Childish Gambino at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA

Donald Glover talks. Childish Gambino is just a rapper.  Both are one in the same person.  Saturday night the star of NBC’s Community took the stage to a sold out Club Nokia.  It’s ironic that under the metaphorical veil of his rap persona, Childish Gambino shares more personal musings that give you a better insight into Donald Glover as a person.  But let’s not get so deep, this was a fun hip-hop show.

Gambino took the stage going hard into the anthemic “Hero” off his 2010 free album Culdesac.  Backed by a full band, Childish Gambino’s beats hit richer and harder than on record.  This was merely the countdown to lift off.  Playing two fan favorites back to back, the aggressive “Freaks and Geeks” and the Adele sample laden “Do Ya Like?” sent the crowd into a full frenzy, rapping along with every quick-witted line.

With a couple of EPs, a free full length, and his fist “official” album Camp coming out in the next week there  was a lot of material to cover.  The crowd got their fix of classic tracks with a medley of songs off the EPs and Culdesac album with the songs “Bitch, Look at Me Now”, “Yes”, and “Got This Money”.  The high energy set also included Childish Gambino laying down his verse on the Jaime XX remix of Adele’s “Rollin in the Deep”, but changed it up by using John Legend’s acapella cover.  During this, the whole band banged drum sticks to encourage the crowd to create the beat with their claps.

With the highly anticipated Camp coming out this week, the crowd also got a big taste of new material.  For many other artists this could be a surefire crowd killer.  In Childish Gambino’s case, NPR released a full album stream of Camp a week ago. Since then, rips of the stream have been making their way online.  The early popularity was already evident with many fans knowing the words to the songs.  For fresh ears, they listened intently and reacted to every creative quip that hit their ears for the first time. Lines like “I got a girl on my arm, dude show respect / Something crazy and Asian, Virginia Tech” elicited ooh’s from the crowd, delighted by Gambino’s wit.  Other new songs such as “Heartbeat” carried a beat that definitely sounds Daft Punk/Justice inspired that got the crowd moving.  “L.E.S.” smooth bass with its live violin hook was simply beautiful. “Bonfire” had the stage doused in red lights with flames on the projection screen behind Gambino and his hand. With this being the lead single, fans were again keeping up with Gambino line after line.  One of the most entertaining new songs live was the catchy “You See Me” that had the lyrics projected on the screen behind him ala YouTube lyric videos  with everyone joining in on the chorus “You see me babe? You See me babe? Asian girls everywhere, UCLA”.

Not to be overshadowed, Childish Gambino’s backing band is just as responsible for the entertaining show as the rapper himself.  Led by Glover’s music partner Ludwig Goransson (who is also the music composer for TV shows like Community and New Girl), you’ll see every member banging a drum at least once and just going wild and crazy making this part hip-hop and part rock show.  While Donald himself brings enough energy to the table, the element of the band just brings the energy off the charts at its peak.  A choir would also be brought out later on in the set to complete album elements on new songs like “Outside” and “Fire Fly”. It was the very same choir on the album that really brought the new songs to life.

The climax of the show was initial set closer “Lights Turned On”, with its electronic elements, Gambino got the crowd jumping up and down for a high energy ending.  The song also featured Gambino showcasing his singing chops on the chorus (a job he effortlessly switches back and forth between rapping through many of his songs without the assistance of autotune!) Like any other concert, after leaving the stage this just left the crowd wanting more and chanting “Gambino!” then “Encore!”.  The band and Gambino took the stage again for an extended 5-song encore that included more new tunes off Camp.

With this being a Los Angeles show, cameos are expected as well.  Glover’s fellow Community cast mate Alison Brie joined the choir for a song and Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, and Jim Rash were also in attendance.  Between songs, fans spotted LA Clipper Blake Griffin watching from the side of the stage which prompted him to come out and wave to the crowd.

Whether he’s Donald Glover actor or Childish Gambino rapper, he definitely is a renaissance man with a Hollywood Buzz.  This show was a taste of the bigger Camp Tour that will launch in the spring.  Bringing this same energy and excitement, Gambino doesn’t need multiple L.E.D. screens, elaborate set designs, or costumes. He brings everything from the heart and unleashes onstage in his lyrics that are both heartfelt and relatable.  It’s what attracts people to his music and will certainly bring people out to the shows.

Gambino is a mastermind.

Setlist:
Hero
Fire Fly
Freaks and Geeks
Do Ya Like?
Backpackers
Bitch, Look at Me Now/Yes/Got This Money/I Be On That Medley
Rollin in the Deep
All The Shine
Heartbeat
Break (All of the Lights)
You See Me
Bonfire
Lights Turned On

Encore:
Outside
I’m a Boss (Freestyle)
L.E.S.
Sunrise
That Power

Buy Childish Gambino and Club Nokia tickets at Zigabid.