Words and photos by Scott Rowe
enjoy.
Gerald Earl Gillum. The name sounds so formal. You would never guess that it was the name of one of the hottest rappers in game today. Some still call him Young Gerald, but most of his fans call him G-Eazy. G-Eazy brought his The Beautiful & Damned Tour to the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, showcasing his latest album of the same namesake (The Beautiful & Damned). His latest album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, making it his third album to chart on the Billboard 200. His show at the Music Factory was only the second of the tour, which began in Houston, but it was a very well-produced, engaging show that left the crowd in awe.
G-Eazy's performance was set to three different acts, following in the footsteps of The Beautiful & Damned, whose concept was built as a split, almost as two albums. Dressed in all black, G-Eazy casually walked onto the stage before attempting to get the crowd even more amped up. Much like The Beautiful & Damned, G-Eazy opened with "The Beautiful & Damned" and "Pray For Me", which ended with Gerald dropping to his knees, looking toward the sky. At first glance, it looked as G-Eazy was rapping over a backing track, but a few songs in, the background which was showcasing projections soon turned transparent, showing off his three-piece band (a DJ, a keyboardist, and a drummer). Trust me, having a live drummer makes all the difference.
Gerald performed more than half of his set before walking off stage, just to emerge for Act Two, dressed in all white and jumped into "Leviathan". Over the course of the night, G-Eazy spoke fondly of Dallas and how well it has treated him. Telling the sold out crowd that it's something special to perform to 5,000 fans as opposed to performing to 10-20 people when he first started out. This was a great segue to his song "Eazy", which best describes his progression as an artist over the years. Again leaving the stage for a moment, Gerald reemerged for Act Three (Epilogue), where he performed his biggest hits.
He started his encore with his latest hit, "Him & I" and although girlfriend Halsey was not onstage to perform with him, he did point out to the crowd and said "love you babe". This song was followed by "Me, Myself & I", his collaboration with Bebe Rexha and led to a plethora of sing alongs. At first, Gerald had mentioned that "Me, Myself & I" would be the final song, as they had met curfew and would not be able to perform their actual last song. He stood there and faced the crowd, "no man, not in Dallas" before excitingly saying "fuck it, let's do this" and his band jumped into "No Limit". The rivers of crowds exiting the venue came flowing back, jumping up and down with G-Eazy, enjoying their last few minutes together.
Photos of the show are below:
G-Eazy's performance was set to three different acts, following in the footsteps of The Beautiful & Damned, whose concept was built as a split, almost as two albums. Dressed in all black, G-Eazy casually walked onto the stage before attempting to get the crowd even more amped up. Much like The Beautiful & Damned, G-Eazy opened with "The Beautiful & Damned" and "Pray For Me", which ended with Gerald dropping to his knees, looking toward the sky. At first glance, it looked as G-Eazy was rapping over a backing track, but a few songs in, the background which was showcasing projections soon turned transparent, showing off his three-piece band (a DJ, a keyboardist, and a drummer). Trust me, having a live drummer makes all the difference.
Gerald performed more than half of his set before walking off stage, just to emerge for Act Two, dressed in all white and jumped into "Leviathan". Over the course of the night, G-Eazy spoke fondly of Dallas and how well it has treated him. Telling the sold out crowd that it's something special to perform to 5,000 fans as opposed to performing to 10-20 people when he first started out. This was a great segue to his song "Eazy", which best describes his progression as an artist over the years. Again leaving the stage for a moment, Gerald reemerged for Act Three (Epilogue), where he performed his biggest hits.
He started his encore with his latest hit, "Him & I" and although girlfriend Halsey was not onstage to perform with him, he did point out to the crowd and said "love you babe". This song was followed by "Me, Myself & I", his collaboration with Bebe Rexha and led to a plethora of sing alongs. At first, Gerald had mentioned that "Me, Myself & I" would be the final song, as they had met curfew and would not be able to perform their actual last song. He stood there and faced the crowd, "no man, not in Dallas" before excitingly saying "fuck it, let's do this" and his band jumped into "No Limit". The rivers of crowds exiting the venue came flowing back, jumping up and down with G-Eazy, enjoying their last few minutes together.
Photos of the show are below:
G-Eazy @ Toyota Music Factory, Irving, TX
Reviewed by Scott Rowe, Editor
on
February 20, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Scott Rowe, Editor
on
February 20, 2018
Rating:
.JPG)