Pouya kicked off his 'They Could Never Make Me' Tour in Orlando, Florida, at the Beacham on February 25th. Freddie Dredd and Cursed will be joining him on the North American leg of the tour, which will conclude in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 24th. After that, the tour will continue in Canada with Fat Nick and Killswitch. This tour celebrates his new full-length album, entitled Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac, Pt. 3, which was released on February 21st.
Before entering the venue, a warning on the door indicated that strobes and lasers would be used during the performance. I knew I was in for an impressive light show. The screens behind the performer featured various illusions throughout the show, including palm trees struck by lightning, an eerie bloodshot eyeball, and an animation that welcomed Pouya to the stage at the beginning.
Pouya opened with some new songs from his album, which had just been released four days prior. Despite that, the crowd knew every word and screamed them with passion, clearly hoping to catch his attention. Pouya addressed the audience, saying, “I was telling my friend that I hope you all know the new songs, the ones I haven’t performed yet, and YOU KNEW THIS SHIT!”. Pouya performed old classics, including the song “$outh $ide $uicide” featuring $uicideboy$, which had full audience participation. He also played “1000 Rounds,” where he mentions, “Shout out to my brother,” referring to GHOSTEMANE, who is also featured on the track. A song that had everyone jumping in the air and singing along was a new song called “Rot,” in which he pointed the microphone to the crowd and the room filled with the lyrics “I can feel my brain rot, rot, rot”.
Pouya, hailing from Miami-Dade County, playfully asked the crowd, "This is Florida, right?" He expressed his excitement about being in the best state in the world and how grateful he was to kick off his tour there. During a heartfelt moment on stage, Pouya declared, "Let's get sad in this bitch," as he performed his track from Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac Pt. 2, which was released in 2018. The audience lit up the room by shining their phone lights in the air, shouting along, and nodding their heads to the rhythm. During several songs, the music was paused briefly, but Pouya skillfully rapped all the verses without a beat. As he wrapped up the performance, he connected with the crowd, sharing that he would have taken his own life if not for the support of the people in attendance.
