Halfway through the second leg of his “From the Bay to the Universe” tour, Oakland native G-Eazy performed some of his newest songs and also shared a sneak peak of his new music video at 9:30 Club on Jan. 20. The sold-out show featured G-Eazy’s fellow Bay Area musicians including Kehlani, Jay Ant, Kool John of The Heartbreak Gang and Marty Grimes.
Joined by two backup dancers, Kehlani opened the show with a performance of “Get Away,” which became popular when G-Eazy remixed it late last year. The 19-year-old, who refers to herself as “Lani Tsunami,” then performed material from her new mixtape, “Touch the Sky with Me.” Her performance ended with “FWU (Loyal),” during which she sat on the edge of the stage and sang intimately to the crowd.
Jay Ant performed next, hyping up the crowd with a chant of “Hey, where the bay at?” and “shouts out to Jay Ant,” a line from his and G-Eazy’s song, “Far Alone.” He pulled a girl up from the crowd and sang to her before asking for a kiss.
ADENA MAIER, THE EAGLE
The screen on the stage flickered on to reveal a minute-long countdown until G-Eazy would arrive on stage. When the time ran out, G-Eazy, dressed in his usual all-black ensemble, burst out from behind the curtains and performed the fan favorite, “Downtown Love.” The screen behind him played segments from some of his music videos.
The crowd was composed mostly of teenaged girls, and when G-Eazy asked the single ladies to put their hands up and shout, a collective noise resonated through the venue.
He performed three recent releases, “Why Thank You,” “I Might” and “Show You The World,” as well as several throwbacks like “Monica Lewinsky” and “Lady Killers.”
G-Eazy reminisced about the last time he had played at 9:30 Club and how only a handful of people came to watch him perform.
He then invited Kool John on stage to share a joint and then performed a few hits from his album “These Things Happen,” including “Opportunity Cost,” “Tumblr Girls,” “Almost Famous” and “Been On.”
G-Eazy’s set combined the infectious energy of an up-and-coming act with the refined stage presence of a performer well beyond his years. Bay Area-style rap and hip-hop is beginning to spread across the nation, and G-Eazy is at least partially responsible. The show ended with a performance of “Far Alone” with Jay Ant and a shout out to the Bay Area.
