Frost Amphitheater (Stanford, CA)
04/05/23
For Keshi fans, if heaven were an experience, it would be hearing Keshi’s smooth vocals for 90 minutes straight. For the Bay Area, Keshi brought heaven to the Frost Amphitheater in Stanford, California for a stop on the Hell & Back Tour. Contrary to the name of the tour, the sold-out crowd was transported to heaven – really, anywhere but hell – and back. The Hell & Back Tour is a “victory lap” of shows in larger venues in the States and Europe for Keshi, who spent the majority of last year on the road and selling out shows on the HELL/HEAVEN world tour following the release of his first full-length studio album, GABRIEL. Since starting to put out music on Soundcloud in 2017, he has released his first E.P., THE REAPER, independently, a trilogy of E.P.s entitled skeletons, bandaids, and always after signing to a label in 2019, and a number of singles. The 28-year-old Vietnamese-American singer, songwriter, and producer put on a performance that featured most songs from GABRIEL as well as fan favorites from earlier releases, giving the fans everything they could have hoped for.
The show began with an epic rendition of a snippet of “blue,” originally a melancholic ballad on bandaids, giving the crowd a teaser of what was to come the rest of the night. A number of songs, originally lo-fi and mellow, were transformed into sonically larger songs with his live band and their guitar riffs, drum beats, and flairs on the keys. Emerging from the fog to a screaming crowd towards the end of the introduction, he launched into “GET IT,” the first track and one of the most upbeat songs on GABRIEL to start the show off with high energy. Keshi addressed the crowd in between nearly every song, hyping the crowd up (“At the top of your lungs, y’all ready?!”), reacting to the crowd’s energy (“Goddamn, Bay Area, y’all doing so fucking well,”) and/or introducing the next song (“I know what the fuck y’all want to hear,”) making it clear that Keshi is there for the fans just as much as they are for him. Those phrases were all leading up to “beside you,” a single released in 2021 that became a huge fan favorite. If that isn’t proven by it being one of his most streamed songs on Spotify, then it was proven by the entire crowd singing the words at the top of their lungs and Keshi’s clear bewilderment as the song ended.
Keshi, being a great guitarist as well, played the acoustic and electric guitar for a handful of songs. The acoustic guitar first came out for “WESTSIDE,” a song filled with Keshi’s floating falsettos, whose instrumentals were transformed by the live band, especially for a strong outro filled with guitar and drums. It was a perfect transition from a more mellow section of the setlist to an upbeat unreleased song, “kiss me right.” Introducing the song with a short acapella version and then teaching the crowd a small section of the chorus, Keshi jumped into “kiss me right” and got the crowd off their feet to jump along with him.
A highlight of the evening came halfway through the set during “drunk,” a song most people would know Keshi for, from his 2020 E.P., always. Accompanied just by his electric guitar and the chorus of voices from the crowd, he played a stripped back version of the song to a sea of swaying phone flashlights. Before starting the song, he challenged the Bay Area crowd to beat Chicago for being the loudest crowd to sing “drunk.” The crowd rose to the challenge, singing so loudly that Keshi simply stepped away from the mic and ceased his guitar playing to allow their voices to carry for the final chorus. Upon the announcement that they won, clamor and cheering in the crowd ensued, prompting Keshi to shush the crowd, then take his turn to sing the last chorus.
The quieter vibe from “drunk” was continued by a couple more quieter songs, with “skeletons” also performed with just Keshi on the guitar, and the love song “UNDERSTAND” from GABRIEL accompanied just by keys. The energy continued to ebb and flow for the rest of the set, finally coming to “ANGEL” and a guitar solo to outro to showcase Keshi’s skill on the electric guitar, before a two-song encore.
Keshi returned to the stage with the piano ballad, “GABRIEL,” with a sweet moment when he whispered, “I love you, too,” in between lines. The crowd was fully enraptured by his breathtaking vocals, and the song primed the crowd with all the feels. With a shift in energy, Keshi transitioned to the upbeat “2 soon,” a fan favorite from his 2018 E.P., THE REAPER. The energy in the amphitheater was electric and the show truly felt like a victory, as Keshi thanked the crowd, telling them,“Y’all were a dream come true,” and launching into one last bar with fans singing every word with their hands in the air. Everyone wanted the night to continue forever – no one wanted to be brought back down to reality – but with a final note from the band, the darkness followed, and only the crowd’s cheering filled the air, bringing the unforgettable night to an end.
