Childish Gambino shows joy, artistry
Childish Gambino wants to be everything all at once in his live show. And he comes pretty close to doing just that.
Actor/writer Donald Glover’s musical alter ego sees no limits. At his packed TD Garden show Wednesday night, he spoke truth like Gil Scott-Heron, showed his deep appreciation for pop hooks like Lionel Richie and proved he can thrill an arena all on his own like Kanye West. These nods at elder icons only hinted at his artistic elasticity.
Because of Glover’s history, his endless, successful detours into acting, writing and stand-up, it can be hard to find his center.
Is he just playing at being a hip-hop revolutionary and one of few who can do both Parliament and Funkadelic homages? He’s not. On stage, his love of the craft and respect for his audience came off with sincerity. This sincerity allowed him to jam so many sounds, styles and personalities into his set.
Opening with “Algorhythm,” a new track, Gambino boogied across the stage shirtless and gleeful. His cult cheered as if he was all four Beatles at Shea Stadium. After a few tunes to set the mood, including the gem “Summertime Magic,” he stopped to mark the occasion.
“This isn’t a concert . ... This is church,” he said. Then he confirmed this would be the last Gambino tour, but there was no need to record it for posterity. He asked people to put away their phones, saying, “This is for us in here.”
By us, he meant himself and the crowd. While dancers did make a few appearances and the band was tight (even if it was out of sight offstage), Gambino kept the eyes on him for an hour and a half. His charisma, his ability to charm 10,000 with a minimalist stage set, echoed Kanye’s 2013 stop at the Garden. But Gambino added new tricks.
With only three albums and a handful of EPs, Gambino’s catalog isn’t thick. But it is diverse. He powered much of the show by constantly shifting the vibe. The dark funk of “Boogieman” moved into the breezy sway of “Feels Like Summer,” then into the modern disco hymn “Spirit” (another new one). But he got an equal amount of magic from movement.
He moved not like Jagger or James Brown or Michael Jackson, but like the veteran actor he is. Alternating clumsy stumbling with sharp pops, goofy twists with rageful stomps, he kept the focus on him. Nowhere was this more clear than on his now signature song “This Is America.”
His first No. 1 single takes aim at the nasty relationships between race, racism, violence, capitalism, art and entertainment. Live, the meaning collapsed into Gambino’s movements, his punk rock bounce, his hiphop swagger, the charged postures from the song’s video. Yes, the band, dancers and laser light show helped, but it felt as if Gambino could have done it alone, unadorned.