Rei Brown Opens For Keshi at The Fonda

Whenever I go to the Fonda, there are only two streets I need to take: Santa Monica and Gower. I usually turn right into the parking lot to the direct left of the theatre from Gower and, since the entrance to the Fonda is around the corner facing Hollywood Boulevard, I don’t usually see much of a line. On June 15th, night two of Keshi’s Fonda shows, however, I saw the line. Not only did the line hook around Hollywood onto Gower, but it stretched all the way back 2 full city blocks - almost reaching Sunset Boulevard, almost a half-mile away. And I got there half an hour before doors, an hour and a half before the first opener, and nearly 3 hours before the start of Keshi’s performance was set to start. Fans had likely been queued up for hours and hours before. This wasn’t your typical LA music crowd, all cool, calm, and collected. These were true, die-hard fans.

To be honest, that worried me a bit. Oftentimes, when die-hard fans go to their favorite artist’s concert, they tend to be overly apprehensive towards opening acts - sometimes hostile. Although everyone was all smiles and giddiness, I couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

That anxiety disappeared the moment that first-of-three soul-pop artist Georgee strutted onto the stage with his laptop. He had the biggest, goofiest smile on his face that just filled the audience with an extra warmth. Georgee started his set with his 2021 song “baby4you,” a sweet, tender love song with some groovy twists. During the soft, dreamy-guitar intro, Georgee’s raspy vocals soared over the crowd, immediately snapping everyone’s attention away from whatever conversations they were in towards the stage.

Once the beat kicked in, Georgee busted out into some killer dance moves. And bye “killer” I meant like I had kind of almost died with laughter - in a good way. He’d do the funniest little shimmies and booty shakes that would just immediately put a smile on my face. Even during the more heartfelt songs where there wasn’t much movement, his goofy side shone through. Before his song “Split” he told the audience that he was “Gonna move this (the mike stand) up cuz I’m gonna be hugging it cuz this is a sad, breakup song.” And after laying his whole heart on the line with his 60s’ soul-infused vocals, he immediately switched geas to talking about his Pokémon card collection - all 18 binders worth. Surprisingly, someone in the audience had some cards on them, which they promptly gave to Georgee to sign.

His talent and humorous charm made Georgee a total rockstar both in my eyes and the eyes of the entire audience. From start to finish - the audience was cheering, dancing, and singing along with Georgee - enraptured by his performance.

The energy continued to grow with the second performer of the night: bedroom-pop artist Rei Brown. Brown waltzed onto the stage with effortless swagger. His pink-buzzed hair, sly smirk, and editorial-level fit just oozed with cool. And his music carried that same cool.

His music had a sensual yet somewhat euphoric feel. His beats had elements of LoFi and Joji-esq bedroom RnB. But his voice was the true star. His voice was delicate yet had immense emotional prowess. His songs had a cinematic element to them as well. It was like he was narrating us through our own coming-of-age film, everyone in the audience growing and transcending through the music.

Funny that I mention Joji - Rei Brown performed his song “Thinking Bout You” that originally featured Joji. Hearing his voice blend with the recording of Joji’s was such a beautiful experience. Their styles meshed so well and the song was so romantic that I immediately had to download it on my Spotify mid-set.

Rei Brown ended his set with a surprising shot of energy. He brought out friend and collaborator Lecz Stacy, a punk-pop singer, to perform their brand new song “White Honda.” The entire audience went from slow-dreamy sways to high-energy jumping and moshing. It was the perfect closer to such an emotional set.

After Rei Brown left to stage, I turned around to head towards the little girls room to find that the crowd had nearly doubled. The Fonda was packed wall-to-wall, seemingly even more crowded thanks to the uproar of chatter and excitement as fans anxiously awaited Keshi’s set. The anticipation made the break feel longer than normal. Fans were literally standing on their tippy-toes trying to see if they could catch a peak of the stage through the curtain. This audience was so laser-focused on the stage that only one lightbulb needed to slightly dim for them to know the show was about to start -trigging an eruption of ear-rinnging screams.

Once the curtains were fully open, the LED screen that had been hiding at the back of the stage came to life: the name “Keshi” shining out into the audience, triggering yet another deluge of screams. In a slow, dramatic, sort of waltz, Keshi emerged from the wings with an intense gleam in his eyes, triggering another - you guessed it - frenzied round of applause. I kid you not, someone literally threw up with excitement not even two yards a way from me (or drunkenness but I choose to believe it was excitement tee hee).

Once he made his way to the mic, Keshi jumped right into to his raging trap infused r&b song “Get It.” At the beauty drop, audience members started jumping to extreme heights as if they were part kangaroo. But, in the more lyrical sections, all movement stopped as all eyes turned their now laser focused attention to Keshi. His voice was smooth and sweet, yet rich with passion and soul. Everything from his crystalline voice, to his chiseled look, to his suave charisma commanded attention. He was truly something to behold - and this was only his first song of the night.

The first third of the show consisted entirely of his dancier, more sensual tracks. I couldn’t help but find myself getting just as lost in the grooves as the die hard fans were. Keshi just had an essence to him - a dazzling aura that shone as brightly as the sun but as cool and calming as the moon. Some of that might have had to do with the cool-tone lighting and the harsh reflective quality of his leather pants and porcelain skin, but I hold on to the belief that it is his music, his mere presence that elicited such a powerful, entrancing light.

For the middle section of his set, Keshi decided to slow it down a bit. Keshi performed a series of swoon-worthy, jazz-infused ballads. His voice and presence gained a soft, tenderness that melted into the sounds of the music. As I looked around the theater, I saw that couples had begun to slowly sway together, friends had joined together hand in hand, and that heart-felt smiles had climbed onto the faces of each individual in the crowd.

I decided to take this quiet moment, to wander the theater for a bit. I briefly visited the upper balcony where I saw some older fans sitting and relaxing to the music. I also saw some more eager fans taking advantage of the extra space available on the upper balcony to perform a more elaborate slow dance.

I also wandered up to the rooftop balcony for a little while. There’s a gorgeous view of the hills and Hollywood Boulevard as well as a giant projector screen and speakers broadcasting the show from downstairs. There were only a few couples lounging on the couches, nursing their drinks while I was up there. It was so peaceful and perfect. The sweet strumming of Keshi’s guitar and the calmness in his voice only added to the warmth and comfort of the environment. I ended up staying there for almost 15 full minutes just watching the show from the screen.

For the rest of the show, I headed back down to the pit and found a short wall to lean on by the bar. Keshi picked up the energy once again to close out the show. Honestly, those last few songs were a total blur. I was completely caught up in the energy of the crowd and the tingly warmth I felt inside. Keshi’s performance was captivating and almost transformative in that way. It was the escape and breath of fresh air I desperately needed.