness continued. Curry struck a balance between his iconic older work with the more personal direction of his newest project.

The Florida rapper took to the stage with a large screen behind him displaying what looked like a Mars rover and kicked off the show with “Melt Session #1.” With an energetic shoulder-to-shoulder crowd cheering for more, he began to pace in time to “Walkin” as a video of a robed man wandering through a desert with the dunes gradually taking on the shape of human bodies.

Beautiful city skylines shined behind Curry during “Worst Comes To Worst.” Denzel shouted out JPEGMAFIA for his contribution to the lead single from Melt My Eyez See Your Future, “John Wayne.” Following a somber rendition of “The Last,” he spoke to the audience, expressing his love for the Bay Area and explaining how the song was a product of the chaos of 2020.

Denzel Curry performs at The Warfield in San Francisco, on April 10, 2022.

Curry spoke of how many of these issues take a toll on the psyche, which naturally led into “Mental.” The performance was visually accompanied by images of a destroyed city with skulls strewn about. Such images brought to mind Russia’s war in Ukraine, but could also be interpreted as humanity’s apparent propensity for self-destruction. Denzel asked attendees to reflect on their personal troubles, making a point about how all problems are temporary. This led into “Troubles” and “Ain’t No Way.”

In the next part of the show, Denzel Curry focused on his older material. After gauging audience interest, he jumped into “This Life,” off 2016’s Imperial. He asked fans to throw up their phone lights up for “SIRENS | Z1RENZ,” as fans swayed back and forth in sync.

PlayThatBoiZay performs at The Warfield in San Francisco, on April 10, 2022.

Curry spoke about playing at Oakland’s The New Parish, and soon after brought a fan on stage to lead the audience in a clap, setting the tempo for “WISH.” Other popular tracks included “Threatz,” “RICKY,” “SUMO | ZUMO,” “Ultimate,” “ULT,” “SPEEDBOAT” and “CLOUT COBAIN | CLOUT CO13A1N.”

Curry concluded the main set where he started, back on the new album with “X-Wing” before the lights went down again. He built anticipation with record scratches courtesy of Kenny Mason and jumped into “Sanjuro,” “Zatoichi” and “The Ills,” also new cuts.

Once again building some anticipation, Curry returned to the stage to perform “DIET_,” from Unlocked, his collaborative project with Kenny Beatz. The show finally came to an end with Denzel bringing all of the night’s opening acts to take a bow.

AG Club performs at The Warfield in San Francisco, on April 10, 2022.

The openers showed a tenacity and energy that was matched by the audience. PlayThatBoiZay, who’s from Curry’s hometown in Florida, delivered a number of bangers, including his hit song, “Bitin’.” Texas rapper Mike Dimes took to the stage next with a similarly high-energy performance. Some attendees went wild when the strings of “WISS,” from his album In Dimes We Trust kicked in.

East Bay hip-hop collective AG Club performed a short set of bangers like “COLUMBIA.” The group, whose name stands for “Avant Garde Club,” consists of 14 members and is based in Antioch. 

Follow editor Tim Hoffman at Twitter.com/hipsterp0tamus.