Genesis Owusu overtook the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles this week to give an ecstatic live debut of his new album Struggler. Cloaked in black and shrouded in the shadows of the venue, there were times when all one could see of the Australian phenomenon was his dancing silhouette. At other moments, he appeared rapt and aglow — a radiant and madly gesticulating figure tearing through the album’s equally manic meldings of post-punk and hip-hop.
In many ways, the concert felt more like a hyper-engrossed sermon in which Owusu led the crowd through a viscerally cathartic sprint through the album’s various existential crises. Thunderous bass and shrieking synths obliterated any notion that he was there to just go through the motions. Onstage, he was a blur of movement, a never-ending fireball of energy that fueled the crowd’s rabid enthrallment.
From the brash kineticism of favorites like “Leaving the Light” to the erratic delight that bursts from “Freak Boy,” every single song carried the fervent emotional punch of its maker. When “Balthazar” dropped, everyone in the theatre lost it — caught up in the crazed sonics that exploded around Owusu.
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Alone on the stage except for a mirrored obelisk, it was clear that he didn’t need much to whip fans into a frenzy. But when you’re rocking out and singing along to lyrically dense tracks like “The Roach” or “Tied Up!,” it’s almost impossible not to feel the ferocious charisma and thermodynamic power emanating from Owusu as he dazzles onstage.
Opening the night’s rapturous revelries was The Deep Faith — and a more suitable supporting act there could not have been. Maybe it was the AI animations or the dually ominous and invigorating electronica they created. But they perfectly fit the aura of ethereal dread that pervaded the night’s atmosphere.
Words & Photos: Steven Ward
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